Pirelli: Norwegian company wins the eleventh edition of the Internetional Award for the "interactive mobile whiteboard"
PIRELLI: A NORWEGIAN COMPANY WINS THE ELEVENTH EDITION OF THE internet ional award FOR THE "INTERACTIVE MOBILE WHITEBOARD"
The winners of the various categories of the international competition dedicated to the communication of science and technology on the Internet have been selected from approximately a thousand candidates
Rome, 11 May 2007 - Pirelli, as part of the eleventh edition of the Pirelli Internet ional Award ( www.pirelliaward.com ) the first international competition dedicated to science and technology communication managed entirely on the Internet, has awarded the Norwegian start-up "New Index" ( http://www.newindex.no/ ), for its video illustrating their latest invention: the "interactive mobile whiteboard"; a special pen that can write, draw, colour and erase on a whiteboard, equipped with a sensor linked to a videoprojector and a personal computer. The winners received the Top Pirelli Prize, the main award consisting of 25,000 euros and chosen amongst the winners of each category. This project has also been judged best product for multimedia communication in the field of ICT (Information and Communication Technology).
After the international jury's thorough evaluation of approximately one thousand candidatures coming from all over the world, the Pirelli Award for the communication of Physics, worth 15,000 euros, has been awarded to the Chandra X-ray Observatory for "How Chandra Does What It Does" ( http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/podcasts ). This work is the first of a series of video-podcasts that illustrate the missions and results of the space telescope Chandra, in orbit since July 1999 to study X-rays coming from high energy areas of the universe.
The award for Chemistry, has been assigned to "Chemistry Comes Alive!" ( http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/jcesoft/cca/CCA0/SAMPMOVS.HTM ), an archive of about two thousand chemistry video-experiments published by the Journal of Chemical Education Software . This project, that won the 15,000 euro prize, has been developed and produced with a grant from the National Science Foundation and presents itself as an innovative aide toward the teaching of chemistry in schools and universities.
The Pirelli Award for the Mathematics category has been assigned to David Gale of the University of California, Berkeley who presented his "Math Site" ( http://mathsite.math.berkeley.edu/main.html ), a multimedia work that introduces the wider public to theories, applications and mathematical curiosities through experiments and interactive games. This work won a prize of 15,000 euros.
For Life Sciences, the prize of 15,000 euros has been awarded to the University of Cincinnati for "Reproductive Physiology Learning Modules" ( http://www.aitl.uc.edu/itc/ReproPhys/ ), an e-learning system that, utilizing 64 animations, describes the male and female reproductive apparatus. The multimedia product is subdivided into educational units and is introduced by a video that illustrates the various sections.
For the Premio Pirelli per l'Italia ("Pirelli Award for Italy"), reserved for projects authored by Italian nationals, the winner is the publishing house Federico Motta with its multimedia product "La Bussola della conoscenza" ("The compass of knowledge"; http://www.mottaeditore.it/home.php?_idnodo=837 ), which introduces students and primary and secondary grade teachers to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, through a virtual journey that tracks the one originally made in South America by the great British scientist in 1831. The project was awarded a prize of 10,000 euros.
Finally, for its high social value, a Jury's Honourable Mention has been assigned to "PIPS - Personalized Information Platform for Life and Health Services" from the Istituto San Raffaele di Milano, for the multimedia presentation of a project in the field of life sciences, which provides patients with constant medical assistance via new technologies.
The ceremony was held in Rome, within the halls of the Temple of Hadrian (145 A.D.), presented by the TV personality Carlo Massarini with the participation of: Antonio Calabrò, Director of Institutional Affairs and Public Relations for Pirelli; Stefano Rolando, representing UNESCO-BRESCE and Roberto Vacca representing the award's jury.