The Conrad Foundation, a non-profit science-education and entrepreneurship advocacy organization, today announced that it has opened registration for the 2010 Spirit of Innovation Awards. This competition challenges teams of high school students to create innovative products in four categories: aerospace exploration, space nutrition, renewable energy and green schools. Competing students will be guided through a phased pathway incorporating science, technology, design, marketing and business in an interdisciplinary, project-based product development experience. Teams will be provided the opportunity to meet with and learn from professional scientists and entrepreneurs who will advise them on how to commercialize their products for general market use. Awards are provided to the schools, teachers, and students for the top product designs. Teams and their coaches will compete for more than $100,000 in prize money, opportunities to present their products to world level leaders in business and industry, an opportunity to become a Pete Conrad Scholar, and annual memberships to the Conrad Foundation and its official partners, including Sigma Xi, the science and engineering research society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
“The Conrad Foundation is poised for another successful year for the Spirit of Innovation Awards as we work to bring the tools for success to a new generation of innovators,” said Nancy Conrad, Founder of the Conrad Foundation. “We are bridging the gap between the greatest minds of today and the brightest minds of tomorrow, and together our teams of innovators are designing the future.”
Registration for the 2010 Spirit of Innovation Awards begins today, and will remain open until December 15, 2009 when all team submissions are due. The Spirit of Innovation Summit and Final Competition will take place on April 8 – April 12, 2010 at the NASA – Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. During this event teams are introduced to leaders in business, industry, science, technology and work in a collaborative, peer-to-peer environment to refine their product concepts. Selected teams are invited to participate in the Conrad Portal and are offered the opportunity to commercialize their products. Recommendations and consultation on interdisciplinary educational pathways and product commercialization will be provided by the Conrad Foundation’s official advisory partners: AIAA (Aerospace), Sigma Xi (Science) and NSTA (Education).
For more information about the Conrad Foundation or for official rules of the Spirit of Innovation Awards, visit: http://www.conradawards.com.
About The Conrad Foundation
The Conrad Foundation is a non-profit organization built upon astronaut Charles “Pete” Conrad’s history of innovation and entrepreneurship. Pete’s legacy continues through the Foundation’s rich programs that combine education and entrepreneurship in a revolutionary model of competition. By providing students with the tools, resources and opportunities to innovate in science and technology, we connect the most creative students with real-world entrepreneurial ventures. The Spirit of Innovation Awards challenges students to create product concepts in specific fields of interest that can be taken to the commercial marketplace. For more information, visit www.conradawards.org.
About AIAA
AIAA is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. With more than 35,000 individual members worldwide, and 90 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org.
About Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is the international honor society for research scientists and engineers, with more than 500 chapters in North America and around the world. Over the years, more than 200 Sigma Xi members have won the Nobel Prize. In addition to publishing American Scientist magazine, the society sponsors a variety of programs that support and promote science and engineering education, research ethics, the public understanding of science and the health of the research enterprise. For more information, visit: www.sigmaxi.org.
About NSTA
The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), www.nsta.org, is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA’s current membership includes more than 60,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.
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