EBay awarded National Medal of Technology and Innovation

EBay will be one of eight individuals and corporations awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation Monday at the White House. EBay was praised by the US Department of Commerce for "pioneering the technology that encouraged and supported online trade, enabling global entrepreneurship and the growth of the Internet worldwide."

The medal has been awarded by the president since 1985, but eBay says it is the first Internet company to receive the prize.

Winners were announced Aug. 25 and a ceremony will occur Monday.

The other corporate honoree is Skunk Works, a Lockheed company division that has developed aircraft and other technologies for the US government for 65 years, including contributions to stealth weapon systems.

The individual winners are:

-- Paul Baran of California, inventor of packet switching, which helped make the Internet possible.

-- Roscoe Brady of Maryland, whose medical discoveries led to treatments for various hereditary enzyme-deficiency disorders.

-- David Cutler of Washington, who designed and implemented world standards for operating systems and made various other contributions to computer architecture and software engineering.

-- Armand Feigenbaum of Massachusetts, whose ideas form the basis of the Total Quality Management business strategy used in government, manufacturing, education and various other industries.

-- Adam Heller of Texas, whose research in electrochemistry and bioelectrochemistry led to the development of products that improve human health and well-being.

-- C. Grant Willson of Texas, who created lithographic imaging materials and techniques that enable manufacturing of smaller, faster and more efficient microelectronic components.