I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble, but does Dean Kamen really fit their definition?:
"The person or persons who have, for better or worse, most influenced the news during the past year."
I believe Dean and Woodie deserve their credit, but I don't think it makes sense to nominate either of them for this award. Dean was on the Colbert Report a couple weeks ago... but other than that I don't think Dean, Woodie, or FIRST have been in the news (let alone influenced the news) very much at all over the past year.
Definition aside, that isn't to say I wouldn't *like* to see Dean win it
.