The Engelberger Robotics Award, the industry's highest honour, will be presented to Ake Lindqvist and Henrik Christensen. The recipients will be honoured during a ceremony on March 22 at the InterContintental Hotel in Chicago during Automate 2011/42nd International Symposium on Robotics. The award, sponsored by Robotic Industries Association (RIA), is named after Joseph F. Engelberger - "the father of robotics." RIA will present each recipient with a commemorative medallion and a $5,000 honorarium. 

Ake Lindqvist wins the 2011 Engelberger Award for Leadership. Lindqvist spent 37 years in the industry until his recent retirement from ABB Robotics. During his career at ABB, he held several senior positions at the ABB Robotics headquarters in Sweden and North America. He was most recently vice-president and member of the ABB Robotics Products Global Management Team. He is the current president of the International Federation of Robotics, a past chairman of the Robotic Industries Association, and a past chairman of the Automation Technologies Council.

Dr. Henrik Christensen wins the 2011 Engelberger Award for Education. Christensen is currently the KUKA Chair of Robotics and a professor of computing with the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He also serves as the director of the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. He is well known globally for his roles as the Founding Chair of the European Robotics Research Network and for being the driving force behind the recent Roadmap for U.S. Robotics.

Launched in 1977, 113 industry leaders from 16 nations have been selected for this honour. RIA is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Engelberger Robotics Awards, to be presented in Taipei, Taiwan. For more details about the award, or to submit a nomination, contact RIA at (734) 994-6088 or visit Robotics Online.