Innovate or Perish: Managing the Enduring Technology Company in the Global Market

Recognizing External Technologists or Partners

As open innovation becomes part of the fabric of corporate technology, it becomes essential to recognize and reward our external partners who either have delivered value to the company or are uniquely positioned to deliver future value.

Air Products’ Corporate Technology Partnerships department created the External Collaboration Innovation Award to recognize and reward the results of external partner collaborative research so as to:

• Demonstrate commitment of relationship building to external partners.

• Stimulate IP development with external partners.

• Strengthen collaboration of sponsors and external scientists on projects.

• Focus external R&D on growth initiatives.

Since 2002, three awards have been presented: one to a Russian institute, one to the Department of Energy, and one to Ceramatec (a private U.S. firm).

Another award was instituted in 2005: the Faculty Excellence Award. This award was initiated to recognize outstanding emerging faculty in technology areas strategic to the company’s long-term growth. The two winners, Dr. Judy Hoyt of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. Jinbo Hu of the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, received a $30,000 unrestricted gift for their institutions to further their research—Dr. Hoyt for semiconductor processing and Dr. Hu for organofluorine chemistry and advanced materials.