Solatube International, the worldwide leader in daylighting systems, today announced that its SkyVault Series received the  Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Award at the 2014 CONNECT MIP Awards that took place at an awards ceremony on Dec.  4. In its 27th year, the annual awards program continues its tradition of honoring San Diego’s leaders of innovation and groundbreaking new products launched in the last year.
Solatube International’s SkyVault Series received San Diego’s most prestigious honor for technology and life sciences innovation in the sustainability category as the first high-output daylighting system that allows building designers to precisely control the placement of natural light in large volume spaces.
“We’re thrilled to have the Solatube SkyVault Series named as a winner in this prestigious awards program,” said Robert E. Westfall, president of Solatube International. “Our company has a passion for creating innovative products and it’s gratifying to win in the face of such stiff competition.”
Featuring advanced optics and progressive engineering, the SkyVault Series uses modular components that allow designers to choose whether to spread light evenly, enhance light capture, control focus or combine these effects to meet the specific needs of any commercial project.
Held this year at  the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, the annual MIP Awards is CONNECT’s largest and most prestigious event, attracting more than 700 of the region’s top business leaders, researchers and capital providers. More than 100 San Diego-based companies competed in the rigorous, four-month judging process, with a total of only eight winners awarded in categories including: Aerospace and Security Technologies, Communications and IT, Diagnostics and Research Tools, Pharmaceutical Drugs and Medical Devices, Mobile Apps, Software, Sport & Active Lifestyle Technologies and Sustainability.
The 2014 CONNECT MIP Awards are made possible through generous support from lead sponsors Ardea Biosciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca PLC, and Cubic Corporation, and supporting sponsors Barney & Barney LLC, Bank of America, CBRE, CMTC, Cox Business, D&K Engineering, Kaiser Permanente, Knobbe Martens, Merck, Nextivity, Pfizer, Procopio, PwC, Qualcomm, ResMed, and San Diego State University.
For more information on the Solatube SkyVault Series please visit www.solatube.com/commercial/skyvault. For a complete list of winners and additional information on the CONNECT MIP Awards, please visit www.connect.org.
About Solatube International: Solatube International, Inc., widely recognized as the daylighting industry innovator, has earned worldwide acclaim for its unrivaled ability to transform interior spaces with natural light. Based in California, the company is the leading manufacturer and marketer of tubular daylighting devices (TDDs) for all types of residential and commercial applications, and it continues to innovate with groundbreaking products that increase energy efficiency and light output, such as the award-winning Smart LED System and the high output SkyVault Series. For more information about the company and its related products, visit www.solatube.com or call 888-SOLATUBE.
 
About CONNECT: CONNECT is an acceleration program in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in technology and life sciences sectors by creating an environment in which inventors and entrepreneurs have access to the resources they need for success. Since 1985 CONNECT has assisted in the formation and development of more than 3,000 companies and is now widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful organizations linking inventors and entrepreneurs with the resources they need for commercialization of innovative products. As a result, the program has been modeled in more than 50 regions around the world.