The Laureates for the 2006 Tech Museum Awards were recently announced.

The Tech Museum Awards is an international awards program that honors innovators from around the world who are applying technology to benefit humanity.

While this awards program is more about recognition than about stimulating further research, it is still important to bring attention to the application of technology to development problems. Not only that, but with Bill Gates headlining the event, it should garner some press for the lesser-known laureates.

Laureates in the Economic Development category are:

Mohammed Bah Abba, Mobah Rural Horizons - a natural "pot-in-pot" cooling technology that extends the life of harvested produce.

Centre for Development of Disadvantaged People - an India NGO that runs schools for disadvantaged students in rural villages of the Thiruvallur district.

Global Connection Project - a joint project of Carnegie Mellon University, NASA, Google, and National Geographic to encourage global citizenship and understanding through the sharing of dynamically viewable images.

IESC Geekcorps - an international non-profit that promotes stability and prosperity in the developing world through ICT.

Synergo - A U.S. consulting company that harnesses ergonomics to increase health, creativity, and productivity, the firm created the Backstrap Weaver's Ergonomic Bench to help indigenous women artisans enhance productivity.

The twenty-five Laureates will be honored at a gala on November 15, in San Jose, California. One Laureate per category receives a $50,000 cash prize.