X-Prize extravaganza

The successful flights of the privately funded SpaceShipOne project captured the collective imagination and won the Burt Rutan–led team the $10 million Ansari X-Prize. Never mind that estimates of the project's costs run over $20 million. "If a goal becomes a goal that people can agree is compelling, that act of focus is itself an accelerator in achieving the goal," James Clark, chairman and founder of the World Technology Network (WTN), told the BBC.

The X-Prize Foundation and WTN want to build on the spaceflight award and jointly offer a series of technology incentive prizes in a slew of scientific domains. The two groups are seeking suggestions from the public for prizes that, according to the press release, "inspire innovation and bring about breakthrough results with wide-ranging societal implications, such as life extension, molecular assemblers, water purification, hydrogen generation, and similarly ambitious goals." Individuals and companies intrigued by the competition or who want to submit ideas for such technological holy grails can check out www.wtnxprize.org.

The organizers are also stirring the corporate brand-marketing pot and looking for companies who will fund prize purses in return for title
sponsorship rights, an aspect which begs the question: Is the world really ready for the Nike Nanotechnology or Time-Warner Teleportation X-Prizes? — TC