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3 from MIT among Technology Review's top young innovators

Jose Gomez Marquez named 'humanitarian of the year'
Three current MIT researchers and six alumni have been named to this year's TR 35, Technology Review magazine's annual compilation of the 35 top innovators worldwide under the age of 35. Jose Gomez-Marquez, Pranav Mistry and Erez Lieberman-Aiden were selected from more than 300 nominees by a panel of judges and the editorial staff of Technology Review.

"The TR35 is an elite group of accomplished young innovators who exemplify the spirit of innovation. Their work - spanning medicine, computing, communications, nanotechnology and more - is changing our world," said Technology Review Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Jason Pontin.

Gomez-Marquez, an instructor at MIT's Edgerton Center, was named as the TR 35's "humanitarian of the year" for the creation of practical medical devices for use in poor countries.

Gomez-Marquez said he was honored that his approach to appropriate medical technology had been recognized as meaningful, and he thanked his colleagues at D-Lab and the Edgerton Center for their support.

"Most medical devices that are donated into the developing world fail because they were never designed to work in harsh environments. We try to change that my making devices that are more appropriate, regardless of the infrastructure challenges often present in the developing world," Gomez-Marquez said. "To develop technologies that can heal is rewarding. To do it with an amazing group students, mentors, colleagues who make up the greater MIT community is a daily privilege."

The innovators are featured in the September-October issue of the magazine and the complete list can viewed online here.

Mistry SM '08, a current graduate student at the MIT Media Lab, was selected to the list for his role in creating "Sixth Sense," a simple, wearable device that enhances the real world with digital information.
Lieberman-Aiden, a graduate student at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, created the "iShoe," an insole designed to diagnose balance problems and help prevent elderly people from falling. He has recently turned his attention to genomics, developing quantitative tools that offer new insights into evolution.

The six alumni honored by the magazine include Jorge Conde SM '06; Nathan Eagle PhD '05; Cody Friesen PhD '04; Kevin Fu '98, MEng '99, PhD '05 (who was also named the "innovator of the year"); Jaime Teevan SM '01, PhD '07; and Cyrus Wadia'96, SM '97.

The TR35 winners for 2009 will be honored at the EmTech@MIT 2009 Conference to be held Sept. 22-24 at MIT.

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