InventorSpot

A few days ago The History Channel announced the winners of their 2007 Modern Marvels contest. Here are portions of the press release:

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The History Channel(R) and Invent Now(R) Inc., a division of the National Inventors Hall of Fame(R) Foundation, announced on May 11, 2007 the Finalists and Grand Prize Winner - the top inventions of 2007 - in the second annual Modern Marvels Invent Now(R) Challenge, a national competition in search of America's next great inventor. The Challenge, which is named in part for Modern Marvels(R), the long-running series on The History Channel that celebrates ingenuity, imagination and invention brought to life, named Michael Sykes' Enertia(R) Building System the 2007 Modern Marvel of the Year.

The Enertia(R) Building System uses a patented process to increase the latent heat storage capabilities of wood materials. The system also uses milled wooden blocks to eliminate the many materials and labor-intensive steps of house wall construction, replacing them with simple screwed-into-place units. The result is an attractive house of renewable material that heats and cools itself with free, natural clean energy. The competition also named Kim W. Bertron's SimpleShot as First-Prize Winner, Dan Didrick's X-Finger as Second-Prize Winner, Christine Ingemi's iHearSafe Earbuds as Third-Prize Winner and David T. Krausman's DeSat Counter as Fourth-Prize Winner (see below for full profiles of the winner and four finalists).

The Enertia Building System and the four other Finalists were chosen by the Challenge's impressive panel of inventors and industry experts out of nearly 2,500 submissions from inventors representing 17 states. The esteemed panel, which included the inventor of the personal computer and co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak, The New York Times technology journalist David Pogue, The History Channel executive producer Mike Stiller, TIME Magazine editor Jeremy Caplan, Sharper Image senior vice president of engineering & technology Andrew Parker, Invention & Technology Magazine editor Fred Allen and PC Magazine executive editor Stephanie Chang, chose these five inventions for being true modern marvels and because of their potential to make significant impacts in their fields.

The Grand Prize Winner, Michael Sykes, will receive a $25,000 prize, and his invention along with the inventions of the other four Finalists will be featured during Modern Marvels Invent Now(R) Week on The History Channel May 15 - 17, which will also include Modern Marvels premiere episodes 60's Tech and It Came from Outer Space. Check your local listings for times.

The second Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge, which kicked off in the fall of 2006, announced its 25 Semi-Finalists in March 2007. After taking the inventions of the Semi-Finalists on the road to science and technology museums in San Jose, Saint Louis and Orlando, The Challenge hosted all 25 Semi- Finalists in New York City for the Grand Prize Winner announcement (May 10th). In addition, Semi-Finalists will participate in a two-day Independent Inventors Conference presented by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation and the United States Patent and Trademark Office in New York to help further develop their invention ideas (May 12-13th). The Challenge's exhibit will remain on display in New York City at the Citigroup Center through May 25th.

Viewers can catch Modern Marvels, on The History Channel Wednesdays, starting at 8pm/7c. Log on to http://www.history.com/invent for more information.

Additional information on each of the winners follow on the next page.