Innovate El Paso has announced Armando Silva of El Paso as the winner of its Hottest Inventor Challenge. Silva entered the contest with his patented high/low wheelchair.  Silva invented a battery-powered, pneumatic wheelchair that can be adjusted from a height of 20 inches down to 11 inches (U.S. patent 7090241).  Silva was inspired to invent the chair out of love and concern for his father, who used a wheelchair daily. The Riverside High School graduate started as an inventor when he was a child, constructing bazookas from V-8 cans. He used his 30 years of steel industry background to engineer his first working high/low wheelchair prototype, a thing which had been in the works for more than 10 years.

As the winner of the Hottest Inventor Challenge, Armando will receive assistance on further development of his working prototype and commercialization of the invention.  Innovate El Paso values the prize at $5,500.  He will have access to an engineer, patent attorneys, prototyping equipment and materials.  An unveiling of the completed invention is expected Aug. 15. For more information, contact Erika Aragon, erika@innovateelpaso.org, (915) 255-7228.