FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

**SUMMER UPDATE**

3. 2008 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Winner, John Todd's work featured in a documentary film.
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July 30, 2009 NEW YORK CITY —

1.The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, Weekend Celebration began at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago with a conferring ceremony to honor the winners of the 2009 Buckminser Fuller Challenge MIT's Smart Cities Group, Sustainable Personal Mobility and Mobility on Demand Systems.

- Buckminster Fuller's daughter, Allegra Fuller Synder, opened the ceremony with some words about her father and his vision for making the world work for 100% of humanity without any harm to another, and his love for working with students.
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- Executive Director, Elizabeth Thompson provided context for the uninitiated by describing how the Buckminster Fuller Challenge works, the criteria that is used to evaluate the proposals and shared more about the Idea Index, an aspect of the program that is in it's nascent stage but that the institute hopes to further develop as an open source research platform and project space.
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- Josh Arnow, a long-time member of the Buckminster fuller Institute and a member of this year's review team, provided some perspective on the honorable mentions.
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- Kenny Ausubel of Bioneers, representing the runner-up proposal, Dreaming New Mexico, shared some words about collaborative planning.
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- Ryan Chin the project leader of the 2009 winning proposal Sustainable Personal Mobility and Mobility on Demand Systems, presented the MIT Smart Cities proposal.
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- The OmniOculi, a limited edition sculpture created by artist Tom Channon, and the prize check are presented to the team.
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- A panel discussion moderated by Susan Szenasy, Editor-in Chief of Metropolis magazine, followed the presentations. The panel explored the social political implications of the projects as well as probed the practicality of the object design involved in the winning proposal.
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- Design innovator Bruce Mau was the featured presenter following the ceremony, at a reception in the Merchandise Mart. With the Fly's Eye Dome as the backdrop he dived into the lineage of inspirational thinkers like Buckminster Fuller that led him to his passion for systemic thinking in design and highlighted the 2010 Denver Biennial of Americas for which he is the creative director.
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2. Ryan Chin the Project Leader of the winning 2009 proposal, Sustainable Mobility/Mobility on Demand, shared the team's revolutionary idea with other Boston region greats, at the inaugural TEDx Boston event on Tuesday, July 28th. The event seeks to inspire people through the ideas that are shaping the future of industries as diverse as education, energy, and elder care. Ryan shared the CityCar, the foldable, stackable, sharable, electric, two-passenger city vehicle that rethinks urban mobility; the RoboScooter a foldable scooter that plugs into a smart energy grid and the GreenWheel the electrical bike that seeks to solve the problem of the last mile in transportation.

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On June 23rd he was also invited to share the winning proposal at the State of Innovation Summit.

"Seed Media Group and The Council on Competitiveness convened a cadre of America's thought leaders in science, business, and education for the State of Innovation Summit in Washington, DC. Panelists and speakers addressed the key roles of design, cross-disciplinary collaboration, comprehensive policy, and science itself in preserving and enhancing a climate of innovation and future competitiveness for America."- Seed Magazine

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3. The 2008 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Winner and visionary John Todd, is featured in a new documentary film. The film, Eco-Pioneers: a Sustainable Earth Documentary, explores Todd's work in the emerging field of ecological design and engineering, and the stories behind the people benefiting from his vision to create a new partnership with nature. The film was directed and produced by Kristen Alexander through Middleway Media.

"Every once in a while a unique person comes along. Someone who has a vision and an ability to see into the future, and have an impact on the world that outlives them for decades to come. Dr. John Todd is one of these pioneers. He has designed a new way of sustaining our existence by creating living environments that transform waste, grow food, and by returning carbon into the soil, may prevent this runaway climate. He has given us hope for a sustainable future." - Kristen Alexander, Documentary Film maker

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The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, launched in 2007, promotes a systems approach to design pioneered by Buckminster Fuller which aims to address complex problems through comprehensive, anticipatory design thinking. Through the recognition of outstanding entries, The Challenge supports and draws attention to individuals and teams around the world whose innovative strategies have the potential to help solve humanity's most pressing problems.

To view entries to the 2008 Buckminster Fuller Challenge, visit BFI's Idea Index - a web-based publishing system created to enhance the opportunity for proposals to receive support and get implemented.