VSR Named Finalist For Technology Leadership Awards

From virtual soldier research aimed at creating intelligent, human-like figures that can interact with their environment to a popular ePortfolio program for educators, the University of Iowa is a leader in technical innovation.

This point was brought home recently when several University of Iowa and UI Hospitals and Clinics research programs, individuals, related companies and technology projects were named finalists for the Technology Association of Iowa's 2007 Prometheus Awards.

The Prometheus Awards recognize outstanding contributions made by companies and individuals in Iowa over the past year to industry, communities and the state. The winners will be announced at the annual awards event March 7 at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines.

"The University of Iowa is one of the leading U.S. research universities, and the designation of UI research programs as finalists in the 2007 Prometheus Awards program is one more recognition of that fact," said UI Vice President for Research Meredith Hay. "The UI remains committed to being a leader in pursuing innovative research that will enable Iowa and the nation to remain competitive in the global economy."

* Top Government Technology of the Year: UI College of Education's ePortfolio and UI College of Engineering's Virtual Soldier Research (VSR) Program.

Created in 1996, ePortfolio™ is an innovative, Web-based portfolio for recording and tracking education students' progress toward meeting academic and state licensing requirements. The ePortfolio framework allows students to develop their skills, reflect on their practice and showcase their strengths - in the form of text, photos and multimedia -- to faculty, assessors and prospective employers.

The VSR Program conducts research aimed at creating human-like figures that are interactive and intelligent. The computer-simulated humans can execute a wide variety of tasks aimed at testing and evaluating vehicles, clothing and other items. Key to the program is a digital human called Santos™, who possesses accurate biomechanical and physiological characteristics, enabling him to predict motion and execute tasks unaided. VSR and Santos™ are designed to save time and money by reducing the need to build physical prototypes in the testing and evaluation of products, equipment, vehicles and armaments prior to manufacture. Barely three years old, VSR has received a total of more than $11 million in U.S. Army and private industry funding.

Pamela York, executive director of the UI Research Foundation, served on a panel of seven judges to select the finalists.

The 2007 Prometheus Awards are presented by the Iowa Department of Economic Development, with major sponsorship support from Applied Art and Technology; LWBJ; McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC; and Oracle. The Des Moines Business Record is the official media sponsor.