WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InnoCentive, Inc., the pioneer in open innovation and crowdsourcing, today announced a collaboration with Popular Science, a leading science and technology publication, to connect organizations that have important science, technology or engineering problems to the people and global communities who can best solve them. As part of this strategic alliance, InnoCentive and Popular Science have launched the Popular Science Open Innovation Pavilion, located on both InnoCentive.com and PopSci.com, in addition to a new $25,000 Challenge, which asks problem solvers from around the world to design an innovative science lesson plan for students in grades 6-8.
The Popular Science Open Innovation Pavilion serves as the destination for a variety of Challenges tailored to problem solvers unique to both the InnoCentive and Popular Science communities—engineers, architects, scientists and technologists—as well as the garage tinkerers and basement inventors. By tapping in to the diversity and creativity of these global communities, problems that matter to humanity and the world can be solved faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.
“Popular Science and InnoCentive want to connect organizations that have important problems and Challenges to the people and global communities who can best solve them,” said Mark Jannot, editorial director, the Bonnier Technology Group and editor-in-chief, Popular Science. “We’ve built this Pavilion for companies, public sector agencies, universities and other institutions to put their most pressing problems in front of InnoCentive’s global community of hundreds of thousands of Solvers, Popular Science’s millions of readers and other creative and passionate people interested in making tomorrow better than today.”
Coinciding with the launch of the new Pavilion, Popular Science and InnoCentive announced a new Challenge with a total award value of $25,000: “Science Lesson Plan for Grades 6-8.” Scientists who will shape the next three decades of research are in middle school today, presenting teachers with the chance to share the excitement and opportunities that exist within science and technology. Problem solvers are asked to devise and submit a lesson plan, based on the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, for grades 6-8 in one of the following categories:
- Biomimetic Design—Reveal and imitate the design of a naturally occurring phenomenon.
- Climate Change—Reveal fundamental information about the nature of climate change.
- Fuel Cells—Illustrate the basic function and future potential of fuel cells.
- Polymers—Explain the nature of new materials.
- “Big Data” Analysis—Provide useful and surprising interpretations of large amounts of data.
Each lesson plan submitted should be teachable in one to three 50 minute sessions, should include a “hands-on” portion, and materials should be readily available for a cost of no more than $50. The Challenge is open to the public and can be found on the Popular Science Open Innovation Pavilion.
“Both our partnership with Popular Science and the introduction of the Pavilion to millions of new problem solvers are game changers,” said Dwayne Spradlin, president and CEO, InnoCentive. “Not only are we helping to open the door for students to consider the sciences as a fulfilling career choice via the new Challenge, but this partnership will also spark the imagination of diverse and creative problem solvers to participate in a variety of Challenges whose solutions can truly change the world.”
About Popular Science
Popular Science is part of the Bonnier Technology Group, which includes sister publications and Web sites Popular Photography, American Photo, Sound & Vision, popsci.com, popphoto.com, and soundandvisionmag.com. Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world's largest science and technology magazine, with nearly 7 million readers. Each month, Popular Science reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, delivering a look at the future now.
About InnoCentive
InnoCentive is the open innovation and crowdsourcing pioneer that enables organizations to solve their key problems by connecting them to diverse sources of innovation including employees, customers, partners and the world’s largest problem solving marketplace. InnoCentive’s proven Challenge Driven Innovation methodology, community of millions of problem Solvers, and cloud-based technology platform combine to fundamentally transform the economics of innovation and R&D through rapid solution delivery and the development of sustainable open innovation programs. Leading commercial, government and nonprofit organizations, such as Eli Lilly, Life Technologies, NASA, nature.com, Popular Science, Procter & Gamble, Roche, Rockefeller Foundation and The Economist, partner with InnoCentive to solve problems and innovate faster and more cost-effectively than ever before. For more information, visit www.innocentive.com.