Awards & Recognition
Peter Strauss Award
The Peter Strauss Award recognizes early career Hertz Fellows who have made significant achievements in an entrepreneurial endeavor, including patents, licensing agreements, start-up companies and inventions receiving national recognition. Awardees receive a $5,000 honorarium.
Honoring a friendship
The award honors Peter Strauss, a former member of our board of directors and financial advisor to the foundation for many decades. It was established by Strauss’s long-time associate Harold Newman, an honorary Hertz Fellow, former member of our board of directors, and a generous supporter of and donor to the foundation.
award details
How to Nominate
Nominations must be submitted to the Hertz Foundation by January 29 each year. In your nomination package, include a clear description of the entrepreneurial accomplishments of the nominee, along with three testimonials by science and technology leaders who can attest to the importance of the nominee’s work. Please contact us to submit a nomination or learn more about the award.
Strauss Award Winners
2017
Ian Mckay was recognized for his outstanding work pushing the limits of battery power. McKay is the lead inventor of a revolutionary aluminum-based battery that offers 10 times the energy of lithium-ion batteries in a safe, compact design. The battery is ideal for use in unmanned underwater vehicles, ocean science research, and the oil and gas industry. McKay’s company, Open Water Power Inc, co-founded with Tom Milnes, was acquired by L3 Technologies and renamed L3 Open Water Power.
2016
Max Mankin and Tony Pan were recognized for their tremendous work to revolutionize electric power generation and their effort to solve an issue that impacts people around the world: energy consumption. With the Seattle based start-up Modern Electron, they are working to generate inexpensive, modular, and reliable electricity for use worldwide.
2016
Max Mankin and Tony Pan were recognized for their tremendous work to revolutionize electric power generation and their effort to solve an issue that impacts people around the world: energy consumption. With the Seattle based start-up Modern Electron, they are working to generate inexpensive, modular, and reliable electricity for use worldwide.
2014
John Frank was recognized for co-founding Diffeo, a technology start-up that created a new type of human language technology that applies text analytics to working notes, and for MetaCarta, a company that provides geographic information extraction and search engine products. MetaCarta was acquired by Nokia in 2010.
2012
John Stockton was recognized for founding two companies: Entanglement Technologies, which designs ultra-sensitive vapor detection with a variety of customers, including the U.S. Department of Defense, and Quantifind, which provides algorithmic software-based analytical services to consumer products manufacturers, scientific publishers, movie studios, and game makers.
2011
Christopher Loose was recognized for founding Semprus BioSciences (formerly SteriCoat) to develop medical and industrial products with surface modifications to reduce infection, clotting, and fouling.
About Peter Strauss
The Hertz Foundation Board of Directors established the Strauss Award in 2010 through a gift from the late Harold Newman (left), a long-serving Hertz Foundation board member, who was a long-time associate of Peter Strauss (right). Both were supporters of the Hertz Foundation for many decades, serving on its Board and as financial advisors to the Foundation while senior associates at Neuberger Berman. As a United States Marine during World War II, Strauss was decorated in combat and was one of three Marines who accepted the Japanese forces surrender to China at the end of the War. After graduating from Yale, he became a highly successful financial manager and retained a strong and incisive interest in national security matters.
A Dedicated Leader
For more than 20 years, Hertz Fellow and Board Chairman Emeritus David Galas led the Hertz Foundation with passion, dedication and a vision for its future. Throughout his tenure, Galas’ thoughtful and compassionate leadership enriched the lives of those around him. He was always focused on identifying bright young people and providing them with the support, opportunities and mentorship to maximize their potential.
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