Category Archives: Awards

25 New MacArthur Fellows

25 New MacArthur Fellows Announced
press release
overview of fellows

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 25 new MacArthur Fellows for 2005. Each received a phone call from the Foundation this week informing them that they will be given $500,000 in ‘“no strings attached’ support over the next five years.

I think the fellowships are a great idea: give money to people who have done excellent work. I am not sure of the motivations of the MacArthur Foundation, but if it were me I would trust by providing funds to those people they would (as a group, not every single person) take advantage of those funds to create great advances for all of humanity.

It is great to see examples of those doing work worthy of such high praise. Many of the fellows are scientists and engineers including:

  • Ted Ames – Fisherman fusing the roles of applied scientist and lobsterman to respond to increasing threats to the fishery ecosystem and to suggest needed changes in fisheries management.
  • Lu Chen – Neuroscientist probing the complexities of synaptic transmission in the brain, gaining new insights into the processes of learning and memory.
  • Claire Gmachl – Laser Technologist engineering state-of-the-art lasers for novel applications in environmental monitoring, clinical diagnoses, chemical process control, and homeland security.
  • Michael Walsh – Vehicle Emissions Specialist designing and implementing inventive, cost-effective programs to improve air quality for populations around the globe.

Stanford Students Win $10,000 for Aneurysm Treatment

Stanford students win $10,000 for aneurysm treatment (sigh they removed the page – poor usability):

The students won the first Biomedical Engineering Innovation Design Award conducted by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, an alliance of approximately 200 colleges and universities in the United States established in 1995 to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education.
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The Stanford team designed a porous balloon mechanism, which they named Embolune. To use the new invention, a surgeon navigates the balloon to the site of the aneurysm, where it is detached. A hardening polymer substance is then released into the aneurysm space to create a permanent clot and stifle further growth.

Science and Engineering Fellowships Legislation

Senators will propose legislation to spur innovation from InfoWorld:

John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat with support announced by four other senators will propose legislation that establishes 5,000 science and engineering fellowships, redirects 3 percent of government agency R&D spending to specific areas of research and provides automatic green cards for graduate engineering students, the senators said Wednesday.

And on the same topic, Senators Promise ‘Brain Drain’ Bill:

According to Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), the U.S. is averaging 50,000 engineering graduates a year, with 40 percent of those from overseas. India is averaging 150,000 engineering graduates a year while China is graduating 250,000 engineers every year.

Autonomous Vehicle Technology Competition

DARPA Grand Challenge:

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) today announced the 40 teams selected to advance to the semifinals of the DARPA Grand Challenge 2005 autonomous ground vehicle competition. The teams come from 14 states and Canada and represent varied backgrounds including universities, individuals, corporations, and a high school.
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The team that develops an autonomous ground vehicle that finishes the designated route most quickly within 10 hours will receive $2 million.

Only if a team succeeds will the the money be paid. Last year no team succeeded.