INSPIRED BY GOOGLE, PHILADELPHIA AWARDS $10,000 GIGABIT TECHNOLOGY PRIZE TO RADIOLOGY AND REMOTE SCHOOLING PROJECTS
PHILADELPHIA, PA – September 30, 2010 – Technology leaders representing the City of Philadelphia have announced the winners of the $10,000 Gigabit Genius Grant.
The grant was created and funded by Philadelphia’s startup and technology communities to encourage gigabit innovation worldwide. It was awarded by a panel of expert judges selected by the city government’s Division of Technology. The judges were instructed to choose the most promising projects from anywhere in the world.
Most of the prize, $7,500, was awarded to a team from Baltimore who will develop teleradiology technology that will enable specialists to transmit and review radiology scans in real-time, making the experience identical whether the specialists are in the next room or the next continent.
The remainder of the prize, $2,500, was awarded to Israeli entrepreneur Daniel Dobroszklanka for a remote education project that would enable students anywhere in the world to participate in a world-class live classroom experience.
The winning projects were chosen from among 20 finalists by a panel of expert judges drawn from Philadelphia’s technology, civic, academic and entrepreneurial leadership.
The projects were chosen for their potential to transform lives using ultra-high speed Internet connectivity known as gigabit. Gigabit technology would make the Internet up to 100 times faster than it is today, a difference in speed similar to the transition from dial-up modems to broadband Internet connections.
The Gigabit Genius Grant was created with a $5,000 donation from Philly Startup Leaders and matching donations from dozens of Philadelphia organizations and individuals.
The grant was inspired by Google’s Fiber for Communities project, in which the Internet giant promised to install an experiment gigabit network in one U.S. city. Philadelphia nicknamed this network Gigabit City and campaigned to become Google’s test city.
Google has yet to name its gigabit city and Philadelphia’s leadership remains determined to be a gigabit leader.
“The Gigabit Genius Grant is just one example of Philadelphia’s commitment to gigabit innovation and our determination to work with talented people around the world to foster gigabit adoption,” said Allan Frank, the City of Philadelphia’s Chief Technology Officer.
“Philadelphia has the strongest grassroots technology and startup community in the U.S. and maybe in the world,” said Bill Green, a Philadelphia City Councilman involved with the project. “Communities like ours are where innovation really happens. It just takes the right tools – in this case, a gigabit network – so that these brilliant technologists can put their imaginations and ingenuity to work.”
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For more information:
Blake Jennelle
Founder, Philly Startup Leaders
215-703-8557
info@phillystartupleaders.org
Am I reading this right? Phila business organizations raised $10,000 to give to people in Baltimore and Israel?
Yes that’s right. The Philly community raised money to spark gigabit innovation around the world.
I have to wonder what Philly thinks they will get with their money since the grants are so tiny.
We hoped to see more gigabit conversation around the world and in that sense we’ve gotten our money’s worth already. For these two projects, our grants are just enough to encourage the entrepreneurs to start them. Now that they’ve made the decision to start their projects, they’ll need to secure larger funding.
Congratulations to everybody involved – sponsors, contributors and to the well deserved winners of the $10,000 Gigabit Genius Grant!!
I like the way that Philly thought globally on this. Good stuff!
[...] morning, Philly Startup Leaders announced the two winners of its Gigabit Genius Grant, a contest put together by several businesses and organizations in the region. The bulk of the [...]
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