An industry-first use of tubular ultra-high-strength steel developed by ArcelorMittal research-and-development engineers in East Chicago for the roof of the 2009 Ford 150 truck, along with Fair Oaks Farms, were named this year's co-recipients of the Chanute Prize.

This was the first time in two years that co-recipients of the prize to celebrate "21st century team innovation" will be announced by the Society of Innovators of Northwest Indiana. The Society is sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana Northwest and other principal sponsors.

Also named will be six new Fellows for implementing "out-of-the-box" ideas. These range from launching the first rotary screw PTO air compressor system integrated within a truck chassis that is "safe, dependable and practical," to the first certified residential "green" community in the United States. This also includes a new Fellow to be picked outside of Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties -- another Society first.

The Society of Innovators will announce these honorees tonight as part of the 2009-10 class at the Fifth Annual Northwest Indiana Innovation Awards Induction at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.

"We are celebrating 35 individuals and teams that are making a difference through innovation in the region, state and world," J. Guadalupe Valtierra, chancellor of Ivy Tech Northwest said.

An industry-first use of tubular ultra-high-strength steel developed by ArcelorMittal research-and-development engineers in East Chicago for the roof of the 2009 Ford 150 truck, along with Fair Oaks Farms, were named this year's co-recipients of the Chanute Prize.

This was the first time in two years that co-recipients of the prize to celebrate "21st century team innovation" will be announced by the Society of Innovators of Northwest Indiana. The Society is sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana Northwest and other principal sponsors.

Also named will be six new Fellows for implementing "out-of-the-box" ideas. These range from launching the first rotary screw PTO air compressor system integrated within a truck chassis that is "safe, dependable and practical," to the first certified residential "green" community in the United States. This also includes a new Fellow to be picked outside of Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties -- another Society first.

The Society of Innovators will announce these honorees tonight as part of the 2009-10 class at the Fifth Annual Northwest Indiana Innovation Awards Induction at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.

"We are celebrating 35 individuals and teams that are making a difference through innovation in the region, state and world," J. Guadalupe Valtierra, chancellor of Ivy Tech Northwest said.

An industry-first use of tubular ultra-high-strength steel developed by ArcelorMittal research-and-development engineers in East Chicago for the roof of the 2009 Ford 150 truck, along with Fair Oaks Farms, were named this year's co-recipients of the Chanute Prize.

This was the first time in two years that co-recipients of the prize to celebrate "21st century team innovation" will be announced by the Society of Innovators of Northwest Indiana. The Society is sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana Northwest and other principal sponsors.

Also named will be six new Fellows for implementing "out-of-the-box" ideas. These range from launching the first rotary screw PTO air compressor system integrated within a truck chassis that is "safe, dependable and practical," to the first certified residential "green" community in the United States. This also includes a new Fellow to be picked outside of Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties -- another Society first.

The Society of Innovators will announce these honorees tonight as part of the 2009-10 class at the Fifth Annual Northwest Indiana Innovation Awards Induction at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.

"We are celebrating 35 individuals and teams that are making a difference through innovation in the region, state and world," J. Guadalupe Valtierra, chancellor of Ivy Tech Northwest said.

These inductees came from 87 nominations received, which is slightly below last year's record of 91, but contains more individual nominations than last year in which there were more duplicate entries, said Roy Evans, chairman of the Society of Innovators and an assistant professor at Purdue University Calumet.

Selection is based on nominees meeting the Society's criteria for individual and project team innovations, which consists of an individual or team introducing new and different ideas that are implemented and benefit the quality of life of Northwest Indiana, said John Davies, managing director, Society of Innovators.

The new Fellows to be inducted are Frank Brummett, founder of BerylMartin, Griffith; T. Clifford Fleming, an attorney, who created the Village in Burns Harbor; Mark C. Kime, director of Cardiology and Neuroscience at Porter Health, Valparaiso; John "Jack" Moreland, visualization specialist for the Visualization Lab of Purdue University Calumet; Mike Sanders, president of CPX Inc., Kentland; and Patrick A. Wilkins, president of Boss Industries, LaPorte.

The co-recipients of the Chanute Prize are:

* An advanced engineering team involving ArcelorMittal, Ford and Vari-Form in the United States and Canada helped engineer the 2009 F-150 Truck, with a new hydroformed steel body structure.

* Fair Oaks Farms is owned by nine families with 10 dairies and employs 450 employees, along with 00 employees who staff the Fair Oaks Adventure Center. It is the largest dairy farm in the United States and the premiere agricultural destination in Indiana and the Midwest that attracts 400,000 visitors a year. Its uniqueness is that it is visited not only as a showcase for agriculture, but also by leading business organizations that want to learn about its energy and environmental features.

The new Fellows to be inducted are:

* Frank Brummett, founder of BerylMartin, Griffith, was nominated for his "Feed the Future" initiative hosting massive Christmas parties over several years free for thousands of urban children in East Chicago and Gary involving hundreds of volunteers.

* T. Clifford Fleming, an attorney, who created the Village in Burns Harbor, which has been recognized as the first "green" residential community in the Unites States.

* Mark C. Kime, director of Cardiology and Neuroscience at Porter Health, Valparaiso. He created several medically motivated inventions. The I-Mover, along with the endoscope cleaner/sterilizer, are both patented and sold to the medical market, including sales as far away as Australia.

* John "Jack" Moreland, visualization specialist for the Visualization Lab of Purdue University Calumet. Using technology, he helps unravel the complexities of problems affecting engineering, business and the sciences. He has collaborated on projects that have allowed corporations and organizations to get people to think in a new way.

* Mike Sanders, is president of CPX Inc., Kentland, which is one of Newton County's largest employers. Sanders, who grew up visiting the city dump and collecting parts to make Go Carts, gained a passion to learn and a tenacity to succeed. An innovator his entire career, he most recently solved a problem in his own company that eliminated a lot of waste.

* Patrick A. Wilkins, president of Boss Industries, LaPorte. His company is the first to introduce a rotary screw PTO air compressor, generator and hydraulic system integrated within a truck chassis that is safe, dependable and practical for the underground utility industry.