The "Hedy Lamarr Achievement Award for Emerging Leaders in Entertainment Technology," recognizes female college students in their junior year whose studies in the fields of entertainment and technology have shown exceptional promise. The $10,000 Award will be presented in November. Austrian-American actress Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood legend who is best known for her roles in film classics including, Samson and Delilah, The Strange Woman, and Tortilla Flat. She was also a lifelong inventor whose innovative work included pioneering "frequency hopping" which became the foundation for spread spectrum technology. Conceived by Lamarr and composer George Antheil for radio guidance systems and patented in 1942, this highly secure technology resists interference and dropout, and is utilized today for a variety of cellular, WiFi and Bluetooth applications.
To honor Lamarr, the scholarship seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to pursue opportunities available to them in entertainment technology, be those pursuits academic or professional. The award winner will receive this scholarship as they enter their senior year of undergraduate study. While there are no specific restrictions on the use of this monetary award, we hope and expect that the funds will be used to further the winner’s study or efforts in their recognized area of excellence. A sister award, the Hedy Lamar Award for Innovation in Entertainment Technology, which recognizes female executives in the fields of entertainment and technology who have made a significant contribution to the industry was awarded to Geena Davis, acclaimed actress and Founder and Chair of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in 2017, Nonny de la Peña, CEO, Emblematic Group, in 2018, Dean Willow Bay of USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, in 2019, Sarah DeWitt, VP, PBS Kids Digital, in 2020, and Poppy Crum, Chief Technology Officer, Trimble, and former Chief Scientist, Dolby Laboratories, in 2021.
To be eligible to receive the Hedy Lamarr Achievement Award, the candidate must be a female student in good standing, in her junior year at an accredited, U.S.- based, academic institution. The candidate must be a citizen of the U.S. and have a minimum 3.0 GPA. The candidate must submit the completed application by the due date and provide proof of eligibility or other information as reasonably requested by DEG and the Judging Panel. The Judging Panel has sole discretion in choosing the Award winner.
