SAN FRANCISCO- Officials with The Conrad Foundation today announced there are only a few weeks left to register for the Pete Conrad "Spirit of Innovation" Awards. Entries are still being accepted for this annual contest, which challenges teams of U.S. high school students to create innovative products for use in various fields of science and technology.

"Innovation is what this country does best," said Nancy Conrad, founder of The Conrad Foundation, which was formed in honor of the late Pete Conrad, commander of Apollo 12 and third man to walk on the Moon. "It is what sent Pete to the Moon and it is the very foundation of our knowledge-based economy. Through this competition, we are growing the future innovators that will keep America economically and intellectually solid."

For this year's competition, student teams will create an entrepreneurial enterprise and develop a concept centered around one of the following: lunar exploration; innovative products for use in personal spaceflight; or answering Al Gore's challenge to craft a clean, carbon-free way of using renewable energy to change everyday life. Teams will submit three documents about their concept: a technical report, a business plan and a graphical representation.

Thirty-six teams from across the United States have already signed up to compete. Team profiles are available for public access at www.conradawards.com.

Entries are due by Jan. 9, 2009. A panel of judges will critique all entries based on innovation, practicality, completeness, marketability and relevance. Finalist teams will be announced in February and advance to the Innovation SummitTM, taking place Apr. 2-4, 2009 at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Calif. Here, teams will present their ideas to an expert panel and compete for more than $120,000 in prize money.

Winning teams will also have the opportunity to network with scientists, university professors and world business leaders in order to further develop the proposed concepts and introduce them to the commercial marketplace.

"This competition is the pipeline from education to industry - we are moving the needle in education and increasing the depth and breadth of human capital in this country," said Conrad. "We've not only created a program, we're driving a movement."

To register for the Pete Conrad "Spirit of Innovation" Awards and to learn of complete contest rules, visit http://www.conradawards.org.

About Charles "Pete" Conrad

Pete Conrad's accomplishments span the entire history of manned space flight. Conrad flew Gemini V and Gemini XI and became the third man to walk on the Moon on Apollo XII. He also flew the Skylab II mission, in which his emergency spacewalk saved the entire station and earned him a Congressional Space Medal of Honor. After retiring from NASA, Conrad returned to space, no longer as an explorer, but as an entrepreneur. He was a key participant in the ventures that created the beginning of the commercial space industry. Conrad tragically passed away in 1999.

About The Conrad Foundation

The Conrad Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation designed to energize and engage students in science and technology through unique entrepreneurial opportunities. The Foundation builds upon the legacy of heroes in our past to nurture the heroes of our future. By enabling young minds to connect education, innovation and entrepreneurship, the Conrad Foundation provides a bold platform for enriching human capital.