The Tech Museum of Innovation President Tim Ritchie encouraged the night's attendees to be inspired about the future, our capacity to solve problems and to make a difference. "Is there some need that speaks to your heart? Some work, some community, some problem that needs your mind, your time, your sympathy, your best work? Step up to the place where your joy and the world's needs meet," he urged.
With PBS Newshour correspondent Hari Sreenivasan as master of ceremonies, the gala unfolded against the backdrop of an exhibition specially curated for The Tech Awards that included some of the world's most iconic photos projected on five towering screens. Contributed free of charge by National Geographic photojournalists, the compelling images were shown for the evening only, as a tribute to The Tech Awards laureates. Another gala highlight included live appearances by two former laureates who were brought together by Polycom RealPresence Platform to share their experiences and progress since winning the award.
THE TECH AWARDS LAUREATES 2012
Intel Environment Award
LEHR, Inc. Propane Outboard Motors
Region of Impact: North America
www.golehr.com
Problem: Small gasoline engines cause excessive pollution, yet electric/battery solutions do not provide the performance required to be a universally viable alternative.
Solution: Patented gaseous-fueled engines that significantly reduce/eliminate pollution while improving performance and reducing cost of ownership.
Impact: To date, about 100,000 lawn and garden engines have been sold that eliminate evaporative emissions while reducing VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions. 1,000s of marine outboard engines sold eliminate fuel spills into water while reducing methyl-mercury-causing particulate emissions by up to 96 percent.
Arup K. SenGupta
Region of Impact: Cambodia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam
http://www.lehigh.edu/~aks0/aks0.html
Problem: According to World Health Organization (WHO), over 200 million resource-poor people are threatened with arsenic poisoning by drinking contaminated groundwater in Cambodia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Solution: Use of appropriate simple-to-operate technology in rural setting to transform arsenic crisis into an economic enterprise while protecting human health.
Impact: Over 200,000 people including school children are benefiting in arsenic-affected countries.
Microsoft Education Award
Literacy Bridge
Region of Impact: Africa
http://www.literacybridge.org/
Problem: Basic health and agriculture knowledge isn't reaching the world's poorest billion people due to illiteracy and lack of electricity.
Solution: A simple and durable, battery-operated, audio computer playing locally produced lessons that address the practical needs of people in oral cultures.
Impact: 250,000 lessons delivered to 20,000 farmers in the poorest regions of Ghana. Farmers harvested 48 percent more crops for a 3x ROI, and 90 percent of maternal health lessons led to healthier behaviors.
TeachAIDS
Region of Impact: Global
www.teachaids.org
Problem: Research shows that despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent worldwide on HIV "awareness" campaigns over 30 years, accurate knowledge of HIV still remains dangerously low.
Solution: Re-imagine the worldwide public health solution to focus on actual "education" rather than "awareness" and develop the most effective and flexible HIV education software after 5+ years of cross-disciplinary research at Stanford.
Impact: Provide HIV education with unprecedented efficacy to more than 200 organizations and governments in 73 countries, educating millions around the world, and including breakthrough implementations in regions that had banned sex education.
Katherine M. Swanson Young Innovator Award
Angaza Design
Region of Impact: Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia
www.angazadesign.com
Problem: 1.5 Billion people around the world lack access to electricity, and prohibitively high upfront prices for quality solar products prevent millions of off-grid families from purchasing them.
Solution: Low-cost, embedded Pay-As-You-Go technology that allows customers to pay for energy use in small amounts with cash-in-hand. Remotely regulated over cellular networks and integrated with existing mobile money platforms, these energy payments are cheaper than typical weekly kerosene expenditures.
Impact: Clean, bright light and cell-phone charging financially accessible to customers in Tanzania, Kenya, and Zambia.
Art Center College of Design, Designmatters
Region of Impact: Peru
www.designmattersatartcenter.org/proj/safeaguaperu
Problem: In Cerro Verde, a slum on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, 30,000 people live without access to running water and sanitation.
Solution: Design and co-create with Cerro Verde families, innovative and cost-effective products tested by the community and implemented by Un Techo Para Mi Pais, a Latin American NGO dedicated to working with families living in extreme poverty.
Impact: Empower families and communities through responsible design to conserve water, reduces illness and generate social, cultural, and economic change.
Nokia Health Award
BioLite
Region of Impact: Global
www.biolitestove.com
Problem: Every year almost 2 million people die prematurely from indoor pollution caused by smoky open cooking fires; these same fires contribute more black carbon than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.
Solution: The BioLite Homestove: A low-cost, highly efficient wood-burning stove that dramatically reduces smoke and harmful black carbon emissions while reducing fuel needs by 50 percent.
Impact: Paying for itself in six to seven months, a single HomeStove lowers the rates of potentially fatal respiratory diseases while saving ~2000lbs of wood per year and averting the C02 emissions of a compact car.
Embrace
Region of Impact: Global
www.embraceglobal.org
Problem: 1.1 Million preterm babies die every year, 75% could survive with inexpensive treatment.
Solution: A low-cost infant warmer specifically designed to address the needs of babies suffering from hypothermia.
Impact: Thousands of babies may be impacted by the warmers currently distributed with 11 partnerships in eight countries.
Flextronics Economic Development Award
Pamela C. Ronald, David Mackill, Kenong Xu
Region of Impact: Global
http://indica.ucdavis.edu/
Problem: Yields of rice, the most important crop for over half of our planet, are catastrophically reduced during floods. Because rice provides up to two thirds of the diet of many people in the developing world, many who live on less than $1 day, these losses have devastating impacts on farmers and their families.
Solution: Identification of a submergence tolerance gene and precise introduction of the gene into locally adapted varieties favored by farmers using modern molecular breeding.
Impact: In 2011, 1,000,000 farmers grew Sub1 rice, with millions more expected in the next few years. Yields of Sub1 rice are three to five folds greater than conventional varieties during floods.
Grameen Foundation USA
Region of Impact: Uganda
www.grameenfoundation.org
Problem: Lack of agricultural information among the poorest & hardest to reach rural farmers.
Solution: Social Enterprise with 800 CKWs that use smartphone-based knowledge to share expert agriculture information with small holder farmers and collect data through mobile surveys.
Impact: 17% increase in knowledge of 6 representative agriculture practices, 37% difference in higher maize prices vs. non-CKW-served farmers, and 51% difference in "access to extension services and training" vs. non-CKW-served farmers.
Accenture Sustainable Energy Award
Simpa Networks
Region of Impact: India
www.simpanetworks.com
Problem: 400 million people in India, and more than 1.5 billion worldwide are without access to reliable electricity.
Solution: Simple, affordable, pay-as-you-use pricing and mobile payment for off-grid solar energy solutions.
Impact: By 2015, more than 250,000 households with access to aspirational amounts of clean energy, 6.5 megawatts of distributed solar power installed, more than 160,000 tonnes of CO2 displaced.
Eco-Fuel Africa
Region of Impact: Africa
www.ecofuelafrica.com
Problem: Clean cooking fuel is inaccessible for thirty million people in Uganda and 28 million poor farmers have no access to fertilizers.
Solution: Simple, locally made technology that can be used by local people to convert locally sourced farm and municipal waste into clean cooking fuel and organic fertilizers.
Impact: 6,000 families already benefiting from the technology, with 10,000 more expected to be reached by the end of 2013.
For more information about The Tech Awards, visit: http://thetechawards.thetech.org/
About The Tech Museum of Innovation
The Tech Museum is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum -- located in the Capital of Silicon Valley -- is a non-profit, experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge presented by Cisco, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech Awards presented by Applied Materials, The Tech Museum endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.
About Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is the global leader in providing innovative equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products. Our technologies help make innovations like smartphones, flat screen TVs and solar panels more affordable and accessible to consumers and businesses around the world. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.
About the Center for Science, Technology, and Society
The mission of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS) is to accelerate global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. Through its signature program, the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI™), as well as the Frugal Innovation Lab, research in Impact Capital, and collaboration with The Tech Awards, the Center engages business and technical resources to build the capacity of social enterprises around the world. As a Center of Distinction at Santa Clara University, the Center leverages its programs to inspire faculty and students with real-world case studies, distinctive curriculum, and unique research opportunities, advancing the university's vision of creating a more just, humane, and sustainable world. More information can be found at www.scu.edu/socialbenefit.
