Our friends at the Lemelson-MIT program have announced today their 2012 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, which indicates that young Americans are acutely aware of the importance of invention and innovation in their personal lives, and within the context of the nation’s economy.

We are thrilled to announce Lemelson Foundation support for the scale up of the JaipurKnee project from D-Rev, as well as to help them to build a future pipeline of innovations and design services.

On September 21, the Foundation, in partnership with PNCA’s MFA in Collaborative Design, Illahee and Mercy Corps Action Center was proud to host Harish Hande, recent recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award – often considered “The Asian Nobel Prize" in a guest lecture in our home city of Portland, Ore.

Congratulations to three National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) teams who won a combined $200,000 in funding from the second annual MassChallenge. The world's largest startup competition – designed to catalyze the launch and success of high-growth, high-impact new businesses – MassChallenge provided $1 million in awards for 17 teams, including three $100K Diamond Prize Winners and fourteen $50K Gold Prize Winners.

NCIIA teams winning this year were:

In this age where kids dream of growing up to become rock stars or athletes it's even more important than ever to inspire the next generation to become inventors, problem solvers, scientists and engineers. These are the youth that will help develop solutions that will improve lives, establish new and exciting products and companies, and provide leadership and prosperity for further generations.

A number of recent news items about Foundation partners and grantees:

Portland-area friends of the Foundation, we're happy to announce we're hosting a special lecture by Harish Hande, recent recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award – often considered “The Asian Nobel Prize.”

Exciting news from our Villgro, RAMP India partner. Skymet, a company incubated by them -- Skymet -- has recently raised a significant round of investment from Indian VC firm Omnivore Capital for 33% of it’s equity.

Congratulations to two Foundation partners awarded in late July the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, often referred to as the “Asian Nobel Prize.”

Our friends at Living Goods have a compelling new series of short videos on how they are building a scalable and sustainable distribution platform for a wide range of life-saving and life-changing products. Founded in 2008, Living Goods is an Avon-like network of door-to-door Health Promoters who make a modest income selling essential health products and technologies at prices affordable to the poor.