The History

The Cade Prize for Inventivity — named after Dr. Robert Cade, lead inventor behind Gatorade — celebrates inventors and entrepreneurs, who, through an innovative invention, demonstrate a creative approach to addressing problems in their field of expertise.

About Dr. Cade

Dr. Cade was a professor of renal medicine at the University of Florida. In 1965, he found a solution to a real problem: football players collapsing on the University of Florida’s practice field from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Dr. Cade and his team tested a sports drink that replaced electrolytes lost through sweat, and Gatorade was born!

From Idea to Market

But taking an idea – like Gatorade – and moving it beyond the lab and into the marketplace can take years of effort and significant resources. Capital is needed to help secure patents, licensing, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing. Without foundational financial support, many startups like Gatorade would have remained just a lab experiment. That’s the motivation behind the Cade Prize.

Then and Now

The Cade Prize first began as a Florida-based competition in 2010 and in 2023, the prize expanded to a national reach and invited inventors based anywhere in the United States to apply. The Cade Prize is unique in that it awards innovation at its earliest stages – no prototype necessary!

Celebrating 15 Years of Innovation

On June 11, 2010, the first annual Cade Prize was awarded in Gainesville, Florida to the Tutor Matching Service team. This video was shown at the awards presentation in front of 300 attendees from Gainesville's tech and entrepreneur community.

Meet the Committee

Carol Ann Dykes-Logue

Committee Chair & Director, Programs & Operations, UCF Innovation Districts & Incubation Program

Richard Miles

Co-founder, Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention

Gary Miller, Ph.D.

Founder, Executive VP for Research & Development (Emeritus), Exactech, Inc.

Weaver H. Gaines

Co-Founder, Executive Chairman, Evern Technologies

Save the Date

The Cade Prize Awards Ceremony will take place on September 25, 2024 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida.

Add to Calendar

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