WorldWide Drilling Resource

Competition to Address America’s Infrastructure Problems Adapted from a News Release from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) announced the Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge - a three-phased, crowd-sourced compet i t ion to award a total of $150,000 in prizes for innovative ideas to overhaul the crumbling infrastructure Americans rely upon to move people, materials, products, services, and information. “The united States is the strongest and largest economy in the world and yet the overall quality of our infrastructure is falling dramatically behind our global competitors,” said Dennis Slater, AEM president. “AEM’s members thought it was time to break the cycle of patch- work fixes and deferred maintenance and lead the con- versation in a different direction. We need to engage innovators who we haven’t heard from before and who have the ability to imagine how people, freight, energy, and information will move in the country of tomorrow - even as far out as the year 2050,” Slater added. “With the HeroX crowdsourcing model, we’re confident we can bring these solutions to life.” Open to everyone everywhere, the Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge will utilize the HeroX crowdsourcing model. “HeroX was founded on our conviction that the crowd - everyday people with great ideas - can and will solve the world’s most pressing problems,” said HeroX CEO Christian Cotichini. “The Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge moves the u.S. infrastructure con- versation beyond traditional political channels for the first time and gives everyone affected by these issues a chance to voice their opinions and find solutions.” According to The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, the u.S. received a combined grade of D+ for the condition of its infrastructure. The report cites the nation’s 70,000 structurally-deficient bridges; the fact 42% of America’s major urban highways remain congested, costing the economy an estimated $101 billion in wasted time and fuel each year; as well as the estimated 240,000 annual water main breaks as examples for why rebuilding the country’s infrastructure is such a critical issue. The report further estimates it would take a $3.6 trillion investment by 2020 to bring u.S. infrastructure up to exceptional standards. Finalists and winners of the Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge will be determined by a judging panel and crowd voting. The first two phases have already been launched, and the third phase is scheduled to launch in mid-summer, 2016. Phase 1 - The Complain Phase will engage the public to describe the biggest infrastructure challenge facing their community. En- trants will be asked to submit the area of infrastructure they feel is the most opportune or pressing problem they see or have experi- enced. Total Prize: $5000 (10 finalists receive $250; overall winner receives $2500) Deadline to enter: March 15, 2016 Phase 2 - The Dream Phase will seek to solicit new thinking and solutions, especially from nonexperts. Applicants will be asked to submit a proposed solution idea for the infrastructure problem they identified. Total Prize: $45,000 (5 winners receive $9000 each) Deadline to enter: May 31, 2016 Phase 3 - The Build Phase takes the second phase a step fur- ther and solicits plans to implement those solutions on a larger scale. Total Prize: $100,000 (Winner receives $100,000) Deadline to enter: TBD 37 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2016