Verizon nominated OnStar's Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) in recognition of its contributions to advancing global information technology and its positive impact on society. The AACN system automatically notifies specially-trained emergency call center advisors of moderate to severe frontal, rear or side-impact vehicle crashes. Sensors relay crash severity information and metrics that are communicated to 911 dispatchers to assist in determining the appropriate responses.
"We are honored to have received the 21st Century Achievement award," said Chet Huber, president of OnStar. "We find ourselves in a unique category of being a three-time winner, which is an accomplishment that no other company has achieved and we are truly appreciative of this recognition."
OnStar was selected as one of five finalists in the Transportation category. This year's awards were presented last night at a gala event held at the National Building Museum. The awards ceremony was attended by over 250 guests, including leaders of the information technology industry, former award recipients, judges, scholars and diplomats representing many of the 54 countries from which the 18-year-old program's laureates have come.
According to Dan Morrow, a founding director and chief historian for the Honors Program, "This year's award recipients exemplify the very best in the creative use of IT in service to mankind. Their work and their stories are outstanding contributions to the history of the information technology revolution in every sense of the word, and, for the archives we serve all over the world, they are, truly priceless."
From more than 250 nominations submitted this year by the industry chairmen and CEO's who serve on the program's Chairman Committee, 162 were honored as laureates at ceremonies in San Francisco, on April 3, 2005, when their case studies officially became part of the Computerworld Honors 2005 Collection. Of these, 48 finalists were chosen by a panel of distinguished judges to attend the gala event in Washington, D.C., at which 10 were announced recipients of the 21st Century Achievement award.
Honorees were celebrated for their significant achievements in the use of IT to benefit mankind across the following 10 categories: Business and Related Services; Education and Academia; Environment; Energy and Agriculture; Finance; Insurance and Real Estate; Government and Non-Profit Organizations; Manufacturing; Media, Arts and Entertainment; Medicine; Science; and Transportation.
In 1996, OnStar won in the Transportation category for its core safety and security services nominated by EDS. OnStar's second award came in 2001, in the Transportation category for its Virtual Advisor technology, nominated by General Magic.
Additional information about the 2005 Collection is available at www.cwheroes.org, where the entire collection is available to scholars, researchers and the general public.