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25 Global Innovators Honored as Tech Museum Awards FinalistsSAN JOSE, SILICON VALLEY, Calif., September 3, 2003 - The Tech Museum of Innovation today announced the 25 laureates for the 2003 Tech Museum Awards: Technology Benefiting Humanity presented by Applied Materials, Inc. On October 15 at a black tie awards gala, Silicon Valley leaders and delegates from the United Nations will join together to honor all 25 laureates, and one finalist from each category will be awarded a $50,000 cash honorarium. In Silicon Valley where technology is considered a way of life, The Tech Museum Awards were developed to recognize the need to bridge existing technology in emerging countries and emerging technologies in developed countries. The awards, presented in partnership with the American Council for the United Nations University and Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society, are designed to honor individuals, for-profit companies, and public and not-for-profit organizations from around the world who are applying technology to profoundly improve the human condition in the categories of education, equality, environment, economic development and health. This year, an esteemed panel of judges considered more than 500 nominations, representing 70 countries. The 25 2003 Tech laureates come from Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Nepal and the United States. "Reflecting the mission of The Tech Museum of Innovation, these awards recognize the innovators who use technology to improve people’s lives," says Peter Giles, president and chief executive officer of The Tech. "Through these awards, The Tech inspires future scientists, technologists, and social entrepreneurs to harness the incredible power and promise of technology to solve the challenges that confront us at the dawn of the 21st Century." "The Tech Museum Awards continue to attract the finest examples of technology creatively put to use for the benefit of people around the world," stated Jim Morgan, Chairman of presenting sponsor Applied Materials. "In the three years of the program we have brought greater awareness and recognition to the laureates and their world-changing technologies, and we will continue to work to replicate and expand their work around the globe." For more information on the awards and finalists, visit http://techawards.thetech.org. The Finalists for the 2003 Tech Museum Awards are: The NASDAQ Stock Market Award for Education: Delivering technology applications that work to remove barriers to education such as computer and Internet access, infrastructure problems, language, and poverty. • Computers for Youth, New York, United States • Equal Access, San Francisco, United States • Brij Kothari, Indian Institute of Management–Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India • Alexander E. MacDonald, NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory, Boulder, United States • Omar Dengo Foundation, San Jose, Costa Rica Knight Ridder Equality Award: Using technology to combat human rights violations, and improve the local democratic process. • The Benetech Initiative, Palo Alto, United States • The Boston Foundation, Boston, United States • League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, Cupertino, United States • Radio News Agency 68H, Jakarta, Indonesia • WITNESS, New York, United States Intel Environment Award: Developing or using technologies that conserve and protect our planet’s ecosystems. • Environmental Defense, Oakland, United States • Iftekhar Enayetullah and A.H.Md. Maqsood Sinha, Waste Concern, Dhaka, Bangladesh • Imbibitive Technologies America, Inc. St. Catherines, Canada • INBio (National Diversity Institute), Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica • James Spinhirne, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Branch, Greenbelt, United States Accenture Economic Development Award: Providing innovative technology solutions to overcome significant barriers to economic development in non-industrial countries. • Bombas de Mecate S. A., Managua, Nicaragua • EcoSystem Pvt. Ltd., Lalitpur, Nepal • Gram Vikas, Berhampur, India • Grupo Sofonias, Jinotepe, Nicaragua • Lee Felsenstein—Jhai Foundation, Palo Alto, United States Health Award: Applying effective surgical techniques, vaccination programs, drug development strategies and human genome-based information to improve the safety of health care in marginalized communities and the rest of the world. • AfriAfya, Nairobi, Kenya • Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, UCSC Baskin School of Engineering Santa Cruz, United States • Institute for One World Health, San Francisco, United States • PATH (Program for Appropriate Technologies in Health), Seattle, United States • The Smile Train, New York, United States About The Tech Museum Awards The concept for The Tech Museum Awards and its five categories was inspired in part by The State of the Future at the Millennium report of The Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University, which recommends that award recognition is an effective way to accelerate scientific breakthroughs and technological applications to improve the human condition. The Awards were inaugurated in 2001. Judging for The Tech Museum Awards is independently conducted by Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology and Society, a global network of academic and industry experts dedicated to understanding and influencing how science and technology impact society. They assemble five panels of judges from around the world, recruited from research institutions, industry and the public sector, who judged the nominations on five set criteria. The Tech Museum of Innovation Awards Partners The Tech Awards represent a collaborative effort among educational institutions and business. Among Silicon Valley’s leaders supporting The Tech Awards are presenting sponsor, Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology and Society. Category sponsors are The NASDAQ Stock Market, Knight Ridder, Intel, and Accenture. Sponsors of the Tech Laureates Venture Network are Applied Materials, Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Company. About The Tech Museum of Innovation Located in the heart of downtown San Jose, Silicon Valley, Calif., The Tech, a non-profit organization, engages people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing the technologies affecting their lives and aims to inspire the innovator in everyone. For more information, visit www.thetech.org or call (408) 294-TECH. Media contacts: Gary Summers, Lewis & Summers Public Relations, (925) 284-7004, gary@prwebsite.com Ryan Donovan, Ketchum Public Relations, (415) 984-6138, ryan.donovan@ketchum.com
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