Tech Awards Honors International Innovators Using Technology to Solve Pressing Global Problems

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - September 15, 2015) - The Tech Museum of Innovation announced today that Oakland-based Embrace -- the 2012 Tech Awards laureate that makes a low-cost infant warmer used by more than 150,000 premature babies worldwide -- has been named the second recipient of the Laureate Impact Award sponsored by PayPal. The award honors past Tech Awards laureates who have demonstrated significant progress toward solving a global problem since winning the prize.

Also today, The Tech Awards -- presented by Applied Materials -- announced this year's crop of 10 international laureates using technology to benefit humanity. They include BeeLine Reader of Redwood City, which improves reading fluency and efficiency with a digital tool that guides the eye for online reading; and DayOne Response, based in San Francisco, which offers a lightweight, backpack-sized emergency water purifier system that has provided 7 million liters of clean water to global disaster victims. BeeLine Reader is a laureate in the Microsoft Education Award category, while DayOne is a laureate in the Intel Environment Award category. (See below for the complete list of laureates.)

This year marks the 15th annual gala of The Tech Awards, often referred to as the "Oscars of Silicon Valley." It will take place on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

The Tech Awards laureates now number 287, and many have achieved global success. Since its inception in 2000, the program has awarded laureates $4.35 million in unrestricted cash prizes. The Laureate Impact Award was given for the first time last year, to Sal Khan of the Khan Academy, for transforming the way people learn all around the world.

"Receiving this award is critical in illustrating our mission to fight infant mortality in the developing world," said Alejandra Villalobos, Executive Director of Embrace. "The Tech Awards is synonymous with honoring technology benefiting humanity, and that's why this award is so significant to our greater goal."

Said Tim Ritchie, President and CEO of The Tech: "Embrace exemplifies everything The Tech Awards program, and The Tech itself, stand for. The people of Embrace were moved to save fragile children from harm, and used simple technology in innovative ways to do so. That's the kind of thing that happens when people use technology creatively, boldly and wisely. Avoidable problems get solved, bright futures emerge, suffering is reduced, opportunities arise. We hope that the success of Embrace serves as an encouragement and a challenge to other social entrepreneurs."