Best Individual


This award honors the individual whose efforts have the most extraordinary impact on people who have a disability.

 Photos

   Video

   
Presented by: Lt Col. Brian Birdwell, a survivor of the September 11 Terrorist attack on the Pentagon, and also Deputy Superintendent of the Bureau of Strategy and Accountability of the Chicago Police Department, Thomas G. Byrne.

Nominees:
Marc Buoniconti
Judy Huemann
Robert Kilbury
Adam Kissiah, Jr.
Sam Schmidt

Winner: Adam Kissiah, Jr.

About Adam Kissiah, Jr.
In the 1960s, Adam Kissiah, Jr. began to experience hearing loss.  As a NASA engineer, he had education and experience in electronics and became self motivated to study and research the disciplines of hearing and acoustics.  The Kennedy Space Center Library provided a wealth of sources for detailed study in the fields of both hearing and acoustics, and through his research and development, he proposed a design for successful transmission of “intelligence” to the hearing center of the human brain.  The Kissiah Patent provided the basic engineering specification for all Cochlear Implants, which are surgically implanted electronic devices that restore the ability to hear sound and understand speech.  The implant is a prosthetic replacement that circumvents damaged cells, providing direct stimulation to hearing nerve fibers in the inner ear.