The Tech Awards Honors the Top International Innovators Using Technology to Benefit Humanity

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - September 14, 2016) - Since 2000, The Tech Awards, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., has honored 287 innovators who have improved the lives of more than 2 billion people through the use of technology. This fall, Silicon Valley's leading awards program will honor the best of the best among this distinguished group of Tech Awards laureates.

The 16th annual Tech Awards, a signature program of The Tech Museum of Innovation, will take place on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, Calif. Often referred to as "the Oscars of Silicon Valley," the gala will include a retrospective on the program's history and will honor seven laureates from the past who have made great strides in solving some of the world's biggest problems.

Among the seven former laureates to be honored at the gala is PATH, an international leader in health innovation, which will be named the third recipient of the prestigious Laureate Impact Award. PATH specializes in vaccines, disease treatment and women and children's health. Since first being honored by The Tech Awards in 2003, the nonprofit has made enormous progress in global health care, reaching more than 150 million people each year.

"PATH will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year and should be an example to anyone who sets out to do good in the world," said Tim Ritchie, president and CEO of The Tech. "PATH never stops looking for new ways to make a difference. Through innovation, partnership and a tireless heart, it has accomplished life-saving advances in health care for those who need them most."

"As a founder of the Tech Awards, Applied Materials is pleased to recognize the incredible contributions of the many laureates over the years," said Gary Dickerson, president and CEO of Applied Materials. "What unites these creative entrepreneurs is their passion to address the world's most pressing challenges through technology. They give hope to those most in need and inspiration to a new generation of Silicon Valley innovators."

This year's six other returning laureates have profoundly improved the lives of impoverished and marginalized people around the world in a variety of ways.

• Angaza is a solar energy nonprofit that is revolutionizing how people pay for clean energy.
• D-Rev has designed and produced medical technology that treated more than 100,000 babies with severe jaundice in 2015.
• Equal Access is a nonprofit that reaches nearly 70 million homes in emerging markets such as Afghanistan and Nepal with educational media content.
• IDE-India invented a low-cost drip irrigation system and foot-powered water pump that have created more than $1.4 billion in additional net income for farmers in India.
• Souktel created a job market platform for basic phones that has grown to more than a million users in 30 emerging markets.
• Source International travels to remote communities around the world that have been negatively affected by mining operations and provides scientific evidence of the damage done to people and the environment.

"If not for The Tech Awards, we would not have gotten our company off the ground," said Lesley Marincola, the founder and CEO of Angaza. "The Tech Awards came at a turning point for Angaza and gave us both the funding we needed to kick off our first large financing round and the international recognition that gave others the confidence to back a young entrepreneur."