Nov. 15, 2004 — The third annual Best of Small Tech Awards is Small Times Magazine’s ultimate annual performance review of the people, products and companies in micro and nanotechnology.
After rigorous evaluation by nearly 30 industry leaders and experts, Small Times editors present 31 winners and runners-up who represent the best work and biggest successes in the categories of product, company business leader, researcher, innovator, advocate and lifetime achievement. Awards are based on accomplishments between Sept. 1, 2003 and Oct. 1, 2004. More details can be found in the November/December issue.
Best of Small Tech Award: Product
The product award winner this year goes to a tool that will help other companies make their products. Imago Scientific Corp.’s Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP) Microscope visualizes individual atomic structures in three dimensions — at a speed of a million atoms per minute.
Runners-up: FEI Company’s NanoLab DualBeam system, PPG Industries’ CeramiClear clear coat finish, Samsung’s Silver Nano coating for appliances, and Wilson Sporting Goods’ nCode nano-enhanced tennis rackets.
Best of Small Tech Award: Company
Molecular Imprints Inc.’s nanoimprint tools are touted as being able to help create integrated circuits with nanoscale features faster and cheaper than currently possible. The company has attracted millions in financial support from many leaders in the semiconductor field, has sold equipment to several of them and has secured public and private funding to develop the supporting systems to break into chip manufacturing.
Runners-up: Catalytic Solutions Inc., Cavendish Kinetics Ltd., Glimmerglass Networks and MEMS Technology Bhd.
Best of Small Tech Award: Business Leader
The business leader succeeded in taking his nanotechnology company public without a mention of nanotech. Immunicon CEO Edward Erickson focused on cancer diagnostics, built a product based on its magnetic nanoparticles and connected with powerful partners. As a result, Immunicon’s IPO was over subscribed and has stayed comfortably above its opening price.
Runners-up: Howard Berke, Konarka Technologies; Randy Levine, ZettaCore Inc.; Norman Schumaker, Molecular Imprints Inc.; and Donn Tice, Nano-Tex.
Best of Small Tech Award: Researcher
The researcher award winner David Liu is putting DNA to work to make new chemicals and chemical reactions at Harvard University. He has co-founded Ensemble Discovery Corp. to commercialize his DNA-based chemistry for pharmaceutical uses.
Runners-up: Hermann Gaub, University of Munich; Naomi Halas, Rice University; John Rogers, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Jennifer West, Rice University.
Best of Small Tech Awards: Innovator
Stanford University’s Calvin Quate captured top honors this year as the Best of Small Tech Innovator for his work with MEMS techniques that could eventually provide microscopes that are faster and capable of imaging larger areas. Quate was co-developer of the atomic force microscope, a critical tool for small tech.
Runners-up: Mark Miles, Iridigm Display Corp.; Thomas Rueckes, Nantero Inc.; Andrew Turberfield, University of Oxford; and Cees van Rijn, Aquamarijn Micro Filtration BV.
Best of Small Tech Awards: Advocate
As the director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, advocate award winner Clayton Teague has earned a solid reputation of staking out nanotechnology’s middle ground. And during this tumultuous year, Teague has served as the voice of reason on controversial nanotech subjects.
Runners-up: Joe Brown, SUSS MicroTec; Roy Doumani, California NanoSystems Institute; LaMar Hill, Albany NanoTech; and Sean Murdock, NanoBusiness Alliance.
Best of Small Tech Awards: Lifetime Achievement
Go to the movies, turn on a TV or head to your neighborhood bar and you may be watching our lifetime achievement award winner’s accomplishments. Texas Instruments inventor and Emmy winner Larry Hornbeck’s digital micromirror device led to the creation of TI’s Digital Light Processing (DLP) system. The DLP system makes high quality images for projection onto cinema screens, televisions, home theater systems and business projectors.