Old problems, new solutions

FIVE GROUPS HONORED FOR SOCIAL IMPACT

By Matthai Chakko Kuruvila

Mercury News

Harish Hande built a business of bringing cheap solar panels to India's poor. Brian La Trobe brought self-cleaning outhouses to Africa. And Vicente Vérez-Bencomo led a team that designed synthetic bacteria to develop a flu vaccine used to inoculate thousands of Cuban children.

Their projects were among five that won Tech Museum Awards Wednesday night at a black-tie gala in downtown San Jose attended by numerous Silicon Valley tech heavyweights and emceed by former 49ers quarterback Steve Young.

The Tech Awards honor the use of technology to solve some of the planet's most basic problems. The winners, each of whom received a $50,000 cash award, were chosen from 25 finalists from around the world.

Young, a board member of The Tech Museum of Innovation for the past five years, told the several hundred in attendance at Parkside Hall adjoining the museum that they were there to celebrate ``the goodness of people and the goodness of people using technology.''

Globalization may deliver millions of cell phones to African outposts, but millions of people there and elsewhere die every year from unclean drinking water. The software engineers and call centers of Bangalore are now integral to the American economy, but a street vendor in that same city in India may be subsisting without an electric light bulb.

``A small input of technology can make wonders in the lives of people,'' said Saeed Ahmed Awan, director of the Centre for the Improvement of Working Conditions and Environment in Lahore, Pakistan.

Awan's group won an award for re-engineering age-old designs for weaving looms. In an industry where 80 percent of the workers are female, and 60 percent are children, the redesigned looms help reduce injuries. They also encourage adults to weave because of the increased earning power of the new looms.

The awards are intended to highlight the way technology can catalyze socially beneficial entrepreneurship. But they are also opportunities for networking.

Ways to connect

From the moment the finalists are announced in August, organizers look for ways to connect the entrepreneurs with potential partners and financial backers, said Michael O'Farrell, vice president of global community relations for Applied Materials, the main sponsor of The Tech Museum Awards.

Whether or not they get funding or find a partner immediately isn't the point, O'Farrell said. Social change takes time.

``They may not conclude business while they're here,'' he said. ``But they've had a chance to meet someone they probably could not have met otherwise.''

One of the winners missed out on the award ceremony and its networking bonanza, however. Vérez-Bencomo, the Cuban who helped develop a flu vaccine, was blocked from coming by the U.S. State Department for reasons it refused to disclose.

The finalists' innovations, displayed Wednesday morning at The Tech Museum of Innovation in downtown San Jose, already are at work in 113 different countries, O'Farrell said.

The Tech Museum Awards also provide a venue for many local foundations and non-profits to seek out new ideas and partners.

``One of the reasons we're here is to make sure we're continuously collaborating,'' said Peggy Gibbs, vice president of business development for Benetech, a Palo Alto non-profit that looks for ways technology can help solve the problems of disadvantaged communities. Benetech is a past finalist for the Tech Museum Awards.

Ruth Norris, program officer for the Skoll Foundation, created by former eBay co-founder Jeff Skoll, said the awards have a benefit beyond rewarding specific projects.

``It's not just the work of social entrepreneurs, site by site by site,'' Norris said. ``It's also the synergy that happens when they come together.''

Remote change

While many of the projects involve people working within their communities, change is also possible remotely.

MIT OpenCourseWare, another winner Wednesday, was honored for democratizing learning. Roughly 70 percent of the Cambridge, Mass., university's professors post their syllabuses, curricula and lecture notes for anyone around the globe to access online.

The project's Web site, http://ocw.mit.edu, had about 1 million visits in October from around the world, particularly from China and India.

``The big vision is that all this knowledge would be available to everyone -- not just those who can afford it,'' said OpenCourseWare executive director Anne Margulies.

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To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, the Mercury News discloses when people associated with the newspaper are involved in news stories. The Mercury News and Knight Ridder, along with several other companies, are sponsors of The Tech Museum Awards. Tony Ridder, chief executive of Knight Ridder, parent company of the Mercury News, is a board member of The Tech Museum of Innovation and is a member of the awards executive committee. Contact Matthai Chakko Kuruvila at mkuruvila@mercury news.com or (408) 920-2722.

URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13129912.htm


TECH AWARDS

Accenture Economic Development Award

Winner: SELCO Solar Light, India

Problem: More than 2 billion people worldwide lack reliable access to electricity.

Solution: SELCO provides solar-based electricity to households and businesses.

Intel Environment Award

Winner: Enviro Options, South Africa

Problem: Half of the world's population lacks access to fresh water or a sanitation system.

Solution: Outhouses in which waste is processed with naturally growing aerobic bacteria, the sun and wind.

Microsoft Education Award

Winner: MIT OpenCourseWare, United States

Problem: High-quality educational materials are available only to those who can afford to attend good universities.

Solution: MIT OpenCourseWare makes faculty course materials available on the Web, free of charge.

Agilent Technologies Foundation Health Award

Winner: Hib Vaccine Team, Cuba and Canada

Problem: Haemophilus influenza type b kills more than 500,000 infants every year.

Solution: The Hib Vaccine Team developed the first vaccine containing an antigen produced by chemical synthesis.

Knight Ridder Equality Award

Winner: Centre for the Improvement of Working Conditions & Environment, Pakistan

Problem: Carpet weaving is labor intensive work done mostly by women and children.

Solution: The Centre developed a loom that improves family incomes and helps free children to attend school.

URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13129940.htm