Left to right: Joseph Clinton, BFI Board Member; Dr. John Todd; Neal Katz, BFI Board President; Allegra Fuller Snyder, BFI Board Chair; Elizabeth Thompson, BFI Executive Director. (Photo by Martin Seck)

The first annual Buckminster Fuller Challenge prize was conferred to Dr. John Todd at a packed-to-capacity ceremony at the Center for Architecture in New York City on Monday, June 23rd, 2008. Dr. Todd was presented a check in the amount of $100,000 for his winning project Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia. Dr. Todd was also presented the OmniOculi, a limited edition sculpture by artist Tom Shannon, commissioned for the Challenge.

Hunter Lovins representing the Jury at the conferring ceremony presented a compelling case for the selection of Dr. Todd's project. Her remarks were followed by a presentation by Dr. Todd of his award winning project. A panel session concluded the afternoon's events, moderated by Susan Szenasy, Editor in Chief of Metropolis Magazine.

Congratulations to Dr. Todd for his pioneering work and a special thanks to everyone who made the first Challenge and this beautiful ceremony possible.

We will be updating the Challenge website over the next few weeks with pictures, videos, reviews, and articles about the conferring ceremony, the opening of the Whitney exhibition, and the other events of the week - stay tuned!