About Clarke Instititue and Foundation

Mission

The Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to the study and recognition of developments in space, telecommunications and information. It seeks, in particular, to build on the extraordinary contributions of Arthur C. Clarke—the first individual to conceive of geosynchronous satellite communications. The Foundation also is the parent organization that supports the international activities of the Clarke Institute for Telecommunications and Information (CITI).

Brief History

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation was established in 1983 as part of the observation of the ITU sponsored World Communications Year.
The Foundation was announced at the White House as a new initiative to use communications, and especially satellite communications, to improve world communications and to honor the lifetime achievements of Arthur C. Clarke. The founding officers of this Foundation were: Chairman-Dr. John McLucas, then Executive Vice President of Comsat, Vice Chairman-Dr. Joseph N. Pelton, then of INTELSAT, Vice Chairman and founding Board Member-Dr. Naren Chitty, then Counselor in the Sri Lankan Foreign Service. Shortly thereafter Frederick Durant III, Associate Director of the
Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, joined the Board as Executive Director. Subsequently, a well recognized Board of Directors was formed
in 1984 to carry out the programs of the Foundation. A wide cross-section of leaders, drawn from the satellite, information and
telecommunications fields, are providing financial support and professional advice to the Foundation and have done so ever since its
foundation. The foundation was granted status as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational foundation under U.S. tax law in 1984. The various
activities of the Foundation since 1984 are outlined below.

Mission

• Sponsor the annual Sir Arthur C. Clarke Prizes and the Annual Clarke Lecture.
• Conduct or coordinate with global partners research and demonstration projects carried out via the Clarke Institute for Telecommunications and Information (CITI).
  
• Present educational seminars, forums and publications related to communications development, future directions in networking, programming, and new communications systems.
• Sponsor fellowships to allow students to study satellite applications and related topics.

The Sir Arthur C. Clarke Awards

The Foundation accepts nominations for its annual awards for outstanding contribution to the field of satellite communications. Such nominations should be in the form of signed letter that is co-signed by another individual with standing in the field. This letter should indicate whether the nomination is for the “New Breakthroughs” or the “Lifetime Achievement” Prize. It should set forth in detail the specific reasons and justifications that support the nomination and also attach a curriculum vita for the nominee or, if appropriate, the nominees. These awards are made possible through generous donations from the global satellite industry.

The Sir Arthur C. Clarke New

Communications Breakthroughs Prize This award and cash prize recognizes research initiatives or key new inventions that forward
the future development of the satellite networking and information industry worldwide. It recognizes a key new contribution to the field that holds particular promise and is the work of an individual or team that is just beginning to be recognized for their effort or ability. The recipient( s) would normally be age 40 or below.