World Technology Award Win
University of
Wollongong academic Associate Professor Sharon Beder was surprised but
delighted when named winner of the 2001 World Technology Award for Ethics.
The award, for her work in engineering ethics and the ethics of legal corporations, honours a field considered likely to be of long-term significance for business and society.
Sharon Beder, Head of the University of Wollongong’s Science, Technology and Society program, is the author of the controversial book Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism. Her latest book, Selling the Work Ethic, deals with consumption, the work ethic and employers. Global Spin made Professor Beder an international figure in environmental politics and earned the admiration of British playwright Harold Pinter and Australian investigative journalist John Pilger.
During the World Technology Summit and World Technology Awards, held in association with Nasdaq, GlaxoSmithKline, Enrol, Business Week, CNBC and Nature, she was presented with a trophy designed by internationally acclaimed architect Richard Meier. The ceremony was held in London’s National Museum of Science and Industry. Ethics is one of the 24 categories in which awards are given.
World Technology Network chairman James Clack said Professor Beder won the award over ‘an absolutely legendary group of people’. UOW vice-chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton said nomination for such an award would have been a remarkable achievement in itself. However, for Professor Beder to have won, clearly indicates her international standing in the technology world.
Edited with permission from UOW News