Popular Science 2010 Invention Awards Now Open For Entries

Remember James Peret? He's pictured here, eating fried fish cooked in the oil that Peret recycles to heat his fish restaurant.  Peret and his invention, the Vegawatt was one of the 10 top winners of the 2009 Popular Science Invention Awards.  Well, now Popular Science is looking for the best 2010 inventions; that's right, PopSci is looking for you!

James Peret, PopSci Invention Winner 2009, stands on his Vegawatt

I'll start out by letting you know, you'd better hurry.  The doors are only open until February 19, 2010!

As always, Popular Science is looking for "game-changing products" that come from the passion of independent inventors... garage inventors is what I call them, those who fiddle for the fun of it, but are serious enough about their ideas to keep developing them.

Here are the guidelines developed by Popular Science:

• Inventions must be physical objects—no processes or concepts.
• There must be a working prototype or something else that demonstrates that the invention actually works.
• Inventions must be the work of independent inventors or small teams; outside funding is fine, but inventions created wholly out of universities or other R&D labs will not be considered.
• Inventions that are intended to become commercial products in the future are acceptable, but they must not already be available for sale.
• Inventions must be something new, not just an incremental improvement on an existing thing.
• Popular Science will not publish an entry online or in print without notifying the inventor first, but we will seek third-party verification of the technology and significance of the invention. All intellectual-property protection is the responsibility of the entrant.
• All entries must be received by February 19, 2010

Send all information to Popular Science by email to inventions@popsci.com.

And good luck to you!  Let us know if you submit your invention.