Friday, October 30, 2009

University of Washington Links With X Prize

The Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington and nonprofit X PRIZE Foundation, the group which spearheaded the first competition to put the first commercial spacecraft into space, said this week that they are launching a new lab called the X PRIZE Lab@UW. According to the foundation and school, the new lab is focused on engaging students in areas "ripe for breakthrough innovation." The lab is second for the X Prize foundation, which also has a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The X PRIZE foundation said it expects to provide quarter-long courses starting in January 2010, focused on things like space and ocean exploration, life sciences, energy, and education and global development. The first X PRIZE--the Ansari X PRIZE--was won by Burt Rutan in 2004, backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.