Business Wire (press release), CA
June 17 2004
Tech Museum Awards Applicants Reach Record Number; From Armenia to
Zimbabwe, Global Program Honors Those Benefiting Humanity Through
Technology
SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 17, 2004–The Tech Museum
Awards, which honors individuals and groups around the world who
leverage technology to benefit humanity, received its highest ever
volume of applicants for the 2004 season from a record number of
countries. This year, 321 applications were sent from representatives
in 60 countries, a 5% and 20% jump from 2003 in number of applicants
and represented countries, respectively. Select wide-ranging
countries represented include developing countries like Armenia,
Malawi, Moldova, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe and industrialized countries
like China, Hong Kong, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
Applicants are currently under independent review 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. Worldwide,
the center assembles panels of judges for each category, recruited
from research institutions, industry and the public sector.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the tremendous response The Tech
Museum Awards is receiving from the international community,” said
The Tech’s President and CEO Peter Giles. “The Tech Awards celebrates
the creation of technologies for the sake of humanity rather than
just for the sake of technology, and the increased interest from an
even wider range of countries this year underscores that growing
trend.”
Five laureates in each of five categories – Equality, Environment,
Economic Development, Education, and Health – will be announced in
early September 2004. Subsequently, one laureate in each of the five
categories will be granted a $50,000 cash prize at the November 10,
2004 awards gala to further their work. Annually, twenty-five Tech
Award laureates are recognized for their pioneering use of technology
to improve the quality of life for people around the world.
Presented in partnership with Applied Materials, Inc., The Tech
Awards give primary recognition to technologies with a high potential
of yielding lasting, beneficial impact. In addition to Applied
Materials’ presenting sponsorship, award category sponsors include:
Intel, Accenture, Microsoft, and Agilent.
About The Tech Museum Awards
The concept for The Tech Awards and its five categories was inspired
in part by The State of the Future 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 Tech Awards were inaugurated in 2001, and
have since recognized 75 Laureates for their pioneering work to
benefit society through the use and/or development of new
technologies. For more information visit
The Tech Museum Award Partners
The Tech Awards represent a collaborative effort among educational
institutions and business. Silicon Valley leaders supporting The Tech
Awards include presenting sponsor Applied Materials, Inc. and Santa
Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society.
Category sponsors include Intel, Accenture, Microsoft, and Agilent.
Sponsorship of The Tech Awards provides an organization with an
opportunity to showcase its support of the global community and align
itself with a prestigious program whose sole focus is to address
critical challenges facing the world. For more information on
sponsorship opportunities, email corporate@thetech.org.
About The Tech Museum of Innovation
Located in the heart of downtown San Jose, Silicon Valley, Calif.,
The Tech Museum of Innovation, 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 young to
become innovators in the technologies of the future. For more
information, visit or call (408) 294-TECH.