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www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 5 The X PRIZE Foundation (www.xprize.org), best known for launching the private spaceflight industry through the $10m Ansari X PRIZE, and the ultra-fuel efficient vehicle market through the $10m Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, announced the launch of its sixth major incentive competition, the $1.4m Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge. Wendy Schmidt is president of The Schmidt Family Foundation, Founder of the Foundation’s 11th Hour Project and Climate Central, as well as Co-founder, with her husband Eric, of the Schmidt Marine Science Research Institute. Other speakers included Philippe Cousteau, son of Jan and Philippe Cousteau Sr., and grandson of Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau and co-founder and CEO of EarthEcho International; and Dr. Dave Gallo, Ph.D., Director of Special Projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The goal of the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge is to inspire entrepreneurs, engineers, and sci- entists worldwide to develop innovative, rapidly deploy- able, and highly efficient methods of capturing crude oil from the ocean surface. The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge has two phases: Phase I: From August 2010 – April 2011, teams are invited to register and to submit their approach to clean up oil slicks. An expert panel of judges from industry and academia will evaluate all of the proposals. Phase II: The judges will select up to 10 of the top teams to demonstrate their ability to efficiently and rapidly clean up oil on the ocean surface in a head-to-head competition. These proofs of capability, which will determine the win- ner, will take place at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility (OHSMETT) in New Jersey. The top team that demonstrates the ability to recover oil on the seawater surface at the highest oil recovery rate (ORR) and recovery efficiency (RE) will win the $1m Grand Purse. Second place will win $300,000 and third place will win $100,000 in purses. The Wendy Schmidt Oil Clean-Up Challenge
