Lockheed Martin Launches Innovation Contest

Lockheed Martin Corporation has announced a worldwide innovation contest with cash awards totaling $50,000.

The “Innovate the Future” contest creates a global forum for interested participants to share their ideas on how innovation can enable a more secure future for the planet. Participants are invited to submit their thoughts on a range of topics facing the world community, including the need for sustainable energy, cyber security, and healthcare.

“Lockheed Martin has 100-year legacy of discovery, innovation, and breakthroughs that have made lasting impacts on society, from human’s first attempts at flight, to systems for controlling the world’s air traffic, to our earliest exploration of space,” said Dr. Ray O. Johnson, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Lockheed Martin.

“An important lesson from this legacy is that good ideas can come from anywhere. Through this contest, we are creating an online environment that helps people with diverse backgrounds and experiences share their ideas,” continued Johnson.

To enter the contest, participants must complete a brief submission online<https://lmco.brightidea.com/innovatethefuture> by September 30, 2012. Up to five ideas will be selected for cash awards by a committee comprised of Lockheed Martin employees and at least one independent third party.

There will be up to one $25,000 grand prize, one $10,000 second place prize, and three $5,000 third place prizes. The grand prize winner will also receive an incubation contract with the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute at the University of Maryland to help validate and develop the idea.

Lockheed Martin is currently commemorating its Centennial anniversary and the company’s history of innovation. For more information, including stories of innovation, please visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/100years<http://www.lockheedmartin.com/100years>.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture,  integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation’s net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.

The University of Maryland and Lockheed Martin Corporation established a unique strategic partnership in 2010, building on more than 60 years of close collaboration. This alliance provides a framework for closer cooperation between the two institutions in sharing and developing research, resources, talent and innovative solutions to national and global challenges. The strategic partnership, managed by the University of Maryland's Division of Research, promotes work in three key areas: Centers of Collaboration, Joint Pursuit of Business Opportunities, and Enhanced Research and Development. For more information: www.research.umd.edu<http://www.research.umd.edu/>
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