http://finance.individual.com/display_news.asp?doc_id=CT2001264p8464&page=news
September 21, 2001 1:30pm
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Sep 21, 2001 /PRNewswire
via COMTEX/ -- Six winners were selected from the nine finalists in the
first annual da Vinci Accessibility Awards developed by ESD The Engineering
Society (ESD) and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) Michigan
Chapter, Inc.
Patricia McDonald, President of the
Michigan Chapter of NMSS, and Lawrence Slimak, Executive Vice President
of ESD, announced results of the judging.
The winners will be honored Sept.
28 at a program called Dinner with da Vinci at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn.
The six winners by category are:
-- Assistive Technology: IBM Home
Page Reader. (A software program enabling visually impaired persons to
surf the web, and send and receive e-mail)
-- Facilities: Donald and Susan Miles
Home. (A private residence in Oakland Township, Michigan, designed to cover
a range of potential disabilities ranging from those associated with the
normal aging process to degenerative disabilities to those requiring assistive
care)
-- Information Technology: iCan.com
. (A Birmingham, Michigan-based web site providing information and a forum
for people with disabilities, developed by Heidi Van Arnem)
-- Materials: Cool Thing Fabric.
(A water-permeable fabric developed by a husband and wife team in Armonk,
New York, to provide cooling for people)
-- Personal Mobility: Michigan State
University's Shaw Lane Crossings. (State-of-the-art pedestrian signals
at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. First application
of the technology outside of California)
-- Vehicular Mobility: GM Mobility
Center. (A process which brings together resources throughout the company
to institutional universal design techniques, enabling widespread information
sharing and fast execution to develop more user friendly vehicles to meet
diverse customer needs)
ESD and NMSS joined forces in this
venture to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges facing
people regardless of their physical ability.
The program was named after da Vinci
because of his efforts to broaden humanity's horizons, which changed the
way people saw the world. The da Vinci awards are designed to honor and
showcase the individuals and companies continuing his work through accessibility
design innovations, which have empowered people, regardless of their physical
ability.
The first annual Dinner with da Vinci
and awards program is sponsored by General Motors Corporation. The collaborative
venture of two seemingly unrelated non-profit organizations is a unique
partnership to bring awareness to the general public of the challenges
individuals with physical disabilities face in their daily lives.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), sponsor
of the Americans with Disabilities Act, is the evening's keynote speaker.
G. Richard Wagoner, Jr., General Motors President and CEO, is Chairman
of the Leadership Committee for the program.
SOURCE:
ESD The Engineering Society
CONTACT: Lee Sechler
of ESD The Engineering Society, +1-248-355-2910, or
URL:
http://www.esd.org
Copyright (C) 2001 PR Newswire
Source: PR Newswire
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