TES professor, Dr. Shumway, surprised with not one, but two distinguished awards

College of Engineering,Technology & Engineering Studies,Alumni

Taylin Galloway

May 12, 01:31 PM May 12, 01:31 PM

The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) awarded Shumway the Wilkinson Meritorious Service Award in November 2025, inviting him to receive it at the conference in March 2026. The award is one of ITEEAs highest honors and was determined by a committee of peer reviewers.

However, unknown to him, the Council on Technology and Engineering Teacher Education (CTETE) for university-level educators within the ITEEA planned with his wife behind the scenes to surprise him with another, even higher distinction at the conference CTETE Business Meeting.

Arriving 30 minutes late because of plane delays and feeling underdressed, Shumway was surprised to be greeted by colleagues as they stopped the meeting and presented him with the Technology and Engineering Teacher of the Year Award, accompanied by a slide presentation summarizing career memories.

This is the highest award given by CTETE, indicating deep respect from professional peers as well as the recipient's leadership in the field.

Because it is initiated by peers and requires an extensive application, the award speaks to ones character, said Dr. Bradley Bowen, CTETE president and professor at Virginia Tech. Bowen met Shumway when he became secretary of the CTETE under Shumway as president.

This award is only given to one person each year, and there are many deserving candidates, but Dr. Shumways accomplishments have solidified him as a leader in the field, Bowen said.

Shumways leadership in over 30 years of service to the ITEEA, various boards and councils, local and international contributions to professional development, and projects overseas in the Dominican Republic, Ghana, and Korea have allowed him to [provide] pedagogical perspectives and positively [advocate] for Christ-like teaching, said his colleague, Dr. Scott Bartholomew.

Bartholomew deems Shumway one of the most well-known educators in the state because of his skill and personality.

Accompanying him through the halls of a school during a state conference is a futile effortevery teacher you pass knows him and wants to visit with him, Bartholomew said. He strikes a unique balance of cowboy-charm, wit, and humor.

Dr. Geoff Wright, another BYU TES colleague, says that Shumway uses his influence to boldly share his faith and testimony along with excellent pedagogy, or the practice of teaching.

He has a wonderful character where people love to serve and work with him because of his gregarious nature, respect for others, and love for the profession, Wright said. I believe his efforts have helped position BYU as one of the most well known and respected schools in our profession.

Shumway was the first BYU faculty member to receive the Teacher of the Year Award since the profession began in 1939. He was humbled to represent the university and to be recognized for his full career.

Many years ago, as a young faculty member, I secretly hoped that someday I would be considered to receive the award, and it felt rewarding to finally have my dream come true, Shumway said.

On Friday, April 24, 2026, the BYU engineering community and their loved ones will celebrate the perseverance and achievements of this years newest alumni. Learn about the diverse journeys of thirteen remarkable seniors and what they are taking with them as they go forth to serve.

What drew BYU students from all over campusfrom all disciplinesto gather, listen, and participate throughout the semester in one competition?

Some have followed the competition from the beginning, from speed mentoring to the SIOY Showcase to the final competition on Feb. 26. Some may have been introduced to SIOY first by those finals: the smell of free pizza, raffle prizes, or the promise wisecracks from James Perry, an original Studio C cast member and BYU mechanical engineering alum.

Each event drew students in, filling every seat, some even deciding to stand in the hallways to stay and watch.

All of the teams competing for the 2026 Student Innovator of the Year (SIOY) title had one thing in common.

They were innovating for good.

The deep expertise and care for real issues was magnetic. For this years champion, Spencer Stowell with FidgiTech, a solution for sensory needs beyond the average fidget toy came from his daughters interest in light switches.

Shed want me to pick her up so that I could hold her next to the light switch and she could flip them on and off, Stowell said. It just got me thinking, what is it about her development and her experiencing that specific thing that engages her so much?

After competing in the 2025 season of SIOY with a team, Stowell came into his second year as a lone competitor, invested in taking the Fidget Box further. He discovered a broad group of people that have atypical sensory needs, then adjusted his fourth iteration to meet those needs.

You can actually just swap around the different fidgets on there that make it so you can customize it to the needs of the individual who is looking to scratch a specific itch or engage with a specific sense, Stowell said.

The Fidget Box won Stowell $12k and opened opportunities for FidgiTech to join with several eager business partners. However, the future of FidgiTech is still upin the air.

There's a lot of people that believe in it, but the reality is that I am a PhD student. I am a husband and a father of two little girls, Stowell said. There's all these other demands on my time and on my life right now.

Joseph Garcia, a BYU senior in entrepreneurial management, is another student striving to balance daily life with innovating for others through his SIOY project, MOBI.

MOBI is a kitchen workstation for people with limited mobility who are getting left behind in their own kitchens that restores independence by being height-adjustable, Garcia said. His dad was an Air Force physician, and his grandpa has spent time in a wheelchair, so he was surrounded by this need growing up.

The invention started as a group project in college but required help after Garcia was left to keep it going alone. His grandpa, parents, brother, and friends all pitched in to bring the prototype to SIOY Showcase.

Once you learn to love the problem, you know, learn all the intricacies inside and out, then you're able to better understand it and have a better solution, Garcia said. It turned out good in the end. I had a lot of help from unanticipated places and from people along the way. Gods good in that way.

Although his project didnt make it to the finals, Garcia won $500 from an honorable mention at the SIOY Showcase with MOBI and is looking to work with professional manufacturers to get it ready for market, finding ways to create affordable access for those who need the workstation.

With a similar dream, the Clarion Sense team hopes to implement their sensora wall plug-in to detect bowel movements from molecules in the air, which alerts caregivers to give timely care to dependent individualsin assisted living care after getting a patent.

Caleb Coons, a BYU junior in bioinformatics, worked with the team through a capstone and research link. His time as a CNA brings an understanding of the sensors potential to help many.

It's more of a product that I really believe in, and I really want to see it actually succeed, Coons said. Even though we didn't win anything at SIOY, I think the networking and seeing everybody else's passion too is pretty invaluable.

EJ Smith, a BYU senior in global supply chain management and team member of Rotala, said that competing and placing third at finals taught her how to do business in a new way, convince others that a problem needs solving, and work with different skillsets in a team towards one goal.

Trade shows allowed teams to see the real impact their products could have. At a tradeshow in November, the Sori Technologies team presented their smart stuffed animal that helps children with autism transition between tasks.

James Spencer, a BYU senior and electrical engineering major, found it especially motivating to see their product in the hands of kids and parents.

It's like magic every time, Spencer said. And since there isn't anything like this available, the parents are always amazed by it too. They're always shocked at how effective it is.

Finding a pain point and addressing it is motivation for Spencer to do his best engineering. Through interviews, making connections with therapists and behavioral technicians, and testing with real kids that could benefit from the stuffed animals, he stays focused on his why.

My goal is to make something that works, not just something that looks like it's cool, Spencer said. Something that actually has long-term impact and is highly effective.

That is why these teams get in front of professionals, businessmen, and judges and take criticism to innovate better. Thats why audiences feel awe at what students are doing.

Student spectators at SIOY events said their favorite things were seeing real solutions to real issues, the resources that go into innovation, how prepared everyone is, and seeing the potential for each product to help a lot of people. The final competition was recorded and can be accessed on BYU Engineering YouTube, while competition results are posted on the SIOY website.

BYU engineering alum pioneers safe power tool for kids on Shark Tank

College of Engineering,Mechanical Engineering,Industrial Design,Alumni

Taylin Galloway

February 18, 01:45 PM April 06, 12:05 PM

A desk, a musical instrument in the shape of a dinosaur, and a lamp.

Max Liechty, a BYU mechanical engineering alum, started creating toys for his son, Milo, during his masters at the University of Pennsylvania. At the end of January 2026, as co-founder and CTO of Chompshop, he and his team produced their 100,000th ChompSaw, a powertool for creation made safe for kids.

Max and his wife, Shannon, had eliminated entrepreneurship as an option for their future. Max planned to use his love for math, physics, and hands-on design in a stable, long term position for an airplane, car, or robotics company. Bonus points if he got to travel like hed seen his dad, a design engineer, do growing up.

Instead, he and his co-founder, Kausi Raman, help kids innovate safely by using a cardboard-cutting saw to create their own inventions.

Now, it's come full circle, Max said. I travel a lot now as a business owner, and that's for a very different reason.

The idea was born while Max worked at the University of Pennsylvania Makerspace and pursued his masters of Mechanical Engineering and Integrated Product design. In between helping students complete projects, he made things for his 2-year-old son.

Myles Christensen, BYU mechanical engineering professor, says that kind of spontaneous creativity is evermore accessible with modern technology.

There are more tools today to try out ideas than there ever have been, between 3D printing and CAD software availability. If you have an idea, try it, Christensen said.

While Maxs interest in designing toys grew, he met a toy inventor and discovered that it wasnt the most lucrative field.

That was my impression of the toy industry, Max said. So, I didn't have a goal to go into it as much as I just liked it as a side hobby and making these one-offsome might say bespoketoys for my kid.

Raman, one of his fellow classmates, noticed his hobby while she worked on a project about prototyping with cardboard, an abundant and recyclable resource in homes because of online shopping and delivery orders.

Together, they decided to turn it into something real: a business that would raise $1.1 million on Kickstarter, allowing Max and Raman to travel to China and see factory manufacturing themselves and then seal a deal on Shark Tank in 2024, only two years after their partnership began. Their company has received countless recognitions, most recently winning Creative Toy of the Year at The Toy Foundation TOTY Awards.

Christensen connects their design and drive to create with positive impact.

They're making a product that helps them design products, which I think is really cool, Christensen said. If they're interested in design, that's the opportunity the students have: to influence the world around them.

Milo, Maxs now four-year-old son, says that seeing his dad on Shark Tank was funny.

Their deal with sharks Mark and Lori$250,000 for a 15% stake in their companycreated the perfect storm, Max said. After their Shark Tank episode aired, Chompshop inventory hit warehouses, and Black Friday and holiday shopping ensued, leading to an explosion of sales.

It was a huge boost, Max said. It got us onto this trajectory where we have just been growing from.

Through all of this, Shannon says that Max is a really great dad, and his business opens up a lot of flexibility for their family.

It doesn't ever feel like our family is taking a back burner with this kind of huge undertaking of starting a business, but it feels like we've been able to be a part of that journey, Shannon said.

Milos favorite thing to do with his dad is play with him. Milo proudly shares his drawings, similar to the ones he does with his dad. Milo, Shannon, and even two-year-old Robin, use the ChompSaw to create together, cutting out Christmas star decorations and following the inventors workbook, making their daydreams and ideas become reality.

The ChompSaw opens opportunities for young engineers like Milo to apply their ideas to hands-on learning, meeting the needs of those imaginative kids and their STEM teachers that encourage them. Thats what innovation is about to Max and Kausi.

We're giving kids a foundation to build off of, grow, and become the next generation of engineers, problem solvers, and great thinkers in a way that just was such a hidden issue. There's no problem too small, Max said. And hopefully we're making good impacts here.

Their desire to provide real solutions to real needs is clear to Shannon as she watches Max and Raman work.

"They wanted to solve that kind of missing link between kids, like coming up with an idea, and then actually being able to create and make something, Shannon said. It's just been really cool to see how much they've really worked with kids throughout the process to figure out what works and what's successful.

Max and Shannon also both work as teachers, teaching a class at the University of Pennsylvania and St. Josephs University respectively. Both teaching and starting a business were right place, right time opportunities for them.

I don't know what prompted me to do that, to go completely 180 on everything that I previously believed about my career future, Max said. If you find this thing that gives you meaning, even if it is taking your life in a totally different direction, I would just say don't hesitate to try it or do it.