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Olympus Innovation Awards

Recognizing faculty excellence and innovation in higher education

The Olympus Innovation Awards will not be held in 2012. Following the retirement of its CEO, Mark Gumz, Olympus is restructuring in the Americas. Olympus expressed deep admiration for NCIIA and its members, winners and nominees  – and their vital innovations – supported by our long-standing relationship. NCIIA greatly appreciates Olympus's long-term commitment to recognizing faculty excellence and innovation in higher education. Olympus hopes to continue the relationship and renew its support of NCIIA initiatives in the future.
 

 

2011 Olympus Innovation Award Winners

 

The winners of the 7th Annual Olympus Innovation Awards were announced Friday, March 25, at the awards luncheon at Open 2011, the NCIIA's 15th Annual Conference.

The winners are:

  • Amy Smith from MIT wins the Olympus Innovation Award ($10,000)
  • Dr. Ashok Gadgil from University of California, Berkeley wins the Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award ($2,500) 
  • Dr. Soumyadipta Acharya from Johns Hopkins University wins the Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award ($1,000)

 

Amy Smith accepts her award:

 

Dr. Ashok Gadgil accepts his award:

 

More about the 2011 Awards

See the press release.

The Olympus Innovation Awards are an opportunity to recognize faculty and staff from NCIIA member institutions who have fostered or demonstrated innovative thinking in education.

  • The Olympus Innovation Award ($10,000) recognizes the work of an outstanding faculty member in invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship education
  • The Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award ($2,500) recognizes the sustained contributions of an outstanding faculty member who has devoted his or her career to innovative education
  • The Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award ($1,000) recognizes the work of a faculty member who, early in his or her career, shows outstanding leadership promise in the field of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship education

Previous winners are not eligible for re-nomination, nor are NCIIA board members, staff or families of staff. However, if you were nominated in the past but not selected, we encourage you to apply again. Several past winners were nominated more than once!


2012 Olympus Innovation Awards ceremony

The awards will be announced and presented to the winners at Open 2012 in San Francisco, on March 23, 2012.

 

 

 

Amy Smith, a recognized leader in the field of appropriate technology design, is the 2011 Olympus Innovation Award winner. Amy has been rewarded previously with both a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2004 and as one of TIME Magazine’s most influential people in the April 2010 TIME 100 issue.

She is cited for her conceptualization and creation of D-Lab, a program fostering the creation and dissemination of inexpensive technologies to solve problems in developing countries. In D-Lab, students learn about international development and appropriate technology and work with community partners in the field to test and refine the technology to ensure it becomes a sustainable solution.

 

 

 

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