Linus Torvalds, Linux founder, has been named joint winner of the 2012 Millennium Technology Prize alongside stem cell researcher Dr Shinya Yamanaka.

Torvalds earned the prize for his work in creating the Linux kernel, which today runs millions of computers and smartphone devices. He also takes a €600,000 prize for winning the award, which was presented in front of scientists and business leaders during a ceremony at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki.

“The Prize Committee decided, for the first time in the Millennium Technology Prize’s ten year history, to award the Grand Prize to two innovators,” said Dr Ainomaija Haarla, president of Technology Academy of Finland.

“Dr Shinya Yamanaka’s work in stem cell research and Linus Torvalds’s work in open source software have transformed their fields and will remain important for generations to come.

“The International Selection Committee has to judge whether an innovation has had a favorable impact on people’s lives and assess its potential for further development to benefit humanity in the future. The innovations of both this year’s winners embody that principle.”

In accepting the award Linus Torvalds said, “I’m really honored to be the joint recipient of this year’s Millennium Technology Prize. This recognition is particularly important to me given that it’s given by the Technology Academy of Finland. Thank you to the International Selection Committee and the TAF Board.

“I’d also like to thank all the people I’ve worked with, who have helped make the project not only such a technical success, but have made it so fun and interesting.”

Previous winners of the Millennium Technology Prize include Tim Berners-Lee for his creation of hypertext technology and LED researcher Shuji Nakamura.

via The Inquirer