Freeplay Foundation Wins Technology Benefiting Humanity Award

The Freeplay Foundation has won the first annual Tech Museum of Innovation Awards, Technology Benefiting Humanity in the education category. In recognition of the Freeplay Foundation's application of Freeplay self powered technology in developing countries, executive director, Kristine Pearson, received the $50,000 honorarium from NASDAQ Vice Chairman, Alfred Berkeley, in Silicon Valley, California on 1 November.

Former President Gerald R Ford made the keynote address at the gala ceremony attended by 1300 people from around the world at the Tech Museum. The Freeplay Foundation will apply their stipend towards the research, development and design of a self powered radio specifically targeted at the needs of orphans and other vulnerable children living on their own in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Tech Museum of Innovation Awards are designed to recognise people, companies or organisations which develop or use technology in creative ways to solve global challenges. They were presented in partnership with Santa Clara University and the American Council for the United Nations University. Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology and Society assembled an impressive judging panel that reviewed nearly 400 applications from 50 countries. The award categories included health, economic development, equality, environment and education. In the education category there were over 60 entrants.

The other $50,000 winners and their category sponsors were:

Dr Chaz M Holder, President, CZBioMed, Fayetteville, North Carolina, received the Knight Ridder Equality Award for technology restoring patients' quality of life.

Fabio de Oliveira Rosa, President, IDEAAS, Brazil, received the Credit Suisse First Boston Economic Development Award for technology bringing electrification to rural areas.

Dr Betsy L Dresser, Senior Vice President for Research. Director Audubon Center For Research of Endangered Species, a facility of Audubon Nature Institute, New Orleans, and Virginia Kock Endowed Chair in Species Survival and Conservation, University of New Orleans, Louisiana, received the Intel Environment Award for saving endangered species with biotechnology.

Joseph DeRisi, Assistant Professor Biochemistry and Biophysics, UC San Francisco, received the JPMorgan Chase Health Award for decoding malaria for a better cure.

On 8 November the NY Times featured a full report on the Tech Awards : Rewarding Technology That Benefits Humanity. The December issues of Forbes ASAP and Forbes Global magazines feature a five- page supplement about The Tech Awards.

The December 2002 issues of Forbes ASAP and Forbes Global magazines feature a five- page supplement about The Tech Awards.