Seventh Grade Student Chosen as Top Inventor in Nationwide 'Pop' Contest

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE), creator of Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning, announced Lillith Bulawa, a seventh grader from Ava, NY, as the grand prize winner in the Fifth Annual Bubble Wrap^® Competition for Young Inventors, a nationwide competition that encourages students in grades six through eight to design an invention that incorporates the use of Bubble Wrap^® brand cushioning. Bulawa was chosen from entries from all over the U.S. and was awarded a $10,000 (US) savings bond.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110523/NY06938 )

Bulawa was named the grand prize winner for her invention, "Floating Garden of Bubble-On," a garden that floats on top of water with the aid of Bubble Wrap® cushioning. Bulawa developed her invention after reading about the many Americans that lost crops due to recent flooding across the country. This self-watering garden sits in a box atop a raft, which is made buoyant by Bubble Wrap® material, and is designed to help save crops in flood zones.

"Lillith's invention really shined during this competition," said William V. Hickey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sealed Air. "Lillith showed exceptional ingenuity and developed a very practical invention that can help with an issue that affects many Americans each year."  

The Bubble Wrap^® Competition for Young Inventors invites students to demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity by submitting original inventions along with a visual and written description that included the name of the invention, the purpose it serves, how it works and how the idea was formulated.

At the Bubble Wrap^® Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 21, Sealed Air also announced the second and third place winners of the competition:

• Second Place Winner ($5,000 U.S. Savings Bond): Autumn Trogdon, Windsor, CA – "Cell Phone Holder" – An inexpensive, lightweight cell phone case made entirely of Bubble Wrap^® cushioning. It is created as a low cost way for keeping your phone safe.

• Third Place Winner ($3,000 U.S. Savings Bond): Mackenzie Conkling, Massapequa, NY – "Uber Bubble Glove" – A glove insulated by two different layers of Bubble Wrap^® material and covered by a larger glove in order keep the hands of people affected by ailments like Raynaud's Disease warm in cold weather.

"Each year we find it more and more challenging to select a grand prize winner as all the inventions submitted are outstanding," said Hickey. "Although only one can go home with the grand prize, all of the inventors in this year's Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors are winners and should be very proud of what they have accomplished."

The Bubble Wrap^® Competition for Young Inventors is administered in conjunction with Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company.  All submitted entries were judged based on their originality, creativity and practicality, as well as their benefit to society, marketability and overall presentation. This year's competition attracted entries from all across the U.S., with submissions that included everything from a floating garden, to an environmentally friendly birdhouse, to a bed that keeps disaster victims safe and warm.

To make it to the final round, each of the finalists was required to build and deliver full-scale working versions of their invention to be reviewed by a panel of judges. The three finalists and a family member were brought to New York City for a chance to win the grand prize. In addition to Bulawa winning the grand prize savings bond, her school, Lyndon H. Strough Middle School, will receive a $5,000 prize. The teacher/mentor of each finalist will also receive a $500 gift card.

The brand enjoys the reputation of a pop-culture phenomenon today.  Bubble Wrap® brand cushioning has more than two million likes on Facebook and has inspired users to come up with hundreds of different uses.  Beyond its "pop" appeal, Bubble Wrap® brand cushioning has also helped spur the growth of parent company Sealed Air Corporation, which today operates in 52 countries and has annual revenue in excess of $4 billion. You can read more about the 2011 and previous Bubble Wrap^® Competition for Young Inventors winners at www.bubblewrapcompetition.com.

About Sealed Air

For over fifty years, Sealed Air has been a leading global innovator and manufacturer of a wide range of packaging and performance-based materials and equipment systems that now serve an array of food, industrial, medical, and consumer applications. Operating in 52 countries, Sealed Air's international reach generated revenue of approximately $4.5 billion in 2010. With widely recognized brands such as Bubble Wrap® brand cushioning, Jiffy® protective mailers, Instapak® foam-in-place systems and Cryovac® packaging technology, Sealed Air continues to identify new trends, foster new markets, and deliver innovative solutions to its customers. For more information about Sealed Air, please visit the Company's web site at www.sealedair.com.

SOURCE Sealed Air Corporation