Internet2 announced today that nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 Internet2 Driving Exemplary Applications (IDEA) Award. IDEA Award winners are establishing new frontiers in the application of networking technology, and are considered role models for the entire research and education networking community. The judging committee, made up of representatives from Internet2 councils and working groups, expects an especially strong pool of applicants this year.

Open to established or new applications, the IDEA Award was created in 2006 to recognize and encourage innovative applications of advanced network technology that have made—or promise to make—the most significant impact on the research and education community. The award also presents an important opportunity for the Internet2 community to recognize members who are changing the way we think about the possibilities and uses of advanced networking.

“IDEA Award winners represent advanced networking at its best, demonstrating in very real ways the promise of advanced networking, not just for the research and education community, but for the public at large,” said Tom Knab, CIO of the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and chair of the IDEA awards judging committee. “In fact, winning IDEA applications have already had a revolutionary impact on a wide range of disciplines. In radio astronomy, they have enabled powerful new methods for high-resolution imaging of distant radio sources. In the performing arts, they have reinvented theatre performance for a virtual, worldwide stage. In health sciences, they have accelerated the exchange of critical medical information.”

Last year's winner, Enabling Virtual Organizations (EVO), originally developed by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to meet the complex demands of the High Energy Physics community, is already being used by thousands of educators, students and researchers to seamlessly bridge remotely located collaborators and resources across the globe.

2010 IDEA Award winners will be recognized at the Internet2 Spring 2010 Member Meeting, held in Arlington, Virginia, April 26–28, 2010 and will be provided a track session during the meeting to present information on or demonstrate their winning projects to attendees.

Entries may be submitted by any individual affiliated with an Internet2 member, a Sponsored Educational Group Participant (SEGP), or a Sponsored Participant. The deadline for submissions is February 28, 2010. For additional information, submission guidelines and online application, click here.