On Nov. 1, Dhara Panchal and Julie Yun from Cal State Fullerton’s College of Engineering and Computer Science earned second place in the college track of the 2025 Titan Fast Pitch competition, marking the highest placement for a CSUF team this year. Their project, Novvhex, stood out among dozens of entries for its creativity, technical rigor and potential for real-world impact.
Novvhex is an AI-powered home security platform that detects suspicious behavior before theft occurs. It was created by Panchal and Yun for the 2025 ECS Engineering Social Justice Competition, where the team built an early prototype and placed second. The team developed a basic camera concept into a behavior-aware AI system, incorporating custom computer vision models and user research to address such concerns as break-ins, package theft and alert fatigue.
The Titan Fast Pitch competition, hosted annually by the Conrey Center for Entrepreneurship, is a high-energy competition where students deliver concise, compelling business idea pitches to a panel of judges. The event attracts participants from across Southern California and provides invaluable exposure, feedback and networking opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. The 2025 event fielded over 300 submissions.
Novvhex’s success is rooted in Panchal and Yun’s participation in the ECS Innovation LaunchPad, which is designed to help students transform high-impact ideas into viable ventures while also providing hands-on prototyping experience, market discovery and mentorship. The ECS Innovation LaunchPad is led by Kiran George, associate dean and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and supported by campus and regional partners, including the College of ECS, Conrey Center for Entrepreneurship and RevHub Orange County.
The LaunchPad emphasizes equity and access, ensuring that all students have the resources they need to succeed. It provides micro-grants for prototyping, expert workshops and coaching from industry mentors. For Panchal and Yun, this support played an instrumental role in preparing them for the Titan Fast Pitch competition.
“As computer science sophomores, entering the Titan Fast Pitch pushed us out of our comfort zone and challenged us to think beyond our technical background,” said Panchal. “With guidance from Dr. George, guest speaker Anna Nesterova and Jeff Greenburg through the ECS LaunchPad, we learned how to shape our technical project into a strong business pitch, which helped us perform well.”
With this achievement, Novvhex joins a growing list of ECS teams demonstrating that innovation thrives at CSUF. The LaunchPad continues to build a pipeline of technical founders who combine engineering excellence with entrepreneurial vision, creating ventures that will positively impact Orange County and beyond.
“Novvhex is exactly what we envisioned for the ECS Innovation LaunchPad — students taking real-world problems, applying serious technical talent and learning to think like founders, not just developers,” said George. “Seeing them succeed at Titan Fast Pitch shows our students what’s possible for themselves and the communities they serve.”