Dean for Nobel Prize???

[DarkFlame145]

One of our team student leader brought this up to me. I think he should get a Nobel Prize if he hasn't already gotten one. Dean has done so much for humanity, I mean with the work he is doing with water is just amazing to me. He is my personal hero and heroes of others on 145. I mean he also has brought the chance to get involved in science and technology to all of us. I know my life is much better because of FIRST and Dean's work.

[Wolf]

And don't forget the chair-climbing wheelchair and Segways! Dean Kamen's basically my idol, and if I meet him before I get out of High School, I'll be way pumped. And I always thought he should win it!

[Akash Rastogi]

I think its just a matter of time before he is recognized for something like that but maybe not up to the scale of a Nobel Prize.

[gblake]

Folks - Nobel prizes are typically given for profound discoveries; not for excellent engineering (use/application of researchers' fundamental discoveries) - Blake

[Kevin Sevcik]

By way of a voice of reason, I suggest you look at Previous Nobel Peace Prize winners. I assume this is the award you would nominate him for, as it's the only one that would fit. Just look at a few of the names on there and their accomplishments. Things like stopping wars, ending the violence in Northern Ireland, nuclear disarmament, economic development in 3d world countries. Organizations like Doctors Without Borders, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, The Red Cross. Theses are huge accomplishments stemming from lifetimes or more of work. These are organizations that have made real, concrete differences in millions of lives.

I love Dean, he's an amazing person with a brilliant plan and inspiring goals. But the philosophy behind FIRST is very much targeted at a huge problem in the United States and other highly developed countries. We have enough leisure time and money to make athletes and actors idolized and rich. Being painfully realistic, FIRST isn't going to impact lives in Rwanda or the Congo or South Africa. Not for a long time. It takes $6000 just to enter a regional. For the privilege of working yourself half to death for 6 weeks. The poverty level in Kenya is $25 a month. You regional fee could easily support someone in Kenya for half a decade. Make no mistake, FIRST is a luxury and a privilege we are very fortunate to be able to afford.

As for his work on cheap water purification... It's a wonderful idea. It has yet to materialize in at least 5 years of work he's put into it. If it comes to fruition and it is truly affordable and Dean works as tirelessly at persuading people to build it and use it as he has worked at developing FIRST.... Then he would be approaching the kind of achievements on par with other prize winners. But if he wins it, make no mistake. FIRST won't be more than a distracting blip on the radar of the committee.

I don't mean to be a complete downer. As I said, I greatly admire what Dean has done. I just don't think he has nearly reached the level you're talking about, and I'm not certain he ever will. There's good news, however. As Dean has said, the awards aren't everything, they're just some shiny metal and plastic to get us motivated. The real worth of the his program and the real concrete legacy it will leave behind is the legion of ex-FIRSTers committed to continually learning new things, improving their skills, and applying their brains to solving the kind of problems you get Nobel prizes for. So, ironically, I think the best testament to the program he founded and his ideals wouldn't be if he won a Nobel Prize. It would be if you did.

[DarkFlame145]

I think that his work with water purification will be a huge help in the future. As humans we waist so much water, I mean just think about how much we waist just taking a shower or using the bathroom. We keep growing in population and keep ruining our fresh water supplies. I wasn't saying give him a Noble Prize right now, but I know that Dean will change the world some how. He is doing so much for the world right now and most people dont even know his name.

[Illegalsocks]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

These are organizations the have made real, concrete differences in millions of lives.

Maybe not millions, but FIRST has certainly made concrete differences in a substantial number of FIRST Members and Mentors.

Just my two cents.

[blaxbb]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

Being painfully realistic, FIRST isn't going to impact lives in Rwanda or the Congo or South Africa. Not for a long time.

You could always argue that FIRST helped create thousands of different people, solving thousands of different world problems. That could be linked to the work of Dean, everyone else at FIRST, mentors, volunteers, and teachers.

But, I do have to agree any recognition will likely come from his other work.

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

...the real concrete legacy it will leave behind is the legion of ex-FIRSTers committed to continually learning new things, improving their skills, and applying their brains to solving the kind of problems you get Nobel prizes for.

There is such a thing as EX-FIRSTers??!!

[Cody Carey]

Yeah, I'll have to agree with Kevin on this one. Even though Dean is a great guy, He's not on par with any of the Nobel Peace Prize winners in my eyes. As was said before... Yes, he is training engineers for tomorrow. Yes, he is providing valuable work experience to thousands of students. And yes, introducing the public to the technical end of life is a very noble thing to do, but does that really deserve one of the most, if not the most prestigious award one can win?

If you think about his inventions, There is nothing really world-changing. The pocket sized medical equipment sure made things more convenient for hospitals, but in the long run... It still does what it did before. His Segway, while being one of the coolest techno-gadgets I've ever seen, is far from groundbreaking. When you really think about it... It is an electric scooter. I understand that it has a few key differences (Placement of the wheels, etc.)... But it boils down to being a two wheeled means of propulsion. Something we've had for hundreds of years.

And the last one that I'll address right now is the IBOT. No matter how much Dean insists it isn't a wheelchair, That is exactly what it is. Sure it makes it so all the folks that have to use them can feel more comfortable talking at the same height as everyone else, and the stare climbing is AMAZING, there is already an infrastructure for wheelchairs that don't do this. The IBOT, along with most of Dean's other creations, is definitely not a necessity.

All I'm saying is that while Dean's work is GREAT, It's not that great, at least not enough that it should get him a Peace Prize.


/Naysaying.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Do I believe that Dean should get the Nobel Peace prize for FIRST? No. FIRST, in and of itself, is not worldchanging enough.

That said, whe you look at all of Deans lifetime accomplishments (Dialysis machine, iBOT, FIRST, Water Purification machine, Robotic arms with Neural connections, etc) there is a case for him to win the award.

[Adam Y.]

Originally Posted by Cody Carey

And the last one that I'll address right now is the IBOT. No matter how much Dean insists it isn't a wheelchair, That is exactly what it is. Sure it makes it so all the folks that have to use them can feel more comfortable talking at the same height as everyone else, and the stare climbing is AMAZING, there is already an infrastructure for wheelchairs that don't do this. The IBOT, along with most of Dean's other creations, is definitely not a necessity.

/Naysaying.

I'd hate to point this out to you but Im currently living in a building that has no infrastructure dedicated to wheelchairs. In fact two out of three of my dorms were inaccessible by people with wheelchairs. They simply have stairs and as far as I could tell there was no other way to enter the building otherwise. I've held two jobs where there was no way to get to the second level without using the stairs. I've also held a job where the elevator breaks down on a pretty regular basis and that's a building where college classes are held. Boston's subway system is not entirely handicap accessible which must be a pain in the rear end for people in wheelchairs. Every single kitchen I've ever been in has been designed for someone who can stand up on two legs.
EDIT:Just remembered the fact that people have been tossed from the wheelchairs on Huntington avenue once again because the infrastructure is horrible. I always found it odd why the people were riding down the middle of the road in their wheelchairs but apparently it beats riding on the sidewalk.
/Opening up a can of reality.

[Ricki E.]

[quote= FIRST isn't going to impact lives in Rwanda or the Congo or South Africa. Not for a long time. [/QUOTE]

But what FIRST can do is inspire us students to go on and make a difference and lend a helping hand to such countries. Personally, I have used my skills learned from FIRST to start a club of my own to raise money for humanitarian aid in Sudan. It's not much, but its the fact that us FIRSTers can recognize that we are fortunate not to have to worry about such things people do in third world countries. But we can step it up and really make a difference.

But thats just what I think.

[galewind]

I can see Daniel's argument in that how each individual device that dean's company has invented may not be worthwhile of the nobel prize, but the fact that the majority of dean's work has been put into the benefit of the world could. Be it by enabling people to do things they normally couldn't do, or by enabling people to think things they normally wouldn't have, Dean's work is generated with the goal of solving the world's problems, and his results in devices and in FIRST are proof positive that his efforts, combined with ours, is beginning to make a change in our world.

This may not qualify him for a nobel peace price, but it HAS qualified him for many awards and statements of recognition.

I agree in what Kevin said -- I think Dean would get more appreciation for a FIRST student getting a Nobel Prize than he himself.

[Molten]

If he keeps up the hard work, he will get one eventually. As of now, he isn't there yet. Just give it time and see what happens.

Perhaps LookingForward could give us a prediction on this?