Popular Science Magazine and InnoCentive Announce Partnership to Advance Innovation in Technology, Science and Engineering

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Apr 21, 2011, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Popular Science magazine and InnoCentive, the global leader in Challenge Driven Innovation, have announced a partnership to facilitate open innovation and greater collaboration in solving Challenges in technology, science and engineering.

The core of the Popular Science-InnoCentive Challenge Program is an online "Pavilion"—a forum to be co-hosted on PopSci.com and InnoCentive.com—where corporations, nonprofits and government agencies post pressing Challenges facing their business or industry and offer financial rewards for solutions. Creative problem solvers from all over the world are invited to access the information and tackle the Challenges.

This method of open innovation, which harnesses the power of crowdsourcing and a global network of thinkers to solve a problem, has fueled progress in areas ranging from oil spill recovery and energy solutions for rural Africa to improved treatments for tuberculosis and biomarkers for deadly diseases.

The Popular Science Pavilion will host an exclusive set of Challenges in a variety of scientific disciplines, posted by corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The magazine will also devise its own Challenges, the first of which will launch in May when the Pavilion goes live.

"Popular Science readers are intensely curious and passionate about the future, and this is an extraordinary opportunity for them to have a hand in shaping it," said Mark Jannot, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. "Some of the most ingenious solutions to scientific hurdles have come from those outside the field, and we're thrilled to join with InnoCentive to bring that spirit of innovation and creativity to our audience."

InnoCentive's platform brings together cloud-based technology, expert services, and a global network of over 250,000 problem solvers to develop innovative solutions to Challenges submitted by a broad range of organizations. Published by Bonnier Corporation, Popular Science has a monthly readership of more than 7 million and is the world's largest science and technology magazine.

"Popular Science is one of the most well-known and well respected publications for science enthusiasts, and with this partnership we hope to bring Challenge Driven Innovation to their diverse and creative audience," said Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of InnoCentive. "We look forward to seeing the results of our Challenge Program and combined communities on solving global problems that matter most."

SOURCE Popular Science