USATODAY.com - 'Grand challenges' spur grand results

USATODAY.com - 'Grand challenges' spur grand results: "Grand challenges' spur grand results
By Gregory M. Lamb, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
In October 2004 SpaceShipOne roared into space (twice) — the first privately funded spacecraft ever to reach suborbit, nearly 70 miles above Earth. A year later, 'Stanley,' a Volkswagen Touareg modified by Stanford University students, rumbled across some 130 miles of desert without a human driver, navigating the rough terrain guided by computer programs and sensors.
Melinda and Bill Gates pledged $437 million in their Grand Challenges for Global Health. They toured India recently. Melinda and Bill Gates pledged $437 million in their Grand Challenges for Global Health. They toured India recently.
AP via Gates Foundation

Chalk up two new technological accomplishments for the 21st century. In both cases, the designers were motivated to be the first to do something — and to win a cash prize. The Ansari X PRIZE for spaceflight paid out $10 million from a private foundation. The DARPA Grand Challenge for robotic vehicles awarded $2 million, put up by the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency."