AeA Orange County/Inland Empire Council Announces
2007 High-Tech Innovation Award Winners
Award recognizes the top contributors to local innovation and global competition

Newport Beach, CA (May 11, 2007)  – The AeA Orange County and Inland Empire Council congratulates the winners of the 14th Annual High-Tech Innovation Awards. The winners were announced on May 10, 2007 at a sold-out dinner and awards ceremony that drew nearly 600 luminaries from local high-tech companies, financial and government institutions, as well as academic leaders, educators, students, investors and media affiliates.

“AeA congratulates all winners and finalists for an unprecedented year of technology innovation,” said Tim Jemal, executive director of the AeA Orange County/Inland Empire Council. “We look forward to seeing continual advancements by our local companies and educators.”

The theme of the awards, “The Race to Innovate,” focused on the global competitive challenges facing America today. Key Southern California leaders and decision-makers contributed to that theme by offering their opinions and solutions in a video produced for the event.

In conjunction with Project Tomorrow, AeA Orange County and Inland Empire Council recognized educators and students for their innovative use of math, science and technology in the classroom and the community.

“Project Tomorrow extends its congratulations to all the winners of the 14th Annual High-Tech Innovation Awards,” said Julie Evans, chief executive officer for Project Tomorrow. “In addition, we would like to thank our sponsor Emulex for helping to extend the reach of the Innovation in Education awards program. For the first time, we awarded a college scholarship to the Emerging Student Innovator.”

The High-Tech Innovation Awards featured City of Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, as Master of Ceremonies as well as an engaging keynote address from Ed Coleman, chief executive officer, Gateway Inc. Presenters included Ron Buschur, chief executive officer, Powerwave Technologies; Steven Joe, chief executive officer, D-Link Systems; Jim McCluney, chief executive officer, Emulex Corporation and Mike Morhaime, president, Blizzard Entertainment.

Congratulations to Orange County and Inland Empire’s innovators:

Greg Ross Community Service
Stephen LaCount, principal, LaCount Law

High-Impact Person of the Year
Gary Augusta, president and chief executive officer, OCTANe

Outstanding Medical Device Company
SenoRx

Outstanding Private Company
HireRight, Inc.

Outstanding Private Company CEO
Michael Hajeck, chief executive officer, SiliconSystems Inc.

Outstanding Public Company
The TriZetto Group

Outstanding Public Company CEO
Mike Mussallem, chief executive officer, Edwards Lifesciences

Outstanding Woman in Technology
Karen Evensen, vice president of engineering, EADS North America Defense Test & Services

Project Tomorrow: District Leadership in Science, Math and Technology
Dr. Theresa Daem, superintendent, Laguna Beach Unified School District

Project Tomorrow: Emerging Student Innovator
Marshall Thomas, Laguna Beach High School, Laguna Beach Unified School District

Project Tomorrow: High Impact Teacher in Science, Math and Technology
Holly Steele, Beechwood School, Fullerton School District

Project Tomorrow: Innovative School Program in Science, Math and Technology
Jerry Halpin, principal, Global IT Academy, Brea Olinda High School, Brea Olinda Unified School District

Computer Peripherals
Kofax-Intelligent Capture & Exchange Suite

Computer Storage
Emulex-VMPilot
Kingston Technology-DataTraveler Secure (DTS)

Consumer Hardware
D-Link Systems Inc.-DPH-540 Wi-Fi Phone

Consumer Software
SRS Labs-Audio Sandbox™ (SAS)

Innovation Design
Jayco Interface Technology, Inc.-Switch Bezel

Instructional Technology
MIND Institute- ST Math™ software

Internet
Memeo, Inc.- AutoBackup

Medical Devices
I-Flow-SilverSoaker Catheter

Semiconductors
Axiom Microdevices Inc.- AX502 Device

Software
Integrien Corporation
The Return Exchange-Return Rewards
 

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About AeA
AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association with 2,500 member companies representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit http://www.aeanet.org.

About Project Tomorrow
Project Tomorrow is the nation’s leading education nonprofit group focused on preparing today’s students to be tomorrow’s innovators through science, math and technology education. In collaboration with the AeA Orange County and Inland Empire Council, Project Tomorrow has developed a new Innovation Initiative to better leverage K-12 education for regional and national economic competitiveness. Information on Project Tomorrow can be found at www.tomorrow.org.

This page was last updated on 05/20/07.