Since it began in 2015, the Catalyze Challenge has awarded nearly $100,000 in prize money and services and continues this year with a prize pool of $16,000. Catalyze 2022 launched in November and 11 teams are currently registered to compete in the April 21 final, including two teams from Oregon Tech’s Portland-Metro campus.

Jason Sullins grew up in rural Boring, Oregon, as a third-generation Oregonian. Raised in the country, much of Jason's childhood was spent building things, inventing, and working in construction with his father, which cultivated much of the creativity and resourcefulness used later in his engineering career. Growing up well below the poverty level, Jason took it upon himself to build a college savings account.