PROVIDENCE – A team of Brown University undergraduates and faculty members working on a device to treat pediatric needle pain won top honors Tuesday at the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition’s Elevator Pitch Contest.

The winning 90-second presentation, by Brown student Adam Leonard, was one of 31 made to a panel of judges and a standing-room-only crowd at the new R.I. Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Garrett Hunter, the competition co-chair, said he was impressed by the entries at the fourth annual event. The contestants received feedback from a panel of judges on what they did well and how they could improve.

“All the presenters demonstrated fortitude to be willing to present their ideas to a crowd of strangers and receive public critiques from the judges,” Hunter said. “They only gained from the experience.”

The judges included Guy Asadorian Jr., co-founder of Tameracq Partners Inc., Providence; Jim Grace, president & CEO of InsureMyTrip.com, Warwick; Claire Iacobucci, director of quality control and principal at Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. Ltd., Providence; Annette Tonti, CEO of MoFuse Inc., Providence; Rick Wilkins, principal at Strategic Giving LLC, Providence.

The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition is still accepting entries for its 2010 contest. The deadline is April 5, and winners are scheduled to be announced May 4.

The competition, established in 2000 to promote entrepreneurship in the Ocean State, is expected to award up to $150,000 in prizes next year.

Additional information is available at ri-bizplan.com.