George C. Dimitriou

Is it possible to determine which 30 innovations have changed life most dramatically during the past 30 years? That is the question that Nightly Business Report, the Emmy Award-winning PBS business program, and Knowledge@Wharton set out to answer to celebrate NBR’s 30^thanniversary this year. NBR partnered with Knowledge@Wharton to create a list of the “Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years.” The show’s audiences from more than 250 markets across the country and Knowledge@Wharton’s readers from around the world were asked to suggest innovations they think have shaped the world in the last three decades.

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From a rocket of the future to a $10 million light bulb, here are TIME’s picks for the best new gadgets and breakthrough ideas of the year.

Every year, the InfoWorld 100 Awards celebrate 100 IT organizations that have implemented and integrated technologies in innovative ways in pursuit of concrete business goals. These 100 real-world projects stand as proof that striking a new path in IT can reap deep organizational rewards.

The Czech Presidency of the EU and European Commission will officially launch the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 on Wednesday 7 January with the slogan “Imagine. Create. Innovate”. The aim of the Year is to promote creative and innovative approaches in different sectors of human activity and help equip the European Union for the challenges ahead in a globalised world.

The European Year of Innovation and Creativity (EYCI) aims to raise awareness of the importance of creativity and innovation as key competences for personal, social and economic development. It has acquired a special meaning in the context of the current economic slowdown – the message it should convey is that Europe should not react to the crisis by reducing investment into skills and innovation. The EU will offer a framework for raising awareness of the issues concerned and promoting a policy debate on how to increase Europe’s creative and innovative potential. As for previous European Years, measures will include promotion campaigns, events and initiatives at European, national, regional and local levels.

For more information visit: www.create2009.europa.eu/

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program has developed and released a database that provides up-to-date information on marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy in the United States and around the world.

The database represents a groundbreaking effort in terms of breadth and depth of information on companies, technologies, and projects within the marine and hydrokinetic industry. The database includes wave, current, and ocean thermal energy conversion technologies. The fully searchable database allows the user to search among both technology types and specific projects, based on a number of criteria including geographical location, resource type, and technology stage or project status. Users can easily access details on a device or project’s size, dimensions, and mooring methods, as well as project details, including information on permitting, power purchase agreements, partnerships, or even an interactive GPS mapping feature that allows the user to pinpoint certain project locations worldwide.

Visit the Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology Database Web site.

Better Place, working with Governor Linda Lingle, announced a plan to help Hawaii move to the Car 2.0 model of electric cars powered by renewable energy. Hawaii, which has an annual $7 billion addiction to oil, has set a plan to reach 70% renewable energy by 2030. With renewable generation powering cool electric cars – like Better Place’s Nissan Rogue demonstration vehicle – Hawaii will serve as a blueprint for the US auto sector’s future.

While the United States debates a plan to spend $25 billion on Detroit’s Car 1.0 model built on the internal combustion engine, China, Europe, and Japan are all quickly moving to the Car 2.0 model of electric drive transportation. In fact, the European Union just last week upped the ante, by announcing a $6.5 billion “European Green Cars Initiative” plan for European automakers to build safer and greener cars.

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IBM revealed the third annual “IBM Next Five in Five”, a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years:

• Energy saving solar technology will be built into asphalt, paint and windows
• You will have a crystal ball for your health
• You will talk to the Web . . . and the Web will talk back
• You will have your own digital shopping assistants
• Forgetting will become a distant memory

The Next Five in Five is based on market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM’s Labs around the world that can make these innovations possible.

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