Polymers, Prototypes and Penguins: Students Tackle Chest Protection during Rethink the Rink 2026

PITTSBURGH, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty students at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) participated in the ninth annual Rethink the Rink Make-a-thon, an intense one-week program aimed at increasing safety in hockey using advanced materials from Covestro. With guidance from experts at Covestro, a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials, the Pittsburgh Penguins professional hockey team, and Bauer Hockey, the world's leading hockey equipment manufacturer, four teams of students competed, each designing a groundbreaking hockey goalie chest protector prototype.

The annual Make-a-thon challenges students to tackle real safety challenges in ice hockey, from the professional level down to youth hockey. In 2026, the goal was to solve issues associated with goalie chest protectors, including impact absorption, mobility, and functionality.

"The Penguins are proud to partner with Covestro, Carnegie Mellon University and Bauer Hockey once again for our annual Rethink the Rink Make-a-Thon," said Penguins Senior Vice President of Partnerships Steve Kelley. "Initiatives like Rethink the Rink are critical to ensuring that athlete's equipment not only performs at the highest level but keeps them safe every time they step on the ice, and we're thrilled to see how the creativity and fresh perspective from Carnegie Mellon University students can push protective equipment standards forward."

The winning team impressed judges from Covestro, the Penguins, CMU, and Bauer Hockey with their innovative design that incorporated hexagonal impact plates and a unique cooling system, critical areas of focus in hockey goalie safety and comfort. The students also drew inspiration from aerospace and motorsports applications, applying engineering concepts used in high-performance environments to improve protection and breathability for goalies.

"Safety is critical in everything we do, whether it is in sports, at work or in daily life," said Samir Hifri, chairman and president of Covestro LLC. "The designs the CMU students brought to life during the Rethink the Rink Make-a-thon remind us that there is always room to improve if we think creatively and work hard. This partnership unites future innovators, material science experts, and athletes with the common goal of improving safety. We're honored to be a part of this collaboration."

The students' designs will now be considered for further development. The team of experts at Bauer Hockey will lend their expertise as a leading hockey equipment manufacturer to potentially bring the concept to market in the future.

"The level of engineering thinking these students brought to goalie chest protection, tackling weight, safety and range of motion in the same solution, in one week, is exactly the kind of bold problem-solving our sport needs," according to Dan Bourgeois, vice president of product innovation at Bauer Hockey. "Partnering with CMU, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Covestro on Rethink the Rink continues to challenge our own assumptions about what protective equipment can be."

"This make-a-thon provides a unique experiential learning opportunity for our students," Sandra DeVincent Wolf, CMU's Manufacturing Futures Institute executive director explains. "It allows them to work in teams across disciplines to solve a real-world problem. In one exciting week, they experience a crash course in engineering design and pitching solutions. We are proud of what they have accomplished and grateful for this long-standing partnership."

The Rethink the Rink initiative, launched in 2018, has already led to significant improvements in hockey rink design and player equipment. Previous years have focused on safer dasher boards, helmets, gloves and other protective gear.

For more information about the Rethink the Rink Make-a-thon and Covestro's commitment to innovation in sports safety, please visit covestro.us.

About Covestro:Covestro is one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.

The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, Covestro aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group's Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. Covestro generated sales of EUR 12.9 billion in fiscal year 2025. At the end of 2025, the company had 46 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,600 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).

About Carnegie Mellon University:Carnegie Mellon University, cmu.edu, is a private, internationally ranked research university with acclaimed programs spanning the sciences, engineering, technology, business, public policy, humanities and the arts. Our diverse community of scholars, researchers, creators and innovators is driven to make real-world impacts that benefit people across the globe. With a bold, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial approach, we do the work that matters.

About the College of Engineering:The College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University is a top-ranked engineering college that is known for our intentional focus on cross-disciplinary collaboration in research. The College is well-known for working on problems of both scientific and practical importance. Our "maker" culture is ingrained in all that we do, leading to novel approaches and transformative results. Our acclaimed faculty have a focus on innovation management and engineering to yield transformative results that will drive the intellectual and economic vitality of our community, nation, and world.

Find more information at www.covestro.usRead our Corporate Blog.Follow us on the Covestro Social Media Channels:X FacebookYoutubeLinkedIn

Forward-looking statementsThis news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro's public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Contact:Russell GloriosoTelephone 724-799-0321EMail [email protected]  

SOURCE COVESTRO LLC