Prize Competition Carrots Could Spark Nano Innovation

August 13, 2008

You've heard of the X Prize competitions, right? $10 mill to the first team who can develop a plane for space or a 100 mpg car. We may soon have one for nanotech. According to an article in Small Times, congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and congressman (R-MO) Todd Akin have introduced H.R. 6661, which if passed, could establish a Nanotechnology Innovation and Prize Competition Act.

The bill's one-liner: "To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish an award program to honor achievements in nanotechnology, and for other purposes."

The financial prize amount has not yet been established, but the bill identifies five areas of application for which someone could win:

environment
alternative energy
human health
nanoelectronics
consumer products

Previous X prizes have accelerated innovation, created jobs and stimulated the economy not to mention the excitement surrounding a particular area of science. I think the new wave of offering a prize puts inventiveness under a new light. Instead of those at the top of an organization laying out a mandate, it encourages solutions from the bottom. Here's the carrot, you do what it takes to get there. I love it.

Photo: Digital Vision