From left: Tina Seelig, Dave Barbe and Martina Musteen.
The NCIIA is delighted to announce the 2008 winners in the Olympus Innovation Award Program: Dr. Tom Byers and Dr. Tina Seelig, Stanford University; Dr. David F. Barbe, University of Maryland; and Dr. Martina Musteen, San Diego State University. The winners received their awards in Dallas, Texas, at the NCIIA 12th Annual Meeting.
"At Olympus, we understand the value and power of innovation, since it is at the core of every new technology we pioneer," stated F. Mark Gumz, president and chief operating officer of Olympus America Inc. "We are proud of the continuing success of the Innovation Awards as they recognize innovation in U.S. academia, which will foster the next generation of business leaders."
"Every year, we are amazed at how the programs and innovators that comprise the award candidates continue to get stronger," said NCIIA executive director Phil Weilerstein. "We had an excellent selection of candidates this year, and the winners had unique programs that demonstrated the tremendous impact they had on their students and universities, as well as their academic peers."
Stanford professors Tom Byers and Tina Seelig, co-founders of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), which encourages top engineering and science schools worldwide to include entrepreneurship as part of their curricula, won the Olympus Innovation Award. This award recognizes faculty who foster an environment of innovative thinking among students through inventive teaching methods and hands-on opportunities. At STVP, Byers and Seelig also develop and offer courses, conferences, internships and research activities.
Martina Musteen, assistant professor at the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University, received the Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award. This award recognizes an individual who has inspired innovative thinking in students in a discrete area and who, the judges believe, has the potential to make even greater contributions to the field in the future. Musteen was also recognized for giving students the opportunity to work with international entrepreneurial companies to expand their global market opportunities.
David Barbe, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland and executive director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH), won the Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award. This award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated a sustained contribution throughout their careers to stimulating and inspiring innovative thinking in students in their own universities and throughout academia. Barbe has a proven record of leadership in creating one of the leading innovative technology entrepreneurship cultures at a U.S. university, through successful programs such as the university's Hinman CEOs program and its Technology Startup boot camp, both of which have become models that are replicated nationwide, as well as through the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program.
