Leave it to the mind of a young college student to think of ways to save time and money. Tameka Gongs, a 20-year-old student attending Louisiana State University, and Bluetooth® Breakthrough Award finalist, was tired of her friends always having spoiled food in the refrigerator. After late night study sessions, Tameka would be looking for a snack and need to submit to the sniff test, or worse the dreaded taste test, to see if food was edible. The idea for a sensor and application began to take shape in the form of Kool-Fridge.

Kool-Fridge is a monitor attached to the lids of food or liquid containers. The monitor detects certain chemical levels and compares those to fresh food to determine if the item is spoiled. Using Bluetooth Smart technology, the sensor sends the information to your phone and alerts you when a food item is going bad. It even explains the health risks of eating the spoiled item. The app would act like a virtual refrigerator showing different food items in their different states of freshness.

Tameka would like to see this idea developed even further to help people save time. “My grandmother is the backbone of the family but she can’t do everything she used to. The whole family pitches in to help and when I am home, I do the grocery shopping. That’s where Kool-Fridge would really work. Kool-Fridge could notify me or my aunt about food going bad. We could actually stop at the store on the way home.”

Tameka loves science and robotics with plans on becoming a biomedical engineer. She hopes to apply what she learns in science and apply it to engineering to create something useful. Kool-Fridge is Tameka’s first idea that uses technology to solve problems but she hopes to come up with more innovative ideas. If she wins the $5,000 Bluetooth Breakthrough Awards prize, Tameka will put a team together to see this project come to life and explore commercial applications in restaurants and warehouses.

Things to know about Tameka:

• She loves to cook—“I really enjoy cooking, being in the kitchen and trying different cuisines. One summer I worked in a kitchen preparing different dishes and it was just the most amazing experience. The chef told me cooking was like science and that made me more interested.”
• She wants to work for the CIA—“In 10 years, I see myself conducting research for the CIA, putting my skills to good use.”
• Considers herself a techie—“I enjoy having the latest phones, gaming systems and programs. When I get a new gadget, I take apart the old ones to see how they work and if I can put them back together.”

(Credit: Nanci Taplett)