James Cameron Joins X PRIZE Foundation Board of Trustees
The X PRIZE Foundation today announced the appointment of James Cameron to its Board of Trustees. Cameron joins a world-class Board of Trustees that includes a growing list of entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers such as Dean Kamen, inventor, CEO, DEKA; Dr. J. Craig Venter, CEO, Synthetic Genomics; Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla and CEO, SpaceX; Ray Kurzweil, futurist and author; Anousheh Ansari, first female private space explorer; Larry Page, CEO & co-founder, Google; and Arianna Huffington, President and Editor in Chief, Huffington Post Media Group. The Board actively participates by advising on where large incentive competitions (X PRIZEs and X CHALLENGEs) can drive radical breakthroughs to help address humanity’s grand challenges.
Cameron is a film director, producer, screenwriter, explorer and inventor. His award-winning writing and directing work includes Avatar, Titanic, Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss. Cameron spent years creating documentary films and co-developing the digital 3-D Fusion Camera System. Described as part-scientist and part-artist, Cameron has also contributed to the state of the art of underwater cinematography, NASA Mars missions and remotely piloted vehicle technologies. In addition to his Board of Trustees appointment, Cameron serves on the X PRIZE Foundation’s Exploration Advisory Committee.
“Capturing the public’s imagination is a key component of all critical exploration these days. We especially have to engage kids and the X PRIZE Foundation certainly does it,” said Cameron. “They really promote innovation and exploration in key areas and I’m honored to participate in the development of its initiatives.”
“I am excited to have James Cameron joining our board,” noted Peter Diamandis, Chairman & CEO, X PRIZE Foundation. “He’s committed to envisioning and creating the future and does not take ‘impossible’ as an answer to solving the world’s grand challenges.”
James Cameron will be honored, along with philanthropist Wendy Schmidt, on April 16 at an event hosted at the FOX Studios Lot (Los Angeles) by Fox Chairman and X PRIZE Foundation Trustee, Jim Gianopulos. To reserve tickets and inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Meghan Murphy at Meghan@xprize.org.
For more information about the X PRIZE Foundation, visit www.xprize.org.
ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION
Founded in 1995, the X PRIZE Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization solving the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and development worth far more than the prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of humanity. The X PRIZE Foundation conducts competitions in four Prize Groups: Education & Global Development; Energy & Environment; Life Sciences; and Exploration (Ocean and Deep Space). Prizes won include the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private, suborbital space flight; the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE for creating safe, affordable, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 MPG energy equivalent (MPGe); and the $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X CHALLENGE for advanced rocket development. Active prizes include the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, the $10 million Archon Genomics X PRIZE, and the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE. For more information, visit www.xprize.org.
Media Contact:
Michael Timmons
prcontact@xprize.org
310.741.4880
