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RIA to Present 2015 Engelberger Robotics Awards to Dean Kamen and Raffaello D’Andrea

POSTED 02/06/2015

Dean Kamen to Give Keynote Presentation at Ceremony Set for March 23 in Chicago, Illinois

Ann Arbor, MI – The robotics industry’s highest honor, the Engelberger Robotics Award, will be presented to Dean Kamen and Raffaello D’Andrea at a special ceremony on Monday, March 23, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The ceremony is held in conjunction with the Automate 2015 Show and Conference and the 46th International Symposium on Robotics (ISR 2015).

The awards, named after the worldwide “father of robotics,” Joseph F. Engelberger, are presented annually by the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group. Each recipient will receive a special plaque, commemorative medallion and a $5,000 honorarium. Beginning with the initial presentation in 1977, 121 industry leaders from 17 nations have now been selected for this honor.

“We are privileged to continue the tradition of honoring Mr. Engelberger by adding two well deserving individuals to this renowned list of people that have made a great impact on the robotics industry,” said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA. “This year’s award winners transformed the robotics industry through their innovative accomplishments. We’re honored to present the Engelberger awards to Dean Kamen and Raffaello D’Andrea and recognize their achievements in robotics.”

Dean Kamen will be awarded the 2015 Engelberger Award for Leadership. Kamen is an inventor, entrepreneur, and tireless advocate for science and technology. His roles as inventor and advocate are intertwined—his own passion for technology and its practical uses has driven his personal determination to spread the word about technology's virtues and by so doing to change the culture of the United States.

One of Dean's most extraordinary accomplishments is founding FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use and enjoy science and technology. The FIRST® Robotics competitions have inspired many current robotics developers, users and researchers.

As an inventor, Kamen holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices that have expanded the frontiers of health care worldwide. Other notable developments include the HydroflexTM surgical irrigation pump for C.R. Bard, the CrownTM stent, an improvement to the original Palmaz-Schatz stent, for Johnson & Johnson, the iBOTTM mobility device, and the Segway® Human Transporter.

Dean Kamen will be giving a keynote presentation at the Engelberger Awards Ceremony, held at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry on Monday, March 23, 2015 at 6:30pm. Attendees will also receive a “hard hat” tour of the museum’s new robotics exhibit that opens in Spring 2015, slated to be one of the most impressive in the world!

Raffaello D’Andrea will be awarded the 2015 Engelberger Award for Technology. Spanning academics, business and the arts, Raffaello D'Andrea's career is built on his ability to bridge theory and practice. He currently is Professor of Dynamic Systems and Control at ETH Zurich, where his research redefines what autonomous systems are capable of.

D’Andrea’s past career accomplishments include co-founding Kiva Systems (acquired by Amazon in 2012), a robotics company that revolutionized material handling by deploying thousands of autonomous mobile robots in warehouses. He was the faculty advisor and system architect of the Cornell Robot Soccer Team, four time world champions at the international RoboCup competition. He recently founded Verity Studios, a company developing a new breed of interactive and autonomous flying machines.

To purchase tickets for the 2015 Engelberger Awards Dinner, please register here.

For more details about the award, click here.

About Robotic Industries Association (RIA)
Founded in 1974, RIA is a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to improving the regional, national and global competitiveness of the North American manufacturing and service sectors through promotion and enhancement of robotics and related automation. RIA represents over 345 robot manufacturers, system integrators, component suppliers, end users, consulting firms, research groups, and educational institutions. The association hosts a number of events including the International Collaborative Robots Workshop, the National Robot Safety Conference, the A3 Business Forum (February 3-5, 2015 in Orlando, FL) and the biennial Automate Show & Conference (March 23-26, 2015 in Chicago). RIA also provides quarterly robotics statistics and has a content-rich website, Robotics Online. For more details on RIA, visit Robotics Online or call 734/994-6088.

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)
The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, and Motion Control Association (MCA). RIA, AIA, and MCA combined represent over 800 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward. For more information, please visit our websites: A3; RIA; AIA; MCA.