The Tech Awards

The Tech Museum of Innovation is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The Tech—located in the Capital of Silicon Valley —is a non-profit, experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge presented by Cisco, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech Awards presented by Applied Materials, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

The Tech Awards is an international awards program that honors innovators from around the world who are applying technology to benefit humanity.

• The Tech Awards laureates 2013 work impacts people in many countries worldwide.

Intel Environment Award

• Wecyclers – Nigeria – Many households in developing countries lack reliable access to waste management. Low-cost cargo bicycles and an SMS-based incentives platform offering convenient household recycling services in densely populated, low-income neighborhoods. 3,000 households in Lagos, Nigeria, registered for service. [/Recycling also…]

• Antrix Corp./ISRO: Sujala Project – India – More than two-thirds of India’s Karnataka state is drought-prone, resulting in low productivity, degraded natural resources, and poverty. Watershed development through biophysical, technological, and social interventions improve rural socio-economic conditions and productivity of drylands. 1270 villages, 0.35 million households, 12.8 million acres. [/Civil also…]

Microsoft Education Award

• Enova: Learning and Innovation Network – Mexico – 82 million people in Mexico do not have access to computers. Learning and Innovation Network educational centers providing access to information technologies. 70 centers, with more than 350,000 users. [/Education also…]

• Globaloria: Invent. Build. Share. – United States – Lack of high-quality education in computing innovation creates opportunity divides that result in an insufficient pipeline of STEM-ready professionals. K-12 MOOC, with project-based game design and coding courses, professional development, and blended-learning support systems, that is easily integrated into any school or program. 10,000 students, 500 educators and 300 leaders in 8 states and 20 countries, with 85% retention and 95% course completion rates; and ready to scale globally. [/Education also…]

Katherine M. Swanson Young Innovator Award

• OPI: Yo Propongo – Mexico – In Mexico, those without access to the Internet have limited ways to voice their opinions on public policy. Video survey tools that increase participation by all segments. Engaged 80,000 people in previously apathetic communities. [/Artificial%20intelligence also…]

• TOHL (video 6:51) – Chile – Providing access to water in remote areas is expensive. Single segments of pipeline manufactured in lengths of 500 meters to several kilometers are loaded onto spools, which are then deployed by helicopter or truck. Costs reduced, livelihoods preserved, homes protected, and resources conserved. [/Water%20management also…]

Nokia Health Award

• Nazava Water Filters – Indonesia – In Indonesia, 150 million people cannot afford safe drinking water. Easy-to-use household water filters that provide a continued flow of safe drinking water, without wood, propane, or electricity. 1 million people with improved health and an average annual savings of $70/household. [/Water%20purification also…]

• D-Rev: Brilliance – India – Jaundice is a critical neonatal health issue affecting 6.7 million newborns in the developing world. An affordable, state-of-the-art phototherapy device that cures jaundice. In its first 4 months, 170 units have been purchased by hospitals in 4 countries. In 5 years, Brilliance will treat 2 million babies. [/Healthcare also…]

Flextronics Economic Development Award

• Potential Energy (formerly The Darfur Stoves Project) – Sudan – People in camps for refugees and internally displaced persons spend 1/3 of their income on fuelwood, often skipping meals for lack of fuel. An energy-saving metal cookstove adapted for local cooking traditions, and assembled from flat-kits that are easily stockpiled and deployed. In Darfur, 27,000 stoves disseminated, benefiting 162,000 people. [/Benefiting%20society also…]

• Kilimo Salama: Syngenta Foundation – Kenya, Rwanda – Traditional agricultural insurance is too expensive for most farmers. A weather index insurance uses proxies to estimate farm losses while payouts are calculated automatically and sent via mobile phone to a farmer’s “mobile wallet.” No claims, no farm visits. 100,000 insured farmers in Kenya and Rwanda increased annual income by 16% and invested 20% more in their farms than uninsured neighbors. [/Benefiting%20society also…]