ACS to Continue Sponsorship of Eureka Prize for ICT Innovation

Friday 16 August 2002 - The Australian Computer Society has committed to providing on-going support for the Information category of the national Eureka Prizes after the success of the inaugural ICT-related award this week.

ACS National President Richard Hogg presented the $10,000 Australian Computer Society Eureka Prize for ICT Innovation on Wednesday night to Professor Alex Zelinsky for his Seeing Machines device that detects driver tiredness levels.

Although the Eureka Prizes have existed since 1990, this year was the first to include the category of ICT Innovation with the ACS as inaugural sponsor of the Prize.

Mr Hogg said the ACS welcomed the opportunity to be associated with the Eureka Prizes, not only for their prestige, but for the way they recognised Australia's leading scientists and thinkers across a range of fields of endeavour.

"The Eureka Prizes are Australia's most prominent and widely-recognised scientific awards and we are delighted to have been instrumental in introducing an ICT category in 2002. We congratulate all this year's winners' particularly the young achievers like the two schoolgirls who received awards this year," he said.

The winner of the inaugural ICT Innovation award, Professor Zelinsky, began developing his Facelab product with students at ANU back in 1996 and attracted financial support from Volvo after realising the potential of the technology.

Already, major car manufacturers including DaimlerChrysler, Nissan and Toyota have expressed interest in building the device into their high-end vehicles.

ACS Chief Executive, Dennis Furini, was one of four senior ACS representatives who formed the judging panel for the ICT Innovation Prize.

"The standard of entries was very high, particularly amongst the three finalists, but the judges were unanimous in awarding the prize to Professor Zelinsky. We wish him well in his future endeavours," he said.

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/160802.htm

ENDS

About the Australian Computer Society: The ACS is the recognised association for information technology (IT) professionals, attracting a large and active membership from all levels of the IT industry and providing a wide range of services to its 16,000+ members. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the public voice of the IT profession and the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the IT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of IT. See the ACS Home Page for more information.

Media Enquiries:

Richard Hogg, ACS National President, Tel: (0408) 549 531, Email: richard_hogg@acslink.net.au

Caroline New, PR Consultant, Tel: (02) 9555 1986 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au