Hartford, CT — Three outstanding young Connecticut scientists will be awarded the newly established H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence at the Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering on May 24, 2006, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell, Connecticut.

The award, created by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering with the sponsorship of Gerber Scientific, Inc., is in recognition of H. Joseph Gerber’s (1924-1996) technical leadership in inventing, developing and commercializing manufacturing automation systems for a wide variety of industries, making those industries more efficient and cost-effective in a worldwide competitive environment.

As an inventor and as founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and President for Gerber Scientific, Inc., Mr. Gerber was a leader for nearly half a century in inventing and producing factory automation equipment designed to solve global manufacturing problems. An elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, Mr. Gerber received the National Medal of Technology in 1994 followed by the Connecticut Medal of Technology in 1995.

The recipients of this year’s H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence are 2006 Connecticut Science Fair winners Pratistha Koirala of E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, CT (1st Place, Life Sciences – Senior Division) and Jonathan B. Sellon of Staples High School in Westport, CT (1st Place, Physical Sciences – Senior Division), and the 2006 Connecticut Science Challenge winner Jonathan B. Sellon of Staples High School in Westport, CT (1st Place).

Koirala’s winning Science Fair entry was entitled “Tracking the Localization of AVP1 in Arabidopsis Thaliana Tissue.” Sellon won both his awards for his project on “Modeling Auditory Attention by Implementing IHC Movement into Frequency Selectivity of the Inner Ear: A Novel Approach to Stimuli Separation.”

Gerber Scientific is the world’s leading supplier of sophisticated automated manufacturing systems for sign making and specialty graphics, apparel and flexible materials, and ophthalmic lens processing. Headquartered in South Windsor, Connecticut, the company operates through four businesses: Gerber Scientific Products, Spandex Ltd., Gerber Technology, and Gerber Coburn.