Multi-Industry Prize Roundup - X PRIZE Vision, CO2 Capture, NewOrgan Prize, Art Auction, Power Beaming Earth Apps

Here are a few prize links that go beyond the space field (although space is a part of some of them):

X PRIZE Foundation Reveals Expanded Vision for Future; Prize Groups Aim to Solve World’s Problems By Targeting Four Key Areas - X PRIZE Foundation

Here are some of the prize subjects where it seems to me that space could play a role, depending on the details of the prize:

Climate Change: CO2 utilization/sequestration, ocean acidification, forest conservation, forest carbon measurement, emissions, climate modeling

Energy Distribution & Storage: transmission and distribution (e.g. smart grid), storage (grid level, end user, community), monitoring and measurement

Ocean Exploration: sensing (e.g. pH, temperature, current), mapping (e.g. floor, marine spatial mapping)

I could see space remote sensing playing a role with forest or other carbon measurements, climate modeling, ocean sensing, and ocean mapping. Power relay satellites might play a role in energy distribution, and there are more conventional energy distribution roles for satellites in telecommunications, environment monitoring, and space weather monitoring.

It would be great to be able to design a successful prize that addresses needs in 2 fields at the same time (like energy/environment and space, or ocean exploration and space), but we will have to wait to see the details of the prizes that make it through the prize development and funding process.

Space (or for the aircraft prizes, "aerospace") would obviously play a role with these:

Space Transportation: beamed power propulsion, hypersonic point to point, solar power satellite

Space Exploration: orbital debris, asteroid deflection

Aircraft Efficiency: electric/hybrid aircraft, alternative aviation fuels

The Carbon Dioxide Capture Technology Prize - Knowledge Ecology International - This is based on a bill, S.2744, that was introduced in the Senate in November 2009.

Methuselah Foundation Launches NewOrgan Prize - Methuselah Foundation Blog:

The first research team to construct a whole new complex organ (heart, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas) made from a person's own cells - one that is functionally equivalent and successfully transplanted - will be awarded the NewOrgan Prize.

A New Methuselah Foundation Prize: the NewOrgan Prize - Methuselah Foundation Blog

Evening with Prize4Life - Prize4Life:

This cocktail party and art showing will be held on May 20, from six o'clock to eight o'clock in the evening at Sotheby's Auction House, 1334 York Ave, New York, NY.

Beaming Power to UAVs, Space Elevators, and Someday, Earth: The LaserMotive Plan - Xconomy Seattle

We're probably most familiar with LaserMotive from the Space Elevator Games and aerospace applications like power beaming involving satellites or UAVs. However, there are some potential applications that are more down-to-Earth, too:

Other uses of LaserMotive’s technology are slightly further out, such as beaming power to disaster relief efforts like communication cells or makeshift field hospitals that might be set up after a massive earthquake or tsunami. And, in principle, the technology also could be used to beam power from the ground to satellites, military bases, or far-off weather stations.

New Website – Coming Very Soon! - LaserMotive