The 2021 winners for the Edison awards for innovation were announced in April 2021. There were some amazing entries across a wide ranging sector of categories.
The winners include Hybrid Electric Airplane by Ampaire for the Aerospace Flight technologies and Hypori Virtual Mobility by Hypori, LLC for the Commercial Technology category. There are numerous categories and they are published here: https://edisonawards.com/winners2021.php
The Edison Awards are given out every year to those who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of science, technology, business and community service. Originally established in 1987, the Edison Awards honor and recognize some of the greatest creative leaders and innovative products in the industry and is probably the highest prestigious accolade honoring innovation, creativity, and product and service excellence in the industry. These awards are often referred to as the Edison Prize because it was founded by a man named Thomas Edison, an American manufacturer and inventor. Each year, the award is given out in the category of “Innovations – Changing The World” and each year the winners receive great publicity in the press, television, radio, and online in addition to the usual honorations and gifts. Some of the past winners of the Edison Awards have been well-known people such as Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and actor Will Smith.
One of the current Innovators of the Century, J. Stephen Lanning who authored the book “How To Win Friends And Influence People” is also a recipient of the 2021 Edison Awards. Mr. Lanning’s book has been called, “The Overlooked genius: How To Win Friends and Influence People”, which is well worth a read. The book discusses everything there is to know about the 21st century innovation and new product and service developments that will shape our future. In his book, Mr. Lanning advocates for an “insider’s open mind” approach to innovation and deals with how large corporations and small innovators can work together to solve problems.
At the current time, the 21st century is ripe with innovative and revolutionary creations in every field, including energy, health care, information technology, manufacturing, transportation, communications, consumer product markets, and consumer and professional service development. The best way to recognize and honor these innovations and their creators is by hosting the yearly Edison Awards. This simple gesture will celebrate not only the ingenuity of great minds, but also the companies and individuals that bring these innovations to light. The awards program was created to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the field of innovation and service development.
The planning process for the awarding of the 21st century Edison Awards was led by Frank Bonafilia, the former CEO of GE. Mr. Bonafilia believes that it is necessary for businesses to look beyond products and services and recognize leadership in areas of industry, product, service, public relations, community development and social responsibility. Mr. Bonafilia stated, “The new innovations and technological advances in the field of science and engineering are so important that they demand a special forum to be named after them. The Edison Awards will provide such a forum for business leaders, executives and innovators to recognize one another.”
The Edison Awards is a tribute to the vision and leadership of executives and innovators who have contributed to society through innovations and scientific breakthroughs. The idea for the awards came to Frank Bonafilia when he noticed that there were few programs that recognized extraordinary achievement in underrepresented talent. Mr. Bonafilia believes that it is important for underrepresented individuals to be recognized for their extraordinary contributions and not for the product or service that they create. The Edison Awards was launched with the mission of providing a platform for underrepresented people in the arts and sciences to be showcased. The idea behind the awards is to provide an extraordinary platform for underrepresented talent to be recognized for the innovations, creativity and innovation that they contribute to society. Mr. Bonafilia hopes that the achievements of the awardees will inspire and motivate other underrepresented individuals and inspire others to become proactive in eliminating cultural, economic and social barriers to excellence.
The Edison Awards honors remarkable achievement in business leadership, product and service innovation, scientific innovation and creative innovation. The awards are presented at the annual Edison Conference, an internationally recognized industry event. The conference provides a forum for entrepreneurs, manufacturers, investors, media, educational institutions, government agencies and special interest groups to share information and engage in workshops to develop new strategies for business and industry leadership, product and service innovation and creative innovation. The conference is organized by The Conference, Inc. The main sponsors of the annual conference are: The American Association of Business Leaders, The Boston Society, The Business Technology Association, The Center for Technology Education, The Dow Chemical Company, The Edison Foundation and The Boston Society.