[OLYMPUS]
   Sunday, May 18, 2008

Olympus Innovation Award

Olympus Innovation Award 2008 Winners (.doc)

Olympus Innovation Award Backgrounder 2008 (.doc)

Olympus Innovation Award Press Release 2008

2008 Olympus Innovation Award Winners




Olympus today announced the 2008 winners in the Olympus Innovation Award Program: Tom Byers, Ph.D. and Tina Seelig, Ph.D., Stanford University; David F. Barbe, Ph.D., University of Maryland; and Martina Musteen, Ph.D., San Diego State University. The Program recognizes individuals who have fostered and demonstrated innovative thinking in education. The winners received their awards at the 12th Annual Meeting of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), Olympus' partner in conducting the program. (Pictured L-R Seelig, Barbe and Musteen. Byers not pictured.)



Tina Seelig, co-founder of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University, co-winner of the 2008 Olympus Innovation Award.

David F. Barbe, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland and executive director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH), winner of the 2008 Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award.

Martina Musteen, assistant professor at the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University, received the 2008 Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award.




2007 Olympus Innovation Award Winners




Burt Swersey, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), winner of the 2007 Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award, and George Steares, vice president emeritus, Olympus America (left). Swersey is a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at RPI. The Olympus Innovation Award Program, conducted annually by Olympus and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), recognizes individuals who have fostered and demonstrated innovative thinking in higher education.



Burt Swersey (right), lecturer, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), is the winner of the 2007 Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award. John Blackburn (left), RPI alumnus ’05, is president of BullEx Digital Safety, a company that has developed a novel clean-burning, safe and effective fire extinguisher training system. The invention was sparked in one of Swersey’s engineering courses, designed to promote innovation and give students hands-on experience in developing commercially viable products. Photo Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/ Kris Qua


Dr. Deborah Streeter, Cornell University (right), winner of the 2007 Olympus Innovation Award, and George Steares, vice president emeritus, Olympus America (left). Dr. Streeter is the Bruce F. Failing, professor of personal enterprise, in Cornell’s Department of Applied Economics and Management. The Olympus Innovation Award Program, conducted annually by Olympus and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), recognizes individuals who have fostered and demonstrated innovative thinking in higher education.


Bill Grant, University of California, Santa Barbara (right), winner of the 2007 Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award, and George Steares, vice president emeritus, Olympus America (left). Grant is program manager of the Technology Management Program at UC Santa Barbara’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Engineering Management. The Olympus Innovation Award Program, conducted annually by Olympus and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), recognizes individuals who have fostered and demonstrated innovative thinking in higher education.