The MVP of Engineering

Naming the Most Valuable Player is a revered tradition in many sports. Here at Design News, we also recognize engineering's most valuable players through our Annual Engineering Awards Program.

In this issue, we profile our candidates for the 2004 Engineer of the Year Award, made possible through the longstanding and generous support of The Timken Co.

Past winners of this prestigious award include:

This year, we have nominated an amazing roster of candidates-starting with Mead Killion, an engineer who has spent his entire career helping people hear better. Among his accomplishments is the patented K-Amp circuitry, which amplifies soft sounds better without distorting loud sounds.

We also chose Mike Lazaridis, president and co-CEO of Research in Motion, for his vision for a wireless device that provided instant access to a user's e-mail inbox, which lead to the development of the popular Blackberry device.

Another visionary we singled out is Eric Ridenour. As Chrysler Group's Executive VP of Product Development, he oversaw development of the 2004 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum, 2005 Dodge Dakota, and 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Finally, we've nominated Jim Tighe for heading the engineering effort behind Scaled Composite's recent win of the $10M Ansari X-Prize, a competition to develop the first private, manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 ft twice in two weeks.

Read more about their accomplishments here .

These engineers, who work in fields as diverse as medicine, consumer electronics, aerospace, and automotive have all made their mark on the world through their gifted technical skills, vision, tenacity, and determination.

Please help us honor the engineering profession by voting for the nominee you feel is best qualified to receive the Engineer of the Year Award. The winner that you select will be the subject of the cover story of our March 7, 2005, issue, and will be honored at an event in Chicago in March during the National Manufacturing Week.

To vote, simply go to http://rbi.ims.ca/3859-532.

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