Philo T. Farnsworth Award

Philo T. Farnsworth Award
Three people standing in front of a banner are smiling at the camera. Two men are holding Emmy statuette with a woman in the middle
The Philo T. Farnsworth Award being accepted by Goddard Space Flight Center engineer Richard Nafzger, actress June Lockhart, and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin on behalf of NASA in 2009.
Awarded for"An agency, company or institution whose contributions over time have significantly impacted television technology and engineering"[1]
CountryUnited States
Presented byAcademy of Television Arts & Sciences
Reward(s)Statuette
First awarded2003
Currently held byNational Association of Broadcasters (2023)
WebsiteOfficial website of the Emmy Awards

The Philo T. Farnsworth Award (also called the Philo T. Farnsworth Corporate Achievement Award)[2] is a non-competitive award presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) as part of the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards to "an agency, company or institution whose contributions over time have significantly impacted television technology and engineering".[1] Named for Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the first fully working all-electronic television system and receiver,[3] the winner is selected by a jury of television engineers from ATAS's Engineering Emmy Awards Committee, who consider "all engineering developments which have proven their efficacy during the awards year and determines which, if any, merit recognition with an Engineering Emmy statuette".[1] The accolade was first awarded in 2003 as a result of about a year of lobbying to ATAS by Farnsworth's wife Pam Farnsworth and Hawaii-based Skinner Entertainment management and production firm owner Georja Skinner.[4][5]

At an annual award ceremony held in various locations, the ATAS presents the winner with a copper, gold, nickel and silver statuette of a winged woman holding an atom that was designed by engineer Louis McManus.[6] It was first presented at the 55th Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards ceremony in September 2003.[5][7] Motion picture equipment company Panavision was selected as the inaugural recipient for its work in developing "specialty camera items, cranes and dollies, Video assists, 35mm optics, cameras, lighting, trucks and grips".[7] Since then, another 16 agencies, companies and institutions have received the award and none have won more than once. No award was given between 2005 and 2007 and in 2020.[8] It has been presented to two separate recipients for different reasons in a calendar year once, in 2010, to the Desilu production company and the Digidesign audio technology firm.[8][9] As of the 75th Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards, the National Association of Broadcasters is the most recent winner in this category for its work on the 100th anniversary "as 'the voice of America’s broadcasters', working to advance their interests through public policy advocacy, educational initiatives and support for content and technology innovation."[10]

  1. ^ a b c "Engineering Emmy Awards". Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2017Winner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Farnsworth, Philo T.". Television in American Society Reference Library. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  4. ^ Harada, Wayne (June 5, 2003). "Random Notes: Here 'N' Here". The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Farrant, Rick (September 22, 2003). "Tech prize named after Farnsworth". The Journal Gazette. p. 5D.
  6. ^ Sakzewski, Emily (September 22, 2019). "Primetime Emmy awards facts you might not know". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 2003Winner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AwardWinners was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2010Winners was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2023Winner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).