Awards acknowledge outstanding achievements in AIDC technology
AIM Global, the leading industry association and global authority this year celebrating 50 years in innovation, standards, and solutions in barcode, biometrics, IoT, NFC, RFID, RTLS, and RAIN, is delighted to announce today the winners of the 2023 AIM industry awards. These awards celebrate the industry's brightest minds, innovative technologies, and dedicated individuals and organizations who have made significant strides in advancing Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technology.
AIM Global presents a total of seven prestigious awards to recognize excellence and innovation in the field of AIDC. These awards celebrate exceptional contributions from individuals and organizations across various categories, including the Allan Gilligan Award, Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award, Clive Hohberger Technology Award, Don Percival Award, Paul Bergé International Business Development Award, Richard Dilling Award, and the Ted Williams Award.
The 2023 AIM Industry Award Winners are:
Richard R. Dilling Award
Since 1984, the Dilling Award is the highest award given in the Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) industry. Named for Richard R. Dilling, an industry pioneer and former Vice President of AIM, it is presented to executives, scientists, and engineers in recognition of outstanding contributions that have furthered the growth of the industry through important applications and new technological developments
Winner: Josef Preishuber-Pflügl, Inobir e.U.
Josef Preishuber-Pflügl has made outstanding contributions to the development of RFID technology and standardization, as well as his involvement in various industry groups. Josef has also worked to enhance RFID technology and standards, playing a key role in ISO/IEC standardization.
Don Percival Award
The Don Percival Award was established in 1982 to honor Don Percival, an early founder and pioneer in the development of bar code scanning. The award is presented each year to an individual or organization from the user community recognizing outstanding contributions to the application of automatic identification and data capture technologies.
Dual Winners: Chipotle Mexican Grill and Gregg Gorniak, Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen).
Chipotle Mexican Grill was nominated for an RFID-based solution that tracks goods received and consumed at each location. Chipotle is rolling out an RFID solution to all 3200 locations, as reported in various industry publications.
Gregg Gorniak is recognized for his contributions to data collection solutions in the pharmaceutical industry. Gregg is a Vice President of Manufacturer Operations & Data Services at Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen) and collaborates with the AXIA Lab on pharmaceutical supply chain RFID applications.
Alan Gillian Award
This award was established in 2012 to honor a revolutionary developer of supply chain standards across multiple industries. The award is given to a member of the industry who has made outstanding contributions to the development of AIDC applications in materials handling and logistics supply chain.
Winners: Jon Gurney Bell, Jeff Walp and Darryl Forbes of UPS Advanced Technology Group. Jon, Jeff, and Darryl were nominated for the UPS Smart Package, Smart Facility (SPSF) initiative, which utilizes technology to enhance customer experiences, eliminate manual scans, improve productivity, and create a more efficient supply chain network.
Jon Gurney Bell, Innovation & Strategy UPS Advanced Technology Group: Jon leads strategic innovation at UPS’s Advanced Technology Group, focusing on understanding customer needs, and innovation, and applying cutting-edge technologies to enhance UPS's Global Smart Logistics Network.
Jeff Walp, Director Smart Sensor IoT UPS Advanced Technology Group: Jeff leads oversight and direction for RFID and Smart Sensors/Internet of Things (IoT) at UPS’s Advanced Technology group, connecting the complex UPS IoT.
Darryl Forbes, Vice President of Operations Technology focusing on the deployment and R&D of the UPS Smart Package Smart Facility initiative. Darryl also oversees scanning, automation, IoT for the global smart logistics network.
Dr. Clive Hohberger Technology Award
Created in 2018 to honor the lifetime contribution of Dr. Clive Hohberger, prolific inventor, and recognize the scientists, engineers, software developers, or systems integrators for outstanding contributions that have furthered the growth of the industry through important applications and new technological developments.
Winner: Dominque Guinard, Digimarc.
Dominque Guinard is recognized for his pioneering contributions to AIDC and the IoT, including work with Sun Microsystems, a Ph.D. thesis, and the development of the first Web of Things (WoT) architecture. Dominque has founded EVRYTHNG, co-authored the Web Thing Model, and is a thought leader in the industry, contributing to standards and working on various IoT projects.
Paul Bergé International Business Development Award
The Paul Bergé Award, established in 2020, recognizes the extensive International AIDC business development efforts spearheaded by Paul Bergé throughout his career. In his international market development career at Symbol Technologies, Paul was the founding Chairman of AIM Europe (1984) and past-chairman of AIM International. He was the recipient of the 1989 AIM Richard R. Dilling Award for his global business expansion efforts. Presented each year, the Paul Bergé Award distinguishes an individual or an organization that demonstrates an international impact on expanding AIDC technology awareness and implementation.
Winner: Gwen Volpe, RPh, LSSBB, FASHP; Fresenius Kabi.
Gwen Volpe has shown unwavering dedication to promoting standards-based RFID product tagging for pharmaceutical products and driving the pharma industry toward proper encodings. Gwen’s accomplishments include Fresenius Kabi's successful implementation of standards-based RFID product tagging and her ongoing efforts to improve and clarify relevant standards
Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award
In 2006, the Excellence in Journalism Award was established to recognize a journalist or media representative in the automatic identification industry whose work exemplifies the qualities of honest, educational and unbiased reporting of the automatic identification and mobility industry. The award was renamed in 2012 to honor Bert Moore, long-time AIM contributor and industry expert.
Winner: Steve Statler, The Mister Beacon Podcast.
Steve Statler makes significant contributions to educating industry professionals on autoID, IoT, and location technologies through his podcast, especially in the fields of retail, sustainability, and food safety. Qualifications for his nomination include authoring "Beacon Technologies - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Beacosystem" and producing 178+ long-form podcast episodes over seven years on The Mister Beacon Podcast.
Ted Williams Award
Named in honor of Ted Williams, an industry innovator, collaborator, and long-time member of the AIM Global Technical Symbology Committee, this award, created in 2007, is presented annually to a professor or student in recognition of innovative and exceptional contributions to the development of the Automatic Identification and Mobility industry that can further the growth of the industry through their work as a teacher, researcher or entrepreneur.
Winner: Bahar Aliakbarian, Axia Institute Michigan State University (MSU).
Bahar Aliakbarian's significant work in promoting the use of RFID in supply chain traceability in the pharmaceutical industry and her ability to bring stakeholders together to develop use cases have made a major mark in the industry. Bahar is an Associate Professor at MSU and has been instrumental in the development of testing protocols at the AXIA Institute.
“The AIM Industry Awards showcase the remarkable individuals and organizations that drive innovation and excellence in the AIDC industry, and we are so happy to recognize their impactful achievements,” said AIM Global’s CEO, Mary Lou Bosco. “Congratulations to all the winners for their exceptional contributions and dedication to advancing the field of Automatic Identification and Data Capture.”
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