Flashlight Finalists in Modern Marvels Invent Now® Challenge
The History Channel® Press Release (excerpted)FlashlightNews.org - 05/25/2006
NEW YORK, NY. - The History Channel® and Invent Now® Inc., a subsidiary of the National Inventors Hall of Fame® Foundation, announced today the eagerly awaited finalists and grand prize winner of the Modern Marvels Invent Now® Challenge, a national competition which began its search for America's next great inventor in October 2005. The Challenge, which is named in part for Modern Marvels®, The History Channel's long- running signature series that showcases the nation's passion for ingenuity and innovation, named David R. Ward's Strawjet the 2006 Modern Marvel of the Year. The Strawjet is a breakthrough process in creating building material from straw, providing low-cost panels from an existing and untapped resource that will not only establish a new form of shelter but also preserve the environment. The competition also named Dr. David L. Cull (Hemoaccess Valve System), Kristin A. Hrabar (Illuminated Nutdriver), Dr. Sundaresan Jayaraman (Wearable Motherboard) and Robert C. Kelly (Resc-hue Lite Line) as finalists.
The Strawjet and the four other finalists were chosen by the Challenge's panel of famed inventors and experts out of nearly 4,300 submissions from inventors ages 8 to 80 and representing all 50 states. The panel, which included experts such as Steve Wozniak, the inventor of the personal computer and co-founder of Apple, chose these four finalists and winner because of their potential to make a dramatic global impact and for being true modern marvels.
The top five inventors of 2006 were revealed at an awards ceremony on May 24th at the site of the Challenge's interactive exhibit in Vanderbilt Hall, which is open to the public May 22-26th. The grand prize winner, David R. Ward, will receive a $25,000 grant, and his invention along with the inventions of the other four finalists will be featured during Modern Marvels®: Great Inventions Week on The History Channel (May 24-27th) at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST, which will include premiere episodes on the inventions of Benjamin Franklin and '80s Tech among others.
"At the heart of this competition lies a deep desire to support today's everyday inventors whose breakthrough ideas are real-life modern marvels," said Judy Klein-Frimer, Co-Creator of the Challenge for The History Channel. "These finalists and grand prize winner were chosen because their inventions are going to make a significant global impact on the way we live, just like the inventors of our past who we profile on Modern Marvels."
The Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge, which launched in the fall of 2005, announced its 25 semi-finalists in March 2006. After taking the inventions of the semi-finalists on the road in April and May to Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, The History Channel, National Inventors Hall of Fame and TIME Magazine hosted all 25 semi-finalists in New York City for the grand prize winner announcement (May 24th) and a one-day invention seminar to help further develop their invention ideas (May 25th). The Challenge's traveling exhibit will remain on display in New York City at Grand Central Terminal through Friday, May 26th and culminate at the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, OH where it will be on display through September 2006.
Viewers can catch the highly successful series, Modern Marvels, on The History Channel Wednesdays, starting at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CST. Log on to http://www.History.com/invent for more information on the 2006 Modern Marvel of the Year and the finalists and semi-finalists of the Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge.
Flashlight Entries (2 of 5 Finalists)Resc-hue Lite Line -- Robert C. Kelly, Firefighter Captain, Burlingame, CA
The Resc-hue Lite Line is a battery operated durable, waterproof and fire resistant flexible light used as a "safety line" by anyone wishing for illuminated guidance in a low light environment. Based on electroluminescence principals, the light line gives 360 degree illumination and supports up to 10,000 pounds. The Resc-hue Lite Line has multiple applications, including providing lighted guidance to firefighters finding their way out of a burning building, lighting the path for campers or underwater divers and providing guidance during military operations and rescue missions. The significance of this invention is that it can bring calm and reassurance in turbulent situations, such as a collapsed building filled with smoke and darkness. The light can also send sound and communication, and even tell rescuers if something has gone wrong behind them.
Illuminated Nutdriver -- Kristin A. Hrabar, Retail, Aberdeen, NJ
The Illuminated Nutdriver is a new nutdriver hand tool that uses two forms of light to assist the user in dark places, avoiding the need to hold both the tool and a flashlight at the same time. Two LCD lamps are used to surround the outside of the tool to light the work area while a laser lamp sends light straight through the center of the fully hollow nutdriver shafts. The Illuminated Nutdriver uses a composite material for the tool shafts, making the tool safe for use around live electricity and computers. While the nutdriver hand tool has been around for a long time, using the two lights sources inside the tool's handle and using composite material for the tool shafts make this a totally new tool.