Patricia Panchak IndustryWeek editorinchief

Help Select the Most Meaningful Innovation of the Past 75 Years

May 13, 2013

Find details and see how you can participate in the IRI TechTournament, sponsored by IndustryWeek, which will select the most meaningful innovation of the past 75 years.

Patricia Panchak Blog

IndustryWeek is delighted to be the exclusive media partner of the Industrial Research Institute's TechTournament, which will be held as part of the organization's 75th anniversary. The goal: to have you help us identify the most meaningful innovation of the past 75 years.

IRI member organizations can download the complete Tech Tournament Guidelines Packet and begin preparing an entry for submission between June 1, 2013, and September 30, 2013.

Entries should highlight an innovation (you can submit a short video [30 seconds to 2 minutes] or a photo with a short description), that meets the criteria in one of the following categories:

Product and service innovations: Enter into this category an innovation that significantly improved existing or created new products and/or services, e.g., the bottle cap.
Business innovations: Submissions in this category will describe how an existing technology was used to create a new way of doing business, either new for the company or completely new and novel business model, e.g., the Drive-in movie theater.
Innovations that created a new industry: Nominate a product that not only address a latent need, but establish a context for futher developments and innovations, e.g., the Guttenberg press.
Innovations that enhanced a societal good: Innovations that significantly improved social goods, resulting in cleaner air, cleaner water, improved healthcare, reduced injury, improved education, and/or an improved quality of life, should be considered for submission. An example is the development and sharing of the 3-point safety harness for cars in 1959, by Volvo, which is credited for saving an estimated 1 million lives.

Public voting and judging will take place between October 1 and November 19, with the winner announced at the IRI's Future Summit, November 20, in San Jose, Calif.

But it's not too early to get started: Share with a comment to this blog what you think is the most meaningful innovation of the past 75 years.

About the Author

Patricia Panchak Blog | Editor-in-Chief

Focus: Competitiveness & Public Policy

Email: [email protected]

Follow on Twitter: @PPanchakIW

Call 216-931-9252

In her commentary and reporting for IndustryWeek, Editor-in-Chief Patricia Panchak covers world-class manufacturing industry strategies, best practices and public policy issues that affect manufacturers’ competitiveness. She delivers news and analysis—and reports the trends--in tax, trade and labor policy; federal, state and local government agencies and programs; and judicial, executive and legislative actions. As well, she shares case studies about how manufacturing executives can capitalize on the latest best practices to cut costs, boost productivity and increase profits.

As editor, she directs the strategic development of all IW editorial products, including the magazine, IndustryWeek.com, research and information products, and executive conferences.

An award-winning editor, Panchak received the 2004 Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Award for Signed Commentary and helped her staff earn the 2004 Neal Award for Subject-Related Series. She also has earned the American Business Media’s Midwest Award for Editorial Courage and Integrity.

Patricia holds bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and English from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in Journalism from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She lives in Cleveland Hts., Ohio, with her family.