Every year, the editors of R&D Magazine, an Advantage Business Media publication, chooses one individual who demonstrates excellence and creativity in the design, development and introduction into the marketplace of one or more technologically significant products over the past five years.
We extend an invitation to our readers to nominate that individual. Submissions are not limited to the research and development community, but the selection of the winning nomination is the sole responsibility of the editorial staff of R&D Magazine and an appointed panel of judges.
Requirements for an Innovator of the Year:
1 – Must have shown leadership in the development of a product or products to his/her organization within the past five years that must be readily identified as innovative—not evolutionary, trivial, or obvious.
2 – The product development made by the nominee must have made a significant contribution to his/her organization with regard to one or more (but not limited to) of the following items:
• Increased sales
• Increased profitability
• Increased market share
• Increased overall growth for the organization
• Dramatic improvements in product performance or applications
• Dramatic improvements in safety or security
• Dramatic improvements in the sustainability, cost effectiveness, efficiency, or producibility of the product
3 – The product development can consist of an actual hardware-based product, software, process technology, or service.
4 – The product development accomplishments can consist of one or more individual products.
5 – Product development accomplishments can consist of products with applications in any country.
6 – There is no fee for any nominations and submitters may nominate more than one candidate.
7 – Only one nominee will be selected the Innovator of the Year—team awards will not be made.
8 – Selection of winning candidates is made by the editorial staff of R&D Magazine and their decisions are final.
9 – Submitters may nominate more than one candidate. Candidates can self-nominate for the award.
10 – Nominees must be aware that they are being nominated for this award.
11 – The selected nominee must be available for phone interviews to R&D editors for this award (between June 16 – July 15, at a mutually convenient time)
12 – The selected Innovator of the Year will be the subject of the cover story for the August 2008 issue of R&D Magazine.
13 – The selected Innovator of the Year is invited to attend an awards ceremony at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Attendance at this ceremony is not mandatory and travel expenses must be borne by the Innovator of the Year—complementary tickets for the Award’s Banquet Cocktail Reception and Awards Banquet will be provided by R&D Magazine, along with an appropriate Award obelisk, and reprints of the August 2008 cover story.
14 – Nominations will be accepted through 11:59 pm June 16, 2008—no extensions will be made.
15 – The winning Innovator of the Year will be informed no later than June 17, 2008. Non-winning nominations will not be informed, information on the winning candidate can be obtained after June 16, 2008 at 973-920-7063.
To submit for this year’s award, please provide the following information:
1 – Submitter, Title, Organization, Address, and Contact Information
2 – Innovator of the Year nominee, Title, Organization, Address, and Contact Information
3 – Reason why nominee should be selected as R&D’s Innovator of the Year (250 words max)
4 – Nominee bio
5 – Products/Software/Processes/Services developed by the Nominee
6 – Applications and/or purpose of the nominee’s product development (250 words max)
7 – Resulting effect of the nominee’s product development efforts on his/her organization and/or the marketplace.
8 – Professional references with contact information for the nominee (optional)
As the astronauts offload the cargo from the Shuttle Endeavour to the ISS today to facilitate growing the crew from three to six astronauts, one item in particular is getting a lot of press: the new toilet. This is not just any toilet: this is a $250 million loo that will recycle the astronauts’ urine, sweat, and other wastewater back into drinkable water. This is a great application of technology and could cut the annual delivery water costs for the station by about 743 gallons, according to NASA officials. Besides which, this filtering process is just an accelerated version of what happens here on Earth to produce our drinking water. In fact, the water from this system is up to some of the highest standards of water in the U.S.
With all of that said, I’m not sure I’d be able to stomach the recycled water, especially after reading Endeavour’s mission specialist Don Pettit’s description of the system as a high-tech coffee maker: "It turns yesterday's coffee into today's coffee and, in turn, it makes today's coffee into tomorrow's coffee. It's one of these great, circle of life things." Maybe for the astronauts, but not for me. I’ll take my morning coffee without thinking about what it was yesterday, thank you.
