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RIA to present Engelberger Awards

The Engelberger Robotics Award, the industry's highest honor, will be presented to Åke Lindqvist and Henrik Christensen during a dinner ceremony on March 22 in Chicago. Each recipient will be presented a commemorative medallion and a $5,000 honorarium.

The award, sponsored by Robotic Industries Association (RIA), Ann Arbor, Mich., is named after Joseph F. Engelberger, known throughout the world as "the father of robotics." Launched in 1977, 113 industry leaders from 16 nations have been selected for this honor.

Lindqvist wins the 2011 Engelberger Award for Leadership. He spent 37 years in the industry until his recent retirement from ABB Robotics (formerly ASEA). He held several senior positions at the ABB Robotics headquarters in Sweden and North America, most recently serving as vice president and a member of the ABB Robotics Products Global Management Team as head of automotive global product sales.

Lindqvist graduated from the Royal University of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and holds an MBA in international business management. He is the current president of the International Federation of Robotics, a past chairman of the RIA, and a past chairman of the Automation Technologies Council.

"Åke Lindqvist has been a strong global advocate for robotics for nearly four decades," said Jeffrey A. Burnstein, president of RIA. "He has left an indelible mark on our industry by being a consistent voice representing the needs of all industry participants, including suppliers, integrators, users, and research groups. I am thrilled that he is winning the award this year, as it will make a terrific capstone for a great career in robotics."

Dr. Henrik Christensen wins the 2011 Engelberger Award for Education. He currently is the KUKA chair of robotics and a professor of computing with the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He also serves as the director of the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. He is well-known globally for his roles as the founding chair of the European Robotics Research Network and for being the driving force behind the recent Roadmap for U.S. Robotics.

"Henrik Christensen is a respected researcher on robotic solutions focused on real applications, has published more than 250 papers, serves on the editorial board of the leading international robotics journals, is active on robotics research projects throughout the world, and is constantly helping educate government leaders about robotics," Burnstein noted. "He is an extremely worthy winner of the Engelberger Award."

RIA is the only trade group in North America organized specifically to serve the robotics industry. Its 250 member companies include leading robot manufacturers, users, system integrators, component suppliers, research groups, and consulting firms.