TED Prizes Go From Deep Sea to Deep Space

An oceanographer, astronomer, and a retired economist turned music teacher have been awarded TED Prizes for their innovative work in changing the world, TED Conference organizers said today.

The three winners -- ocean scientist Sylvia Earle, astronomer Jill Tarter, and music educator Jose Antonio Abreu -- will accept their awards at the 2009 TED conference in Long Beach, California, next February.

The awards consist of $100,000 each and the opportunity to enlist other members of the TED community to cooperate on a project to improve the world in some way. Each will disclose his or her project at the conference, which is shifting south next year from its birthplace in Monterey.

TED was founded as a way to exchange celebrates technology, entertainment, and design ideas, and has attracted Silicon Valley pioneers.

Earle is the former chief scientist of the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration and explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.

Tarter is director of the SETI Institute's Center for SETI Research, which searches for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Abreu, a retired economist, founded and runs El Sistema ("the system"), a social services program that introduces poor Venezuelan children to classical music. El Sistema now runs 102 youth orchestras, 55 children's orchestras, and 270 music centers.

A slideshow of previous TED Prize winners and their accomplishments can be found here.

by Mark Stein

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