Edison Awards Newsletter
EDISON AWARDS / Issue #10                                                                               July 3, 2013

Happy Independence Day!

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We would like to wish you a very happy and enjoyable 4th of July!  It's said that Thomas Edison claimed that Independence Day was his favorite holiday and that while at his summer home in Florida, he would dedicate the entire day to his children, waking them up early in the morning to set off fireworks.  While we can't corroborate the story, we share the enthusiastic embrace of the occasion and hope that you will spend the time with friends and family celebrating your country with friends and family. 

Will You Be Ready?
Call for Nominations Opens Soon

The call for nominations for the 2014 Edison Awards will begin on September 1, 2013.  If you and your team are planning to submit an entry, it's not too soon to start preparing.

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Although the official 2014 Nomination Form has not yet been released, use this handy worksheet to help you develop your responses to the four Key Criteria.  Many past nominees have told us that preparing to submit their nomination was a beneficial exercise, helping their team members to effectively tell the story of their innovation.

3D Printer to the Rescue

duck  

When Buttercup the Duck was born, his left food was unfortunately turned backwards, making getting around a tough job.  Because of Buttercup's constant cuts and infections as a result of the deformed foot, the folks at the Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington, TN quickly realized that something had to be done.  Enter NovaCopy, a 3D printing company, which agreed to donate its services to help the duck walk again.  Using photos of the left foot of Buttercup's sister, they designed a brand new left foot for Buttercup.   More

Join Our
"Innovation Chats"
Thursdays, 3pm CDT  
    
Follow us on Twitter, and set your calendar for every Thursday at 3:00pm CDT, when Edison Awards' Social Media Manager, Matt Hensler, will host an online Innovation Chat.
 
Each week, the Chat will feature some well-recognized experts from the innovation community, sharing their thoughts, answering your questions and offering tips.



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Jacobs Foundation Gives $20 Million

to UC Berkeley College of Engineering

 

During a live webcast of the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting in Chicago earlier this month, Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm and 2013 recipient of the Edison Achievement Award, announced a $20 million gift to UC Berkeley.

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Paul Jacobs, Ph.D. 

The $20 million gift from the Paul and Stacy Jacobs Foundation enables UC Berkeley to start planning the institute's educational activities, which focus on immersing design throughout the engineering curriculum.  

 

The campus will also begin planning a facility with studios and workshops where students can design and fabricate advanced technologies and test their potential for marketplace adoption.

 

Former President Bill Clinton invited Jacobs to the CGI America stage to highlight UC Berkeley's design innovation initiative, citing its importance in advancing U.S. competitiveness.  More 

The Rotary's Future Vision Plan

Proud 2013 Edison Award Winner

 

Now this is how it's done.  When the Rotary International's Rotary Foundation won a Silver Edison Award for its Future Vision Plan last April, the organization wanted to be sure the spread the word and acknowledge those responsible for the accomplishment.  An announcement went out to all of their worldwide staff, congratulating them for their win. 
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A global press release was issued and a news story appeared on the front page of the organization's website in nine official Rotary languages.  That same week, the Chairman of the Rotary Foundation, Wilf Wilkinson, announced the Edison Award win at a meeting of 500 representatives of Rotary districts worldwide, including Rotary's Board and Trustees.  The following week, the staff team working on the project gathered for a team photo with the Award (above).

The Award has since traveled to the Rotary office in Pune, India for a group photo with the IT team that helped build the new online grant application process in partnership with Smart Simple.
   

We congratulate the members of the Rotary International and Rotary Foundation, and the many fine individuals who were involved in building the Future Vision Plan and carrying out its critical mission. Learn more about the important work of the Foundation.

The 12 Best Designs of the Last 100 Years

 

mac In conjunction with the annual celebration of World Industrial Design Day (June 29, 2013), the folks at CNNTech asked some of the world's greatest designers to nominate what they believe to be the most iconic industrial designs from the last 100 years. 

 

And to mark the event, CNN spoke to Gianfranco Zaccai, CEO of global design and innovation consultancy Continuum.  In this related interview, Zaccai shares what he believes are the three most important principles of good product design:  Empathy, Pragmatism and Passion.  More.

Maker Faire Detroit

Hosted by The Henry Ford

 

On July 27 and 28, The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Mich., in collaboration with its partners at Maker Media, will be the place to visit when Maker Faire Detroit returns to The Henry Ford for two days of unconventional ingenuity, unbridled creativity and a whole lot of forward thinking.

maker faire  

Maker Faire is an award winning, family-friendly event celebrating technology, education, science, arts, crafts, engineering, food, sustainability, and more. Maker Faire has become part of pop-culture, a place for experiential marketing, debuting new technologies and inventions, and celebrating geekdom.   More

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