Dude! San Diego’s Connect Gives Surf Board Maker (And 8 Others) Technology Award

Bruce V. Bigelow12/12/08Comments (3)Follow @bvbigelow

Against the backdrop of a worsening recession, San Diego’s innovation community came together for the 21st annual “Most Innovative Products” awards luncheon today in La Jolla. The event is intended to showcase new products introduced over the past year in eight categories that reflect technology clusters, such as wireless communications, medical devices, and aerospace and security technologies that are concentrated in the region.

“Whenever I think of these communities of innovation, I think we’ll come out of this okay,” said Connect CEO Duane Roth, referring to the economic downturn that has dominated recent headlines. Connect, the non-profit organization that has organized the awards since 1987, promotes innovative technologies by helping provide entrepreneurs with the information and resources they need to build a business.

More than 800 people registered for the event at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, in the heart of San Diego’s technology center. This year’s winners were culled from 24 finalists, which were selected from more than 100 nominations, and included the first tie in the history of the award—for Aerospace and Security Technologies.

The nine categories and the companies that received Connect’s most innovative products award are:

—Action and Sports Technologies: The “Direct Drive” surfboard design … Next Page »

Bruce V. Bigelow is the editor of Xconomy San Diego. You can e-mail him at bbigelow@xconomy.com or call (619) 669-8788