“Minds” Net Real Award (NAPSA)—The engineers responsible for creating the Inter- net and inventing the pacemaker have won the 2001 Charles Stark Draper Prize and the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, engineer- ing’s highest honors. The awards were presented by the National Academy of Engineering. Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock and Lawrence Roberts share the $500,000 Draper Prize for their individual efforts in developing the Internet. “For more than 150 million users worldwide, the Internet has changed the way people communicate, conduct business, and access information,” said William. A. Wulf, president, National Academy of Engineering. “It is an achievement that deservedly joins the ranks of previous Draper Prize honors, such as the semiconductor microchip, the jet engine, satellite technology, andfiber optics.” Earl Bakken and Wilson Greatbatch received the $500,000 Russ Prize, for their invention of the first human heart pacemaker. “Each year, more than 400,000 pacemakers are implanted, extend- ing and enhancing the quality of life of patients,” said Robert M. Nerem, director, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, and chair of the Russ Prize selection committee. “Pacemakers help 2.5 million people worldwide, with Americans toppingthelist.” These are just two more ways engineering wins hearts and minds aroundthe world.
