4 to Share $1.7 Million in Tech Prizes

Four widely divergent scientific innovations are finalists in the international $1.8 million Millennium Technology Prize from the Technology Academy of Finland.

The inventions — DNA fingerprinting, biomaterials for human tissue regeneration, key elements in mobile communication and fiber optic networks — were created by six scientists, the academy said Tuesday.

The winning innovation, to be announced on June 11, will receive $1.2 million, and the three runners up $180,000 each.

Sir Alec Jeffreys, a professor in the genetics department at the University Leicester in Britain, is nominated for the invention of DNA fingerprinting.

''No other development in modern genetics has had such a profound impact worldwide on the lives of many millions of people,'' the academy said.

Finalist Robert Langer — an Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who works with the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, a collaborative of the two universities — was cited for ''development of innovative biomaterials for controlled drug release and tissue regeneration.'' The academy said his technology has ''saved and improved the lives of millions of people.''

Andrew J. Viterbi, a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, was chosen for the invention of the Viterbi algorithm, ''the key building element in modern wireless and digital communications systems.''

And three scientists were cited for the fourth innovation, the erbium-doped fiber amplifier, which made possible high-capacity optical fiber networks: Emmanuel Desurvire, with Thales Corporate Research & Technology in France; Randy Giles, with Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J.; and David N. Payne, from a professor at the University of Southampton in Britain.

The prize, launched by the Finnish government and industry in 2004, rewards achievements in four categories: energy and the environment, communications and information, new materials and processes, and health care and life sciences.

Previous winners include Japanese professor Shuji Nakamura for inventions in laser technology and LED lighting and Tim Berners-Lee, the MIT scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web.

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On the Net: www.millenniumprize.fi