Richard Spires, CIO of the Department of Homeland Security, received the top honor given to a leader in the public sector among awards given by the TechAmerica Foundation this week.
The foundation announced the winners of the 2012 American Technology Awards, celebrating their involvement and contributions to the technology sector. The awards were given at a gala event in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
Kevin Johnson, CEO of Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) was the evening’s keynote speaker and also the recipient of the American Technology Awards Corporate Leadership Award.
Upon accepting his Government Technology Executive of the Year award, Spires reflected on his experience in government and private industry, lauded his current public sector employees, and thanked private industry partners for their hand in moving federal IT efforts forward through collaboration.
“We really can’t do this ourselves,” he said. “You have to be willing to collaborate. … Some days it’s like Greek mythology and rolling the ball up the hill. But other days…I see how far we’ve come.”
Also known as the “Termans” in honor of the widely credited father of Silicon Valley Frederick Terman, the awards are given on the basis of a thorough evaluation by industry experts and technology leaders.
Microsoft Corporation was recognized for their contributions to the community with the Corporate Giving Award and IBM received the Breakthrough Technology of the Year Award for Watson.
Kelly Goshorn of the United States Air Force was recognized as the Program Manager of the Year for her work with Patriot Excalibur (PEX) and netcentric Commander’s Decision Services (netCDS). This is the second year for this award.
Jennifer Kerber, President of the TechAmerica Foundation, said the awards “are a testament to the vibrancy of the U.S. technology industry. We are thrilled to honor these innovators and to be able to recognize the contributions of Mr. Johnson, Mr. Spires, IBM and Microsoft. This was also a prime opportunity for us to celebrate the cooperative relationship between the technology sector and the government.”
Additional winners are:
Aerospace & Defense
· Quantum3D – ExpeditionDI
Clean Tech/Green Tech
· Silver Spring Networks — Gen4 Networking Technology
Cloud Computing / Software as a Service
· Virtela Technology Services Incorporated — Cloud-based Mobile Device Management Service
Consumer Electronics / Computers & Peripherals
· HP — HP t410 All-in-One Smart Zero Client
Cyber Security & Authentication
· RSA — RSA NetWitness Live
Health & Medical Technologies
· Freedom Innovations — Plié® 2.0 MPC Knee
Internet Services & E-Commerce
· crowdSPRING, LLC — crowdSPRING.com
IT Services & Consulting
· Computech, Inc. — The National Broadband Map
Semiconductors & Electronic Components
· NeuroSky — CardioChip II
Server & Storage Technology
· SoftLayer Technologies, Inc — Flex Images and Object Storage
Smart Grid & Smart Instruments
· FreeWave Technologies — FGR2-PE Industrial Grade 900 MHz Long Range Ethernet Radio
Software
· IBM — Watson Solutions
Technology Manufacturing
· 3D Systems – Cube
Telecommunications
· Shared Spectrum Company — Spectrum Sensing Toolbox – SST