Representing seven countries, these 12 fellows will gain free and full access to all WIRED events; the opportunity to speak on WIRED conference stages and network with other Innovation Fellows and conference speakers; coverage in WIRED’s digital and print publications; and further support and mentorship that the magazine and its partners can offer. The Fellowship scheme has been introduced to mark the growth of WIRED’s conference programme, which now includes separate events focused on health, finance, retail and young people, in addition to the annual two-day flagship event.
The inaugural fellowships are awarded to:
* Emiliano Kargieman, founder and CEO of Satellogic, which aims to launch a network of low-orbit satellites that gives “an image of any place on Earth in high resolution and in real time.”
* Nelly Ben Hayoun, director of The International Space Orchestra, and designer of experiences at the SETI Institute, Hayoun has been called the “Willy Wonka of design and science” and is on a mission to bring chaos, subversion and disorder into the design and the scientific world.
* Nina Tandon, CEO and cofounder of EpiBone, the world’s first company growing living human bones for skeletal reconstruction.
* Skylar Tibbits, director of the Self-Assembly Lab in MIT’s Department of Architecture, who is spearheading 4D printing, where the fourth dimension is time, with the aim of creating objects that can then reshape or self-assemble themselves.
* Ionut Alexandru Budisteanu, University of Bucharest, who has used artificial intelligence to help blind people to see with their tongues, as well as designing an autonomous car with a mounted camera to identify traffic lanes, curbs, cars and people.
* Jennifer Broutin Farah, founder and CEO of SproutsIO, which is leading the development of new technologies that redefine our interactions with food, via a futuristic in-home garden controlled by a mobile app.
* Rachel Wingfield, founder and creative director at Loop.pH, a collaborative spatial laboratory operating at the convergence of design, architecture and science, who speculates on near and far future scenarios that explore emerging biological and technological futures that could impact society and the world at large.
* Mina Girgis, ethnomusicologist and entrepreneur who specialises in curating and producing innovative musical collaborations across diverse styles, and who explores new ways to design environments conducive to learning, making and experiencing music. He has also created the Nile Project, an initiative to inspire, educate and empower university students to work together to foster the sustainability of the Nile ecosystem.
* Dhairya Dand, researcher at the MIT Media Lab whose work focuses on creating objects and platforms that augment senses and emotions, incite curiosity and serendipity, and explore intersections of mythology and science fiction. Creations have included shoes that tickle, an elastic 2.5D display that can be pinched and pulled, ice cubes which know how much the consumer drinks and toys made from e-waste.
* Joel Jackson, British social entrepreneur and founder of Mobius Motors, who moved to Kenya to design, manufacture and sell highly functional and affordable off-road vehicles aimed to mobilise the developing world.
* Uma Ramakrishnan, assistant professor, National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, Bangalore, whose focus is on whether there is a future for biodiversity in the Indian subcontinent.
* Sandesh Reddy, chef and ideator who has created Kichin, an on demand mobile platform that brings fresh food closer to diners, by identifying likes and dislikes enabling them to make a conscious purchase of food to suit a mood or dietary requirement.
David Rowan, WIRED’s editor comments, “We were overwhelmed by quality applications for the WIRED Innovation Fellowships. Our editors selected those emerging stars who are truly doing remarkable things in all sorts of fields, from science to music. The Fellows' presentations are going to be some of the most exciting stage sessions at WIRED2014 in October.”
WIRED also announces a partnership with the INK Conference in India, which runs its own fellows programme. Two WIRED Innovation Fellows will have access to the INK Conference and its network, and two INK fellows will have access to WIRED's events and its network.
The WIRED Innovation Fellowships were open to any individual working in fields normally covered by WIRED who, in the editorial team’s opinion, has the potential to make a significant impact on the world. Competition was fierce among the emerging innovators in science, technology, design, culture, business, the arts and other fields covered by the magazine, who both excited in their fresh and energetic approach, and who have achieved a proven track record of early success. People were invited to apply to become a fellow in January 2014 and WIRED had almost 200 high calibre applicants, say the publishers.
The annual “mothership” event, WIRED2014, will be held on October 16-17, 2014 at London’s Tobacco Dock, E1, with WIRED NEXT GENERATION for young people taking place on Saturday October 18 at the same venue. WIRED RETAIL will be held on Monday November 24, details to be announced in due course.
