Google sponsors innovation award for computer science

Google Australia will sponsor a new award category in the annual Australian Museum Eureka Prizes - the Google Australia Eureka Prize for Innovation in Computer Science.

Each year, the Eureka Prizes reward excellence in science leadership, research and innovation, school science, and science journalism and communication. The new Google Australia Eureka Prize will recognise an individual or team of Australians who demonstrate real innovation in computer science with a $10,000 prize.

Alan Noble, Engineering Director for Google Australia and New Zealand, said: "At Google we're passionately committed to fostering original thinking and excellence in computer science. We hope that by encouraging Australians to embrace the power of an IT education now, we'll foster our next generation of innovators.

"The winner of the inaugural Google Australia Eureka Prize for Innovation in Computer Science will have the potential to improve the lives of many other Australians. Their entry will be cutting edge and represent a tangible advance in the field."

The new prize will be judged by a panel of eminent individuals in the computer sciences field. Australians can enter a research contribution, commercial product or completely private work (such as an open source development) in teams or as an individual entrant.

The deadline for entries is midnight AEST Friday 7 May 2010.