2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge semi-finalists Photo: Bustler.net
If you haven’t had the opportunity to review the semi-finalists for the 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge, now is an ideal time to look, as the winner will be announced this June and be presented with $100,000 in prize money to encourage further development of their work.
The Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI), named after the renowned innovator and designer, formally announced the 21 semi-finalists in March of this year. The winner will be selected by jury at a public ceremony in New York in early June 2011. But until the winner is announced, the work of all semi-finalists is something to behold.
According to BFI, these 21 semi-finalists have undergone a rigorous review. Of 162 entries, those selected to make it this far were vetted up to four times by members of the review team, undergoing extensive analysis and discussion. In-depth interviews were also conducted with the individual or team to understand the technical aspects of the project and its underlying design principles. “It is a very significant achievement to advance to this stage of the selection process”, said BFI executive director Elizabeth Thompson in the March announcement.
Without further ado, here are the semi-finalists and their projects:
- A New Economic Model for transition to a low carbon, high well-being future economy, submitted by New Economic Foundation
- Dreaming New Mexico, submitted by Kenny Ausubel + Peter Warshall + Arty Mangan + Nikki Spangenburg
- Participatory Mapping as a means of protecting forest in the Congo basin, submitted by The Rainforest Foundation UK
- Haiti Onward: Building Sustainable Pathways, submitted by Haiti Onward
- The MicroConsignment Model, submitted by Greg Van Kirk
- Spark MicroGrants, submitted by Sasha Fisher + Neal Lesh + Teddy Svoronos + Moses Unity + Aaron Bukenya
- Educating Entrepreneurs Tool-Kit, submitted by EARTH University
- TARA AKshar+, submitted by George C. Varughese + Col. M.S.Ahluwalia + Irfan Khan + Pushpendra + Pragya Tiwary + Rakesh Khanna + Victor Johnson
- Village Health Promoters: Practitioners as the “Doctors” of their communities, submitted by Marianne Loewe + Curt Wands
- Promoting Health and the Environment through synergy of man and land, Krishna K. Gurung + Lila Thapa Gurung + Rameshor Man Singh
- Maternova: a global marketplace for maternal & neonatal health innovation, submitted by Maternova
- FrontlineSMS, submitted by Ken Banks + Laura Walker Hudson + Alex Anderson + Josh Nesbit + Morgan Belkadi + Ryan Jones + Sarah George
- The Portable Light Project, submitted by The Portable Light Project
- QuaDror Homes, submitted by Dror Benshetrit + Elisabeth Krenkler + Ernst van ter Beek + Alexandra Jenal
- Global Village Construction Set, submitted by Marcin Jakubowski, project leader
- Sanergy, submitted by Ani Vallabhaneni + David Auerbach
- Solar Power Villages, submitted by Jurgen Kleinwachter + Barbara Kovats + Paul Gissler + Nick Winter + Mitra Ardron
- Plant Chicago, submitted by Plant Chicago
- Ecosistema Urbano, sumitted by ecosistema urbano
- Blue Ventures, submitted by Al Harris + Richard Nimmo + Frances Humber + Kathleen Edie + Ben Metz
- FishNET: Protecting Our Oceans, submitted by Shah Selbe + Center for Ocean Solutions
For those wishing to learn more about each project, BFI asks people to visit the Semi-Finalists summary page. It is well worth the investigative time.
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