Ken Krechmer, a University of Colorado at Boulder lecturer in electrical and computer engineering, was awarded second prize in the IEC Centenary Challenge, an international competition concerned with the economic, business and social impacts of technological standards.
Sponsored by the International Electrotechnical Commission in partnership with three major engineering organizations and in association with The Economist magazine, the contest drew 100 research papers from 20 countries. Submissions considered to be of exceptional merit were reviewed by a distinguished panel, and prizes were awarded at a ceremony in London Dec. 14.
Krechmer and his wife and co-author Elaine Baskin received a joint second prize with faculty from the University of Tokyo. The Krechmer and Baskin paper, "The Entrepreneur and Standards," describes the impact of compatible or adaptable technologies in relation to the balance between the entrepreneurs' desire for proprietary control of information technology standards and society's need for open markets.
Krechmer plans to donate half the $5,000 prize money to the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program at CU-Boulder, with which he has been affiliated since 1998.
First prize in the contest was awarded to faculty at the Universit茅 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III in France. For more information, see .