Olympus 2010 - Humbled, Asante, Challenge, and Magic

2010 Olympus Innovation Award
Blander Acceptance
National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) Conference
Friday March 26th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/olympus2010

Dear distinguished colleagues and friends,

I have just a few minutes to make some remarks before they kick me off the stage. So I have tried to reduce these remarks to focus on 4 key words: Humbled, Asante, Challenge, and Magic.

The first word: humbled

• I am very humbled when I look around this room and see the remarkable group of professionals who all are deserving of awards.
• I am very Humbled when I think of the amazing heroes such as the patients and doctors I work with in field such as Tanzania would put their lives and talents on the line every day.
• I am very Humbled with the extraordinary privilege of working with the brilliant and passionate students, mentors, and administrators who by their actions can turn a white board into a transformative universe of hope and statement of “yes we can” despite the obstacles in front of us.
• So when I think of all of you and those mentioned, one must accept such an award with great humility and acknowledge all my colleagues dedication, hard work, courage and brilliance that have made my own accomplishments possible.

The second word: Asante (Thank you)

Accepting this award is an acknowledgment of all the amazing people in my life who have made me look much better than I am. While the list is too long, a few specific people & organizations need mentioning.

• NCIIA. Olympus. Lemelson. Golinharris. Fogarty. Phil, Rachel, Tim, and Jennifer. Without your support. None of this would be possible.
• Dr.’s Hashim, Ogillo, Kaushik, and Mugusi my super hero colleagues in Tanzania. I will walk through fire for you.
• Patty, Linda, Steven Locke, Bryan Bergeron Danny Sands and Utkan Demirci, Jock Herron and rest of the HST939 crew from Harvard and MIT. Amy Smith who has led the way for so many.
• Philip Kong and Vikram Kumar, my fellow Directors of the Bienmoyo Foundation
• The amazing and endless list of graduate and undergraduate students from Harvard, MIT, UPENN.
• The single most important person in my life, my amazing and talented wife Michelle. I wonder each day, hour, and minute how she puts up with me.
• My family and my grandparents Rose and Fred. Thank you for encouraging me to pursue my dreams no matter what the odds.

The third word: Challenge

Despite the amazing efforts of the people in this community, the fact remains that Billions of citizens in the global community live in poverty without access to clean water, basic sanitation, or health care services. As shown during the first day group exercise, everyone in this room is capable of great accomplishments individually, but when we work together we have the power to transform the world with smarter technology and systems to break the unforgiving cycles of poverty and disease to create opportunities and empower all the worlds citizens.

The fourth word: Magic

Ms. J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter Fame said at a recent Harvard Commencement address “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

My colleagues and friends, I look forward to working with you in this wonderful NCIIA global community to imagine better and to make our own brand of magic, through hard work, perseverance, and resolve knowing that the best is yet to come.

Thank you all so much.

Photo Credit: Michelle Levine