Stony Brook, NY- July, 2014
Computer Science (CS) Undergraduate Stefan George created a web-based application that combines the immediate needs of people with the desire of businesses to increase their revenue. The web-based app, appropriately named WeeWeeFree (www.weeweefree.com), uses map coordinates to locate the nearest, cleanest restroom for desperate users.
While the application solves an immediate need for tourists, families, expectant mothers (just to name a few), it also meets the needs of business owners who want to promote their goods and services. “WeeWeeFree creates a community for retailers who sign up and promote their business during specific time periods”, says co-founder and Stony Brook CS undergraduate, Stefan George.
Stefan used his business savvy sense as a B&B owner in Williamsburg to execute his plan for the web-based application. He says one of the main focuses is to promote “mom and pop stores and their uniqueness”. Retailers that agree to post their information, include their hours of availability and will eventually be able to give special deals to WeeWeeFree customers. There isn’t a fee for business to be listed and the hope is that restroom users eventually stay at the business they visited and make a purchase.
Right now the site includes over 800 restrooms in Manhattan and the company will be adding restrooms in Texas, California, Boston, and Portland, OR. When a user visits www.weeweefree.com the site automatically notes the user’s location and displays restrooms in the area. Once a restroom is selected, the user will see walking directions, a WeeWee rating, hours of availability, and other restroom details (e.g., wheelchair accessibility, fun facts, or changing station status).
With only one class left to take, finishing up his undergraduate education at Stony Brook University is a priority for Stefan, who started off his higher education at the University of Pittsburgh. Stefan remembers thinking about the idea for WeeWeeFree after he heard a story about a five-year old who was fined because a retailer would not let him use the bathroom resulting in an “accident”. Stefan handled the backend programming (Java, html, php, and MySQL dbase) behind the site and his co-founder, Nadia, handled the front-end visual design. Stefan credits fellow CS alum, Christopher Deneen, with helping to figure out the systems administration aspects and Professor Rob Kelly’s classes with preparing him for this adventure. Interested WeeWeeFree users can visit them at weeweefree.com and follow them on Twitter @WeeWeeFree.
About the Computer Science Department at Stony Brook University
Stefan George is a member of the undergraduate class in the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University. Consistently ranked among the top computer science departments in the nation by the National Research Council. The department is the largest unit in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Stony Brook University. With annual research expenditures of roughly $8 million, the department is active in many of the major research areas of computer science with specialization in algorithms, computer science education, computer systems, concurrency and verification, intelligent systems, networking, security, and visual computing.