Tech prize awarded for plastics, processors, and solar cells

The 2010 winners have been announced for the Millenium Technology Prize, an award given every other year to individual inventors who are responsible for practical innovations. This time around, the awards went to three scientists for innovations in plastic electronics, the invention of the ARM microprocessor, and the development of dye-sensitized solar cells.
The Millenium Technology Prize was established in 2004 by the Technology Academy Finland to recognize practical contributions to the advancement of technology. The inaugural award went to Tim Berners-Lee, the person credited with inventing the World Wide Web. Entrants are evaulated on their work's impact on quality of life and sustainable development now and in the future, and how significantly their work contributes to technological change.
Professor Sir Richard Friend is one of the new laureates for his work in plastic electronics, and for his contribution to the creation of organic LEDs. His methods have given rise to many other polymer innovations, like a polymer transistor that can be dissolved into an ink to be printed onto circuit boards, as well as low-cost polymer solar cells.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/04/tech-prize-awarded-for-plastics-processors-and-solar-cells.ars