UC Davis CONNECT announces the first annual Capital Region Most Innovative Product Awards recognizing industry's accomplishments in transitioning research into today's products and markets. CONNECT, a division of the University of California, Davis, University Outreach and International Programs, and the UC Davis Program in Technology and Entrepreneurship, is accepting nominations for the 2001 awards through Jan. 29. Six awards will be given in the categories of: 1) Medical Technology, 2) Engineering, 3) Environment & Transportation, 4) Agriculture, 5) Biotechnology and 6) New Media. To be considered for an award the product must have been both: 1) first sold or introduced during 1999 or 2000, and 2) substantially designed and/or manufactured within the capital region including the I-80 corridor. Only real products (or services) available for sale are eligible for awards. Award selections will be based primarily on innovation and impact to the particular market sector. Three finalists in each category will be chosen by a committee of UC Davis deans and business experts. The finalists will be invited to present their products to a panel of distinguished judges, composed of civic, business, and scientific leaders, who will then select the winners. The winners will be announced at the awards dinner banquet March 2 at the Sacramento Hyatt Regency Hotel. The 2001 Most Innovative New Products Awards is supported by The Sacramento Business Journal, News 10, SAIC, Arthur Andersen, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak and Sproul LLP, Downey Brand Seymour & Rohwer LLP, Interland, and Morrison & Foerster LLP, among others. For more information on the 2001 Most Innovative New Products Awards, contact UC Davis CONNECT at tel: (530) 757-3569, fax: (530) 753-3264, or on the web at . The CONNECT program was founded at UC San Diego in 1985 and became an "incubator without walls," nurturing entrepreneurship in high-tech and life science industries there. Building on this success, since October 1999, UC Davis CONNECT has been leveraging the resources of this region to aid in the creation and success of new local high-tech businesses. Since inception, UC Davis CONNECT companies have raised over $22 million in equity investments. CONNECT links entrepreneurs with the resources they need for success: money, markets, management, partners, support services, and access to government officials. Its programs also help business service providers, attorneys, accountants, bankers, investors and marketing professionals by providing them with knowledge about emerging technologies and access to new business opportunities.