The Tech Museum of Innovation Announces 2007 Tech Museum Awards Laureates.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For the seventh year, The Tech Museum of Innovation, one of the country's premier science and technology museums, has today named 25 innovators from around the world to be honored by this year's The Tech Museum Awards: Technology Benefiting Humanity. Presented by Applied Materials, Inc., The Tech Museum Awards honor individuals who are applying technology to benefit humanity and spark global change. The esteemed group of Laureates announced today was selected from hundreds of nominations sent in from 68 countries.

In addition to the 25 Laureates being honored, Intel co-founder and technology industry luminary Gordon Moore will receive the 2007 James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, honoring individuals whose broad vision and leadership are helping to address humanity's greatest challenges, also sponsored by Applied Materials, Inc. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has contributed more than $1 billion and countless hours toward forming and investing in partnerships that achieve significant, lasting and measurable results in environmental conservation, science and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Established in 2001, The Tech Museum Awards recognize 25 Laureates in five categories: Education, Equality, Environment, Economic Development and Health. These 25 Laureates have developed ways to use technology to improve the environment and the lives of people around the world. All of the Laureates will be showcased at The Tech in San Jose and featured on The Tech Award's official Web site, www.techawards.org. One Laureate in each category will receive a $50,000 cash prize, announced during the annual Awards Gala, which takes place this year on November 7th. The Laureates are reviewed and selected by an independent international panel of judges administered by the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University.

"The Tech Awards program reaches out to innovators from countries all over the world, and the quality and impact of the work being done by the Laureates who are recognized this year is just phenomenal," said Peter Friess, President of The Tech. "It's our goal to expand this program to become one of the premier annual international humanitarian awards so that we can shine an even brighter light on the innovators from around the globe whose humanitarian efforts are changing the world."

The Tech Awards collaborate with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through global outreach efforts, giving people around the world the opportunity to benefit from the successful technologies recognized through the Awards. The selected Laureates' projects address multiple humanitarian efforts including international aid, natural energy, multilingual education, bird flu vaccine testing and self-sufficiency in developing countries.

"The Tech Laureates represent an amazing group of individuals and organizations whose creativity and innovations are being applied to change the world for the better," said Mike Splinter, president and CEO of Applied Materials. "Every year, Applied Materials and Silicon Valley welcome with pride this extraordinary group that exemplifies the excitement and promise of technology on which this Valley was built."

Sponsors for the five Tech Museum Awards categories include: Intel for the Environment Award; Accenture for the Economic Development Award; Microsoft for the Education Award; and The Swanson Foundation for the Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award. Sponsorship of the Health Award is still available.

Below are the 2007 Laureates and a brief description of the winning projects.

2007 Intel Environment Award

* Emulsified Zero-Valent Iron (EZVI) Team, Jacqueline W. Quinn, Cherie L. Geiger, Christian Clausen III, Kathleen B. Brooks, and Debra R. Reinhart: EZVI was created by placing zero-valent-iron particles into a stabilized, biodegradable water-oil emulsion to reduce environmental contamination risks when cleaning rockets in NASA's space program.

* Fundacion Terram: The Integrated Salmon-Seaweed Cultivation project attaches algae to a salmon-net pen to absorb nutrients from the salmon to clean the environment. This technology reduces the demand for natural seaweed using an environmentally and socially integrated approach.

* Marc Andre Ledoux, Consortium SudEco Industrie: Ledoux combined two technologies to transform harmful aquatic plants into new cooking fuel. A floating grappling is used for fast and easy removal of the plants, which are then compressed, dried and turned into pellets for cooking fuel.

* Joe David Jones, Skyonic Corporation: Skyonic Corporation addresses the significant issue of greenhouse gas emissions through the mineralization of CO2 as carbonate compounds. It removes heavy metals and acid gases to address both the current problem with carbon capture and the future as demand increases.

* Solar Sailor: Solar Sailor created solar sail and hybrid marine power which is suitable for a wide range of applications from small unmanned vessels to large tankers including ferries, cruisers and yachts. Vessels using this technology have higher fuel savings, unlimited range, passenger comfort and are environmentally friendly with zero emissions.

2007 Accenture Economic Development Award

* Anil Chitrakar, Babu Raja Shrestha and Prachet Kumar Shrestha, Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness: Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness and Centre for Renewable Energy turned Nepal's 300 annual days of sun into a safer light source and an economic opportunity by developing a solar-powered Tuki -- originally a kerosene lamp that is both costly and emits toxic fumes -- and by offering microfinancing and training for people to make, sell, and service the lamps.

* Association La Voute Nubienne: The Association La Voute Nubienne created the VN technique, which is the first major replicable instance of the construction of timberless vaulted, earth brick buildings in Sub-Saharan Africa. It features a cable guide to determine the radius of the vault, weatherproof plastic sheeting and other modern features.

* blueEnergy: BlueEnergy provides a low-cost, sustainable solution to the energy needs of marginalized communities through the creation of hybrid wind and solar energy systems. By manufacturing wind turbines locally, energy costs are kept low, servicing is made easier and jobs are created in disparaged communities.

* CellBazaar, Inc., Kamal Quadir: CellBazaar developed and provides an electronic marketplace that can be assessed through mobile phones. Product sellers can list their items on CellBazaar where they are visible to 15 million rural and urban mobile phone users in Bangladesh.

* Kiva.org: Kiva.org allows users to browse through profiles of qualified entrepreneurs on the Kiva website and make a small loan of $25 or more. Kiva pools money from individual users and transfers it to a finance corporation that will administer the loan. Journal updates allow lenders to see how their money makes a difference in the lives of the entrepreneur.

2007 Microsoft Education Award

* Canal Futura: Canal Futura uses television communication to achieve sustainability by providing free information, education and entertainment representing a country's diverse culture. It is watched 24 hours a day by 33 million people and has trained 420,000 educators from social institutions and public schools.

* Elluminate, Inc.: Fire and Ice/Elluminate Live! is a real-time virtual classroom software product used for highly interactive live online classes, lectures, demonstrations and meetings. This product helps organizations increase student understanding, productivity and access to instructors. Whether on dial-up or broadband, Elluminate Live! offers equal, collaborative experiences amongst different cultures.

* Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education: OER Commons is a teaching and learning network whose purpose is to expand educational opportunities for all by increasing access to high-quality open educational resources. It is the first comprehensive network where teachers and students can access course materials and share their own ideas and strategies.

* Robert Shelton, Stephanie Smith, and Terry Hodgson, NASA Johnson Space Center Learning Technologies Team: MathTrax is an accessible education software tool to help blind and sighted students learn and understand math and science. It describes information in three ways - using "smart" text, non-verbal sound and custom graphics descriptions.

* TalkingITGlobal: TalkingITGlobal.org, is a free multilingual online platform that employs Web 2.0 community tools supporting youth creating change in their communities and around the world. Online community users can create their own blogs and engage in discussions, access opportunities and launch their own multimedia expressions.

2007 Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award

* Counterpart International: Counterpart Data Warehouse, is a tool created in response to deadly crises such as the Asian Tsunami that will increase the effectiveness and transparency of international aid. It allows users to address humanitarian needs by designing projects, acquiring donated items, managing their shipment and following up with recipients.

* Devendra Raj Mehta, Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti: Created the Jaipur Foot/Limb that acts as a simple and extremely efficient prosthesis that utilizes revolutionary technology that is both effective and affordable. The Jaipur Foot/Limb allows normal walking, running, sitting, climbing and other daily activities.

* Grameen Shakti (GS): Dipal Chandra Barua has developed an integrated approach to renewable energy technologies designed to reach rural people in Bangladesh through the installation of Solar Home Systems (SHSs), which are stand alone systems suitable for providing renewable energy to remote areas outside the reach of grid electricity. GS is also helping to promote biogas technology and Improved Cook Stoves in the communities it serves.

* Innocence Project: Innocence Project provides direct representation and critical assistance to prisoners that may be exonerated by DNA testing. Their ground-breaking use of DNA technology has been used to free innocent people wrongfully convicted due to systematic defects.

* Tropical Forest Trust: Indigenous Peoples Voice Programme developed computer mapping tools incorporating iconic software and automated GPS recording processes for use by illiterate indigenous communities. This technology supports forestry operations that identify and respect local religious, cultural and resource sites.

2007 Health Award

* Diagnostics Development Unit, University of Cambridge & Diagnostics for the Real World: Uses Signal Amplification System (SAS) technology as a diagnostic format to greatly increase the sensitivity of lateral-flow based rapid tests. This technology has already translated into three new diagnostic tests for the detection of Chlamydia, trachoma and hepatitis B.

* Donald O'Neal, HELPS International: Guatemala Cookstove Project addresses the respiratory deaths of 1.6 million women and children each year by reducing the amount of required firewood by 60-70 percent. It was designed and verified using computer technology to monitor carbon monoxide and emission of carbon particles.

* PATH: Applied indicator technology for the Vaccine Vial Monitor which is a small chemically active sticker that adheres to the vaccine vial and changes color over time as the vaccine is exposed to heat. The Vaccine Vial Monitors allow health workers to recognize and replace expired vials that would not save lives or reduce illness.

* P&G's Children's Safe Drinking Water Program: PUR Purifier of Water is an in-home system delivered to families in developing countries. The system provides precipitation, coagulation, flocculation and residual chlorination for 10 liters of water.

* Vaxin Inc: Vaxin is developing a rapid-response bird flu vaccine that can be manufactured without the requirement of chicken eggs. Side effects and other problems associated with the current bird flu vaccine will be reduced or eliminated when this current version is released on the market.

The Tech Museum Awards represent a collaborative effort among educational institutions and businesses. Key partners supporting The Tech Museum Awards include Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology and Society, presenting sponsor Applied Materials, Inc., and global outreach partners the United Nations Development Programme, the American Council for The United Nations University, the World Bank Institute, and Catholic Relief Services. Category sponsors include Applied Materials, Inc., Intel Corporation, Accenture, Microsoft and the Swanson Foundation. Program sponsors include Wells Fargo, Genentech, eBay, KPMG, Cadence, Celerity, The Frank and Denise Quattrone Foundation, NASDAQ, HP and Google. In-kind sponsors include American Airlines, Forbes, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Hotel Montgomery, Fairmont San Jose and Siltronic.

About The Tech Museum Awards: Technology Benefiting Humanity

The Tech Museum Awards: Technology Benefiting Humanity, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., is one of the premier annual humanitarian awards programs in the world, recognizing and supporting solutions that benefit humanity and address some of the most critical issues facing our planet and its people. The Laureates (individuals, for-profit, public and not-for-profit organizations) recognized by the Program each year must demonstrate: the use of technology to significantly improve the human condition in one of the five areas; evidence that a serious problem or challenge with broad significance is addressed by this use of technology; a noteworthy contribution that surpasses previous or current solutions; a novel application that represents a breakthrough or a creative adaptation of an existing technology; the potential for this use of technology to serve as an inspiration or model for others. Laureates are selected by a prestigious panel of international judges organized by the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University, and made up of Santa Clara University faculty as well as leaders from educational and research institutions, industry and the public sector around the world.

For more information about The Tech Museum Awards, visit www.techawards.org.

About The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech Museum of Innovation is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. Located in San Jose, California - the Capital of Silicon Valley - its mission, as a public-benefit corporation, is to inspire the innovator in everyone. Through hands-on exhibits, educational programs, the annual Tech Challenge team competition for youth, and the internationally recognized Tech Museum Awards, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., The Tech Museum of Innovation honors the past, celebrates the present, and encourages the development of innovative ideas for a more promising future. For more information about The Tech Museum of Innovation, visit www.thetech.org.