[Solar-general] economis premia a linus

[Diego Saravia]

( BW)(CA-THE-ECONOMIST) The Economist Celebrates New Routes to Innovation at 
the 3rd Annual Innovation Awards and Summit in San Francisco

    Business Editors

    SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2004--The Economist

    -- Awards for Social and Economic Innovation join the list of
    awards recognising individuals driving the most financially
    successful breakthroughs in Bioscience, Computing,
    Communications, Energy and the Environment

    Wi-Fi and wireless LAN standardisation, the Prius hybrid automobile, 
Linux, microcredit for the poor, the first products resulting from gene 
cloning, and scanning tunnelling microscopy -- these are among the 
achievements that will be recognized today as The Economist hosts an event 
in San Francisco honouring the individuals and best practices that drive 
successful innovations that transform our global economy. The Economist's 
Third Annual Innovation Awards and Summit provides a rare opportunity to 
hear how the world's most inventive people are transforming our world and 
the way we create and turn revolutionary ideas into financially successful 
products and practices.
    The evening ceremony, which follows the day-long Summit, will feature 
the presentation of a new award for Social and Economic Innovation. The 
awards ceremony will also celebrate the achievements of five individuals 
responsible for industry-altering breakthroughs in Bioscience, 
Communications, Computing, Energy and the Environment, as well as a 
special "No Boundaries" category, honouring innovation that transcends 
industries. Winners were nominated by Economist readers and journalists, and 
an internationally renowned panel of judges, chaired by Tom Standage, the 
editor of The Economist's Technology Quarterly.
    "Tonight's awards recognise top innovators whose work has both driven 
progress in their particular fields and contributed more widely to global 
social and economic prosperity," said Standage. "The Economist is proud to 
recognise and thank them for their achievements."
    Through the spring, a distinguished panel of 17 judges nominated up to 
five individuals for one or more awards, drawing on their specialised 
knowledge in the six award categories. Nominations were also solicited from 
key science and technology writers at The Economist and from The Economist 
readership. The nominations and eventual winners were evaluated against 
three key criteria: impact on an emerging branch of science and technology; 
effect on a marketplace or the creation of a new market; and the impact on 
revenue of the sponsoring organisation or the well-being of society in 
general.
    The Economist recognises the following leaders for launching new markets 
and revolutionising the way business is done:

 
--  Bioscience, Gene cloning and drug research: David Goeddel, Vice 
President of Research, Amgen, San Francisco. David Goeddel's work on gene 
cloning and the expression of human proteins directly led to the development 
of five important therapeutics. His many pioneering contributions in the 
field of hormones and cytokines include the cloning and expression of 
insulin, work which was initially published in 1978 and became the first 
drug produced by recombinant DNA technology. His work also led to 
innovations in human growth hormone, interferon-alpha, interferon-gamma and 
tissue plasminogen activator, producing an estimated annual revenue stream 
of $400 million for Goeddel's then-employer, Genentech. Goeddel was elected 
in 1994 to both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences.  
--  Computing, Linux: Linus Torvalds, Fellow, Open Source Development Lab. 
Torvalds originated Linux in 1991 as a 21-year-old computer science student 
at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Dissatisfied with the MS-DOS (and 
early Windows) operating system standard prevalent on PCs, Torvalds made 
Linux freely available for downloading, releasing the source code so that 
people with knowledge of computer programming could modify Linux to suit 
their own needs. The software created a huge following, eventually 
attracting big industry players such as Oracle, IBM, Intel, Netscape and 
others. It also spawned several new software companies, including Red Hat, 
SUSE LINUX and Turbolinux. Today, there are hundreds of millions of copies 
of Linux running on servers, desktop computers, network equipment and in 
embedded devices worldwide. With the support of the Open Source Development 
Labs (OSDL), Torvalds now works exclusively on vendor-independent, neutral 
development of the Linux kernel.  
--  Energy and the Environment, Prius hybrid automobile: Takeshi Uchiyamada, 
Director, Toyota Motor Corporation. Acting under a Toyota directive to 
create the lowest emissions vehicle possible, Uchiyamada in 1994 became 
leader of a project dubbed G21, for Global 21st Century. Toyota gave 
Uchiyamada a free hand in the design of a new automobile, unbound by 
traditional restraints such as component sharing, marketing considerations 
and project hierarchy. Uchiyamada's team initially developed an automobile 
that employed both an internal combustion engine and electric motor, working 
alternately or together, engaged with a clutch. Later, some 80 research 
engineers (working to meet a deadline of the 1997 Kyoto Conference on global 
warming) reviewed multiple engine designs to develop what eventually would 
become a full-production vehicle. By 2002, Prius sales had topped 100,000 
units worldwide.  
--  Communications, Development and Standardisation of Wireless LANs: Vic 
Hayes, Former Chair IEEE 802.11 Standards Working Group for Wireless LANs; 
Former Chair of the Wi-Fi Alliance Regulatory Committee. Considered 
the "father" of Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity networking), Vic Hayes chaired the 
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) committee to 
establish the WLAN standard, IEEE 802.11, which was set in 1996. The 
technology pushed down prices of wireless Web access, service and equipment, 
leading to what fast became ubiquitous wireless Internet connectivity at 
hotels, airports, cafes, businesses and homes. WLAN equipment suppliers will 
generate $3.2 billion in revenue in 2006, up from about $1.25 billion last 
year. Proponents see the technology getting ever faster, eventually handling 
streaming video and telephone calls. Hayes, who resides in the Netherlands, 
retired from his position as senior scientist at Agere Systems in 2003.  
--  "No Boundaries", Scanning Tunnelling Microscope: Gerd Binnig, Heinrich 
Rohrer, and Christoph Gerber, researchers at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory 
in Switzerland, developed in 1981 the "scanning tunnelling microscope," or 
STM. Unlike a true microscope that provides a direct image of an object, STM 
is based on the principle that the structure of a surface can be studied 
using a stylus that scans the surface at a fixed distance. Recording the 
vertical movement of the stylus makes it possible to study the structure of 
the surface atom by atom. The study of surfaces is an important part of 
physics, with particular applications in semiconductor physics, 
microelectronics and chemistry. STM also has been used in the study of DNA 
molecules. About 300 companies worldwide are developing instruments based on 
STM technology. In 1986 Binning and Rohrer shared half of the Nobel Prize in 
physics for their work on the scanning tunnelling microscope. (Half of that 
award went to Ernst Ruska for designing the first electron microscope.) 
Gerber was instrumental in the building of the microscope.  
--  Social and Economic Innovation, Microcredit: Muhammed Yunus, a former 
economics professor from Bangladesh, is the founder and managing director of 
Grameen Bank. Yunus realized that poor women in small villages could work 
their way out of poverty if they had access to small amounts of credit. He 
began lending small sums of money, eventually creating Grameen Bank. The 
bank's mission is to lend money to the poorest of the poor in the 
countryside. Typical customers are women who borrow about $30 without 
signing legally binding documents acknowledging their debt. Although each is 
responsible for her own loan repayment, they join a group with other 
borrowers who provide peer-support and encouragement. This relationship is 
based upon relationship and trust; the result: a loan repayment rate of 98%. 
Grameen Bank currently operates 1,256 branches providing credit to more than 
3.7 million poor people in more than 45,000 villages in Bangladesh. The 
microcredit model has been emulated in 50 countries around the world, 
including the United States, where in the 1980s then-governor Bill Clinton 
approached Yunus to apply the approach in Arkansas.  

    The day long celebration of innovation, sponsored by Scottish 
Development International, Strategos, Dow Corning and Burson-Marsteller and 
developed in cooperation with Mosaic Media Partners, opens with an 
Innovation Summit aimed at exploring how the process of innovation itself is 
changing. The convergence of sparkling guest speakers, this year's winners, 
and the writers of The Economist Technology Quarterly create a platform to 
share ideas, learn from others, and create new knowledge to further the 
potential of innovation.

    Notes to Editor:

    About Economist Conferences

    Economist Conferences is a leading provider of highly interactive 
meetings -- including industry conferences, management events and government 
roundtables -- for senior executives seeking new insights into important 
strategic issues. Participants exchange views and compare experiences with 
other decision-makers and with specialist speakers from relevant fields. 
www.economistconferences.com

    About Scottish Development International

    Scottish Development International is a joint venture between the 
Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise. Its vision is to fully integrate 
Scotland's international economic development activities. Under the umbrella 
of 'Smart Successful Scotland,' the new strategy to make Scotland a key 
economic player in the 21st century, comes 'The Global Connections' 
strategy, reflecting the radical changes needed for Scotland to prosper in 
the new age of the knowledge economy. For more information on Scottish 
Development International, please visit the web site at 
www.scottishdevelopmentinternational.com.

    About Strategos

    Strategos helps companies meet the competitive challenges of a nonlinear 
world by embedding strategy and innovation into the core of an organization. 
We work closely with our clients to renew core business concepts, illuminate 
competencies, challenge processes, and inspire people.
    Founded in 1995, Strategos is the world's leading group of strategy 
consultants -- recognized for ground-breaking ideas about strategic 
innovation. We serve major client companies in diverse industries and in all 
parts of the world. We've successfully worked with over 100 organizations.

    About Burson-Marsteller

    Burson-Marsteller (www.bm.com), established in 1953, is a leading global 
public relations and communications counseling firm. It provides its clients 
with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public 
relations, public affairs, advertising and other communications services. 
The firm has 72 offices in 32 countries, linking more than 1,600 
professionals in a seamless global network and unified culture. In 1979, the 
firm joined the Young & Rubicam family of companies, which in October 2000 
was acquired by WPP Group plc, one of the world's leading communications 
services groups.

    About Mosaic Media Partners

    Mosaic Media Partners LLC (www.mosaicmediapartners.com) provides 
outsourced media services with a focus on content, marketing and sponsorship 
sales. The company, based in California and New York, works with media 
companies, associations and business marketers to develop content-rich 
event, print, and online media programs. It also provides media sales and 
marketing services. In addition to The Economist, clients include the Great 
Place to Work Institute, Wired, Federal Computer Week, Advanstar's 
Technology Group, Thomas Publishing, Thomson Financial, the Western Payments 
Alliance, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and RSA Security.


    --30--MC/sf*

    CONTACT: Burson-Marsteller for Economist Conferences
             Laura Evenson, 415-591-4037 
             Laura_Evenson en sfo.bm.com

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NETWORKING
    SOURCE: The Economist


-- 
Diego Saravia 
dsa en unsa.edu.ar