TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION WINNERS 2007

Wall Street Journal - Sep 24, 2007

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GOLD

Novartis/Speedel, Switzerland
• Tekturna, a drug that controls hypertension by blocking an enzyme that can trigger the condition.

SILVER

Aqua Sciences, U.S.
• Method for pulling drinking water from the air, even in the driest parts of the world.

BRONZE

Joost, Luxembourg
• Free online video service that delivers full-length, full-screen TV programming over the Internet.

HONORABLE MENTION

Electronic Learning Products, U.S.
• Tune in to Reading, software that helps students boost their reading skills.

COMPUTING SYSTEMS

NComputing, U.S.
• Low-cost method of sharing a standard PC with as many as 30 users.

Runner-up

Zonbu, U.S.
• Low-cost, energy-efficient PC that offers online backup of files and 20 preloaded software programs.

ENERGY

Firefly Energy, U.S. (Co-Winner)
• Power supply that replaces the heavy lead plates in vehicle batteries with a carbon-graphite foam. The result is smaller and lighter, yet can deliver as much power as more advanced and more costly technologies.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. (Co-Winner)
• Process that uses highly compressed sound waves to convert natural gas to a liquid.

ENVIRONMENT

Aqua Sciences, U.S.
• Method for pulling drinking water from the air, even in the driest parts of the world.

Runners-up

Xerox, U.S.
• Technology that prints “temporary” documents that erase themselves, allowing the paper to be used again and again.
Peletex, U.S.
• Aqueous-Froth Air filter, which captures airborne pollutants and contaminants.
LG Electronics, South Korea
• LG SteamWasher, which incorporates steam technology into the wash cycle, saving both water and energy.
Red Button Design, U.K.
• The Reverse Osmosis Sanitation System, a unit that transports, stores and purifies water. The device is aimed at parts of the developing world that do not have clean water.
Imprinting Foundation, U.S.
• Land imprinting, a technique for reversing land desertification. Land imprinters wedge one-foot-square, V-shaped depressions into degraded soil. Seeds and water are funneled to the bottom of the imprint so that plants can grow.
EnerTech Environmental, U.S.
• The SlurryCarb process, which produces a renewable fuel from biosolids such as sewage sludge and other high-moisture feedstocks.

MATERIALS AND OTHER BASE TECHNOLOGIES

Alis, a U.S. unit of Carl Zeiss SMT AG of Germany
• A nanoscale microscope using helium ions that promises a significantly improved resolution over more widely used electron microscopes.

MEDIA/BROADCASTING

Joost, Luxembourg
• Free online video service that delivers full-length, full-screen TV programming over the Internet.

MEDICAL/BIOTECH

Novartis/Speedel, Switzerland
• Tekturna, a drug that controls hypertension by blocking an enzyme that can trigger the condition.

Runners-up

Genaco Biomedical Products, a U.S. unit of Qiagen of the Netherlands
• Technology for identifying infectious organisms using a single test.
Shire, U.K./U.S.
• Elaprase, a treatment for Hunter syndrome, a rare and fatal disease caused by the body’s failure to make a critical enzyme. Elaprase replaces the enzyme that patients are born without. Among the results are a reduction in the swelling of the liver and the spleen.
Abbott Laboratories, U.S.
• Humira, a self-injectable treatment for Crohn’s disease, which is an incurable inflammatory gastrointestinal disease.
Schering-Plough, U.S.
• Noxafil, a treatment for lifethreatening invasive fungal infections.

MEDICAL DEVICES

SeQual Technologies, U.S.
• The Eclipse, a portable system that provides concentrated oxygen for medical patients. The 17-pound unit enables patients to travel freely outside their homes and can operate from rechargeable batteries or external power sources.

Runners-up

Fonar, U.S.
• The Upright MRI, which allows improved medical imaging. A baby can be scanned sitting on the lap of its mother, eliminating sedation.
Kyphon, U.S. Dr. James Zucherman of St. Mary’s Medical Center, San Francisco
• X-Stop, a titanium device implanted to treat the symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the passages for the spinal cord and nerves.

NETWORK/INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES

Tellme Networks, U.S.
• Mobile-search technology that enables phone users to get business listings and other information using only voice commands. Tellme’s mobile service delivers visual results that can be browsed through for the right listing.

NETWORK SECURITY

PGP, U.S.
• System for managing all the different computer encryption programs that a company might use.

SEMICONDUCTORS

Bioident Technologies, a U.S. unit of Nanoident Technologies, Austria (Co-Winner)
• The PhotonicLab platform, which makes it possible to test liquid samples, such as contaminated water, on the spot without sending them to a lab for analysis.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. (Co-Winner)
• A super-fast chip that lets a camera capture extremely short-lived phenomena, such as an explosion’s shock wave.

Runners-up

Advanced Liquid Logic, U.S.
• Digital microfluidics, a lab-on-achip technology based on direct, programmable manipulation of droplets using electrical fields. The technology changes the way liquids are tested and removes the need for pumps, valves and pipes.
Discera, U.S.
• Tiny silicon resonators for the frequency and timing-control markets. These devices can replace quartz timing components used in most consumer and military electronic devices.

SOFTWARE

Electronic Learning Products, U.S.
• Tune in to Reading, software that helps students boost their reading skills.

Runner-up

VoiceBox Technologies, U.S.
• Voice-recognition technology for use with computers, mobile devices and in the car.

TRANSPORT

Siemens, Germany
• Electronic wedge brake, a “brakeby- wire” system for automobiles. The technology uses the wheel’s own kinetic energy to help bring it to a stop, reducing the amount of force necessary to apply to the brake. It also promises faster braking times and shorter braking distances.

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