The primary goal of the World Technology Network is "encouraging serendipity" by "serving as a cross between a global meeting ground, a virtual think-tank, and a community." "The  Network, in the words of its organizers, is "a catalyst... for new ideas, new relationships, and new opportunities, oriented around the variety of emerging technologies such as information and communications technology, new materials, new energy and new space technologies, and biotechnology, which are having and which soon will have such enormous impact on business
and society."

As a member of the network and chair of the policy section of the World Technology Summit, which preceded the awards ceremony, I attended both events.  The award winners are listed below, together with links to additional information about them.  A few pictures from the events are also included with this Tidbit of the Week.

BIOTECHNOLOGY:   Professor Ruedi Aebersold,  Institute for Systems Biology

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY:   Mr. Linus Torvalds, Creator of Linux (more info)

DESIGN:   Mr. Jonathan Ive, Vice President of Industrial Design, Apple Computer (more info)

EDUCATION:  Professor Pedro Hepp, Universidad de la Frontera (Chile)

ENERGY:  Dr. Ashok Gadgil,  Senior Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (California)

ENTERTAINMENT:  Mr. Michael Robertson, CEO, Lindows.com (founder of mp3.com)

ENVIRONMENT:  Mr. Francis E. K. Britton,  Managing Director, EcoPlan International (Paris)

ETHICS:  Professor Ren Zong Qiu, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences  (speech by Qiu)

FINANCE:  Mr. William Hambrecht, Founder, Chairman & CEO, WR Hambrecht + Co.

HEALTH AND MEDICINE:  Professor James Thomson,  University of Wisconsin

IT HARDWARE:  Professor Shuji Nakamura,  University of California, Santa Barbara

IT SOFTWARE:  Mr. Ray Ozzie, Chairman & CEO, Groove Networks

LAW:   Mr. Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Washington, DC

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS:  Mr. Zhang Ruimin, Founder & CEO, Haier

MATERIALS:  Professor Angela Belcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

MEDIA & JOURNALISM:  Mr. Walter Mossberg, Personal Technology Columnist, The Wall Street Journal

POLICY:  Dr. Karl Pister, Chancellor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Cruz

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP:  Mr. Bunker Roy,  Director, The Barefoot College (India)

SPACE:  Professor Roger-Maurice Bonnet,  Directeur-General Adjoint for Science, Centre National Etudes Spatiales (France) (Above link is in French.  Click here for English translation.)

THE ARTS:  Mr. Michael Naimark,  Independent Media Artist and  Researcher, Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences

BIOTECHNOLOGY:  Genencor International

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY:  NTT DoCoMo, Inc.  (Flash - long load!!)

ENERGY:  Toyota  (Prius hybrid vehicle)

ENVIRONMENT:  ALL Species Foundation

FINANCE:  Battery Ventures

HEALTH & MEDICINE:  Advanced Tissue Sciences

IT HARDWARE:  Research in Motion, Ltd.

IT SOFTWARE:  Apple Computer

MATERIALS:  IBM

SPACE:  XM Satellite Radio