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By LeeMichael McLean, Staff Editor -- Design News, July 17, 2000
Newton, MA —America's top engineering companies are once again joining Design News in recognizing innovation and engineering leadership through the Engineering Awards Program. The program, now entering its fourteenth year, is a major component of the magazine's Engineering Education Foundation (EEF) and aims to recognize America's top innovators—the people who put engineering in the news and keep it on the move with their revolutionary breakthroughs in design.
Engineer of the Year. As in each of the past thirteen years, the Torrington Co. (Torrington, CT) will again lead the way in paying tribute to the single greatest engineering innovator with a $25,000 award for the person voted by Design News readers as Engineer of the Year. The most recent winner selected by readers, Hunter Peckham, developed electrical stimulation devices for restoring motor function to quadriplegics.
"We are proud of our long-term involvement with the Engineer of the Year program," says Allen M. Nixon, group president, The Torrington Co. "This continuing support gives us a unique opportunity to combine the recognition of outstanding individual innovation with practical support for a selected engineering school. This is a visible way to recognize our obligation to the institutions that educate the innovative engineers who are so critical to our company and our society."
Special Achievement Award. Backing the EEF for the eleventh consecutive year, NTN Bearing (Des Plaines, IL) provides a grant of $20,000 to the school designated by the recipient of the Special Achievement Award. Editors select this honoree based on a history of outstanding lifetime achievements in the engineering field. The 2000 recipient, Jeff Hawkins, put the world in everyone's hands with his work on the Palm Pilot and the Visor.
"Our company, and our industry, survive and thrive on the efforts of the design engineer," says George Hammond, President, NTN Bearing Corp. "I am proud to represent NTN in the continuing support for a program that not only recognizes the accomplishments of some of the brightest minds in engineering, but also bolsters educational opportunities for students to pursue one of the most vital career options available in the new millennium."
Engineering Quality Award. The Engineering Quality Award was received this year by Eric Truebenbach for his efforts to revolutionize product development at Teradyne Inc. (Boston, MA). It will be supported for the twelfth year by Schneeberger Inc. (Bedford, MA) with a $20,000 grant designated to the school of the nominee's choice.
"Simply put—the awards program is a great event to look forward to each year," says George Jaffe, executive vice president, Schneeberger Inc. "Engineering quality in product design is a given, especially in today's fiercely competitive marketplace. We depend on our engineering schools to properly train tomorrow's design engineers and Schneeberger's donation is our personal commitment to assist these educational institutions."
Excellence in Design Award. MSC. Software (Los Angeles, CA) will provide three $6,000 technology prizes to the Grand Prize winners of the twenty-first annual Excellence in Design contest. Most recently, Design News honored Michael Everman, of Bell-Everman Inc., for his work on a new class of speedy multi-axis motion control stages; Tom Albrecht, of IBM, for his work on a 340 Mbyte microdrive with a diameter smaller than a half-dollar; and James Brugger, of Vasca Inc., for his accomplishments in resolving blood access complications during cleansing.
"The winners of these awards have all conquered incredible challenges," says Frank Perna, president and CEO, MSC.Software. "Every engineering milestone that these winners eclipse helps redefine their industries. I am proud to associate MSC.Software with all of these award winners and the dedication and innovation that they represent."
Second-place winners in the 2000 Excellence in Design competition will receive an Acoustic Wave stereo system manufactured by Bose Corp.
Edmund Scientific Co. (New York, NY) has again donated four Astroscan 2001 Wide Field Base Telescope packages to be given to the third-place winners.
Global Innovation Award. The program went global last year with the addition of Omron Electronics' (Schaumburg, IL) Global Innovation Award. Grant Albert and a team from Siemens Medical Systems won the $5,000 cash award and $15,000 educational grant for their work with technology that improves the accuracy of clinical nuclear medical imaging.
"Omron is quite proud to be a part of this prestigious awards program, and to sponsor an award that recognizes worldwide achievement," says Frank Newburn, president and COO, Omron Electronics. Our corporate philosophy has been, 'To the machine the work of the machine, to the man the thrill of further creation,' so having the ability to honor an engineer whose designs have had an impact on the global community is something we feel strongly about."
College Design Engineering Award. This year, to widen the field a bit more, Design News has coupled with ANSYS Inc. (Canonsburg, PA) to create the College Design Engineering Award. Because it's not always professors and professionals making waves in the industry, a $10,000 prize will be awarded to the student design team or individual nominated for the greatest engineering achievement in a collegiate setting. Additionally, ANSYS will donate a $10,000 design scholarship to the team's school to further support student accomplishments and education.
"At ANSYS we recognize how important it is to reach out to young men and women planning careers in engineering," says Jim Cashman, president and CEO, ANSYS Inc. "Computer-aided engineering increasingly permeates all engineering disciplines. We helped to develop the College Design Engineering Award to encourage undergraduates to embrace CAE early in their educations. This better prepares them for the challenges of collaborative engineering they are likely to face after graduation."
Awards will be presented at the gala Design News Engineering Awards Banquet, on March 6, 2001, at the Ritz Carlton, Chicago. The event is held in conjunction with the National Design Engineering Show (NDES) at National Manufacturing Week.
"We are honored to be ushering in the fourteenth year for the Awards Program," says Design News Publisher Larry Maloney. "The continuing support of our sponsor companies—amounting to more than one million dollars to date—has afforded recognition where it is best deserved. We hope the program will serve as a thank you and an incentive to those important people whose work each day improves our quality of life."
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