Thorpe, director of the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) since May 2001, will be recognized in the field of technology - one of 14 being honored in various categories - during the event to be held at the Westin Convention Center Hotel. Thorpe is the son of longtime Covenant missionaries to Congo (then Zaire) Roger and Eileen Thorpe.

CMU has emerged as one of the world's leaders in robot research, coordinating everything from the design of an anatomically correct robotic hand to vision-guided robotic helicopters. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Army announced it would spend $34 billion remaking its battlefield with unmanned robotic vehicles - CMU joined the Army's lead research team as a subcontractor.

In the field of traffic safety, the Robotics Institute is testing a sensor system on the bumpers of vehicles that may someday serve as a second set of eyes for bus drivers. According to a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, researchers plan to mount the system on a Pittsburgh Port Authority bus for a field test later this year as part of a $1.8 million federal and state program to develop collision avoidance systems for buses. The tests primarily have been conducted on a Jeep known as Navlab 11, a vehicle made at the Robotics Institute that drives itself. The project is part of the Federal Transit Administration's Intelligent Vehicle Initiative.

Vectors/Pittsburgh, originated in February 1939, is a community service organization whose members represent all aspects of Pittsburgh's culture. Originally known as the Pittsburgh Junior Chamber of Commerce, the organization dedicates itself to the goal of leadership experience through community service.