Want to Give Back?

We Invite You to Get Involved 

Together with our Partners, USA Today and Discovery Education, we at the Edison Universe are looking for a few visionary companies to join this important initiative as co-creators, collaborators, sponsors, champions and benefactors.  Beyond the resources of time and money, we are looking for committed partners who have a keen interest in education, a passionate interest in innovation and an obsessive concern for the future. A number of opportunities we would like you to support include:

Innovation Learning Lab - part mobile learning center, immersive prototyping laboratory, part story-telling vehicle, part artifact museum focused on the history AND future story of curiosity, discovery and achievement.

Young Edison - Edison's innovations are attributed to a middle aged or older Edison, yet his biggest successes came before the age of 40. This is that story.

The Innovation Box - a discovery, prototyping exercise, and inspirational tool which leverages play, investigation, invention and innovation methodologies with a kind of "Apollo 13" urgency.

"Genesis of Next" - the story of discovery and innovation - a film, TV series and/or series of learning modules focused on where great ideas and sustainable innovations come from...on how people really create and innovate, not merely on how they implement ideas.

Innovation Internships - the "field trip" reimagined, repurposed and redefined as an engaging, interactive, virtual or physical work experience and collaboration.

Redefining the Classroom - a lecture series, program or conference at the intersection of technology, teaching and learning for administrators, teachers, parents, students and business.

Innovation's core competencies - from collaboration and empathy abilities, to pattern recognition, prototyping and ideation skills, this new innovation curriculum identifies new competencies and ways they can be taught, learned and assessed.

If you or your company are interested to partner with us to bring these ideas to fruition, we would love to hear from you.  Please contact Tom Stat or Frank Bonafilia (Edison Awards' executive diirector) for more information about how you can be a part of this exciting new direction.

Say Hello to Tom Stat

The name Tom Stat may not be familiar to you -- not yet, anyway.  But you'll surely be hearing about him (or possibly even from him) in the coming months.  

Tom is active in the world of innovation and design thinking as a senior consultant, thought leader, teacher, writer, speaker and company board member. 

Tom Stat is the Executive Director of the Edison Universe, a new, non-profit organization, designed to be a sister to the Edison Awards. At the same time, he's also taken on the concurrent responsibilities of chairperson and chief spokesperson for the Edison Awards, which will be celebrating its 25th year in 2012.

Prior to transitioning out of his active role with the firm earlier this year, Tom was a member of the senior leadership team at IDEO, considered by many to be the world's most influential design and innovation consultancy. At IDEO, he contributed to a wide variety of innovation consulting engagements, managed a number of key client relationships and helped to direct business development efforts across all IDEO practice areas.  Tom was involved in a wide range of innovation initiatives for IDEO clients including Motorola, Chrysler, 3M, Starbucks, Eli Lilly, McDonalds, American Express, American Greetings, W.W. Grainger, Walgreens, AT&T and Bayer, to name but a few. 

"I wanted to have time to focus on some of my personal passions and other professional interests," said Tom.  "My involvement with the Edison Awards as a member of its Steering Committee over the past few years has allowed me to see its success and growth first-hand, and I'm excited to help build the Edison Awards brand and reach AND be at the helm of building the new Edison Universe," he continued.

In addition to spending his several days a week on EA and EU business, Tom is a frequent lecturer at Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management and Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering, The Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, The University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, and at a variety of global industry and company-sponsored conferences. He is on faculty with Northwestern University's nationally recognized and award winning program called "NUvention" which brings medical, law, engineering and business graduate students together to identify, design and develop medical, health and wellness innovations. He also holds a number of key board positions with Chicago-based organizations.

"We're delighted that Tom has made the decision to lend his considerable energy and intellect in such a major way to the Edison Awards," says Edison Awards' executive director Frank Bonafilia.  "Tom has an incredible mind and he never stops thinking about ways to stimulate innovation, and the new Edison Universe will be the perfect springboard for Edison Award-winning companies to give back by fostering future innovators at the K-12 level."

What People Are Saying

"Being selected as an Edison Award winner validates our drive to develop an all-new transportation solution," said Tony Posawatz, Chevrolet Volt vehicle line director. 

"Innovation has been at the heart of the Volt from its onset; from the development of the li-ion battery to the drive unit and the driver connectivity."