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Arizona Technology Council Announces Winners of
Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards
Arizona’s highest honors for technology innovation awarded November 13, 2008
at the Dodge Theatre in ceremony emceed by Author and TV personality Jane Poynter
PHOENIX, Ariz., – November 13, 2008 — The Arizona Technology Council in partnership with the Arizona Department of Commerce and in conjunction with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, today announced the winners for the 2008 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards (GCOI). In a prestigious ceremony emceed by author and TV personality Jane Poynter, the winners represented companies, individuals and academic organizations that demonstrated excellence
in innovative technological advancement.
“The quality and diversity of this year’s award recipients is a positive indication that technological innovation in both large established and emerging small companies is thriving in Arizona,” said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. “We congratulate all of the winners and thank them for their work, commitment and contributions to Arizona’s technology sector.”
The winners were selected by a committee independent of the Council and chaired by Alaina G. Levine, director of Special Projects at The University of Arizona, College of Science. The winners in their respective categories are:
Lifetime Achievement Award:
• Paolo Soleri, internationally recognized architect, artist, and philosopher, in recognition for his lifetime contributions in addressing Arizona’s issues of sustainability and the environment.
Chairman's Award:
• Quinn Williams, a shareholder at the Phoenix office of the law firm Greenberg Traurig. Quinn has represented successful public and private corporations, entrepreneurs, and investment funds for more than 20 years. He is recognized as a leading figure in Arizona and the southwest in venture capital, and private equity financings for fast growth businesses.
Individual Award Winners:
• William F. McWhortor Community Service Leader of the Year: Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare. Dr. Von Hoff has devoted a lifetime toward advancing the understanding and treatment of cancer. He shared the vision for the establishment of a premier center for the application of the understanding of the human genome to the treatment of diseases which later became the Translational Genomics Institute (TGen) in downtown Phoenix.
• Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year: Jeff Morhet, InNexus Biotechnology Inc. Mr. Morhet has built not only a drug development company located at the Mayo Clinic Collaborative Research Building in Scottsdale, but a team of world-class leaders with a mission of creating, discovering and advancing patient treatments to and through the complicated approval process of the FDA.
Company Award Winners:
• Pioneering Innovation: Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems (ACSS). ACSS develops high-tech avionics that make flying safer. Since its inception in 2000, ACSS’s corporate citizenship and community involvement has been led by a grass-roots employee team. The team supports local programs in the areas of health and human services, the environment and its primary mission, educational programs for youth.
• Green Innovator of the Year (NEW): Trilogy by Shea Homes. At Trilogy, all of the more than the 1,000 homes that will be sold this year, including 250 in Arizona, are being built to Shea Green Certified standards. This certification has been validated by a third party and delivers homes that reduce energy and water usage by 20 percent and reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent.
• Innovator of the Year - Start-Up Company: Flypaper Studios, Inc. Flypaper Studios is a technology innovator focused on revolutionizing the way people sell and communicate on the Web. Flypaper’s goal is to provide user-friendly solutions that allow mere mortals to easily create, share and track Flash quality, interactive presentations and other rich media content - without requiring any programming skills.
• Innovator of the Year - Small Company: Succeed Corporation. The company’s iBuilder® software platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners facilitates e-commerce and on-line auction management. Unlike other offerings, it is a complete end-to-end solution that streamlines all the on-line services and solutions they need into a unified, seamless platform. The iBuilder platform allows them to have data flow freely through the entire e-business
cycle.
• Innovator of the Year - Large Company: Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS). RMS is working with a number of small businesses and universities in Arizona to develop intellectual property (IP) and associated patents. For example, RMS has teamed with The University of Arizona & Carnegie Mellon University to design, build, fly and operate a robotic lunar lander. These types of collaborative arrangements will generate IP for Arizona and create even
more job opportunities.
• Innovator of the Year – Academia: The University of Arizona, Phoenix Mars Mission. The first mission to explore the northern polar region of Mars and the first NASA mission to Mars led by a public university. Phoenix is the first mission to “touch” water on Mars and confirm that the ice layer comprising 25 percent of the planet’s surface is in fact H2O.
Young Innovator of the Year Award Winners:
• The "Best of the Best" of the Arizona Engineering and Science Fairs (grades 9-12) for the year 2007. Each of these students will receive a $1000 scholarship to further enhance their education: Steven Fan, Tucson High Magnet School; Shemonti Hasan, Hamilton High School; Adrian Laurenzi, Tucson High Magnet School; Smitha Ramakrishna, Corono del Sol High School.
Teacher of the Year Award Winner:
• Kenneth Zeigler, Eagle Point School. As far as Science teacher Ken Zeigler is concerned, incarcerated boys have every right to reach for the stars, so Mr. Zeigler has taught them to do just that. In the "Stars Behind Bars" program at Eagle Point School, Mr. Zeigler teaches Earth and Space Science and encourages youth to set and achieve goals.
Tech Ten Awards:
• The honor is given in recognition of Arizona legislative members who have demonstrated outstanding support for protecting and advancing Arizona as a top-tier technology state. These legislators are: Arizona State Senate: Tom O’Halleran (R-1); Richard Miranda (D-13) and Timothy S. Bee (R-30). Arizona House of Representatives: Lucy Mason (R-1); Bill Konopnicki (R-5); Chad Campbell (D-14); Kyrsten Sinema (D-15); Kirk Adams (R-19); John McComish (R-20); and Jonathon Paton (R-30)
• In addition, Arizona legislators Michele Reagan (R-8) was named as “Representative of the Year” and Barbara Leff (R-11) as “Senator of the Year”.
About the Governor’s Celebration of Innovation
The Governor’s Celebration of Innovation was established in 2003 by combining two technology award ceremonies: the High Tech Industry Cluster’s 17-year Innovator of the Year awards ceremony and the Arizona Software and Internet Association’s 10-year “Celebration of Innovation.” With the addition of the Governor’s support, the Governor’s Celebration of Innovation has become the premier technology community gathering of its kind in Arizona. For more information on GCOI, please visit
http://www.aztechcouncil.org.
About the Arizona Technology Council
The Arizona Technology Council is a private, not- for-profit trade association founded to connect, represent and support the state's expanding technology industry. To promote economic growth and professional development in Arizona's technology sector, the Council provides members networking opportunities, business support and access to educational forums. The Council strives to distinguish Arizona as a leader in the technology community and offer resources that are exclusive to its members. To become a member
or to learn more about the Arizona Technology Council, please visit http://www.aztechcouncil.org.
About the Arizona Department of Commerce
Collaborating with economic development partners statewide, the Arizona Department of Commerce works to create jobs, expand the tax base, increase per capita income and promote a globally competitive business environment. The agency provides reliable information and research, community assistance, targeted business attraction and development coupled with strategic workforce development. Nationally and internationally, the Department of Commerce promotes Arizona assets: a growing, high-tech workforce; competitive
operating environment; easy access to major markets; affordable, available real estate; reliable utilities; abundant natural resources and an unmatched quality of life. For more information, visit www.azcommerce.com.