Inducement Prizes -- Best known for the Ansari X Prize, the DARPA Grand Challenge and the Clay Mathematics Millennium Problems, inducement prizes have a long history, but their recent successes have led to increased government interest, viz. challenge.gov, and resulted in the development of vaccines, thanks in large part to the work of Michael Kremer.^* [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Jan 6, 2011 - 8 comments

Awards can't feed the hungry. (via, with supporting links)
posted by divabat on Jun 21, 2009 - 17 comments

Best designed stuff of '06. The Industrial Design Excellence Awards. Winners include the 2 second tent, a new coffin and the hover creeper. Want more design? See what shaking in ecodesign, gadgetry, or concept cars. Perhaps you just want to know what's cool or what those crafty Germans are up to. Then again, maybe it's all just too much to handle.
posted by cubby on Jul 2, 2006 - 22 comments

The 2005 Adobe Design Achievement Awards , which "celebrate student achievement that reflects the powerful convergence of technology and creative arts." You can also browse past winners from 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001 [via]...
posted by tpl1212 on Jul 26, 2005 - 9 comments

The Chrysler Design Awards include Susan Kare. "Her bitmap wrist watch, travel-destination city fonts, lit bomb icon that signals a computer crash (“they told me it would almost never be seen ”) and smiling, welcoming Mac start-up screen helped re-envision the computer from machine to co-creator." -- "almost never be seen" -- heheheh. Well -- at least it's got more wit than a blue screen of death.
posted by fpatrick on Oct 30, 2001 - 11 comments