From fungicide to an Internet directory of legal professionals, the products of six Capital Region firms have won them awards for innovation in a contest administered by the University of California, Davis. UC Davis CONNECT, which leverages the resources of the region to aid in the creation and success of local high-tech businesses, presented the Capital Region Most Innovative Product Awards in six categories at a Sacramento banquet Friday. "These winners exemplify the success of local industries in converting research into products that have a real impact," said Wayne Sawka, director of the UC Davis CONNECT. The winners are: * New Media Hardware: Porrazzo Strategic Technologies of Fair Oaks, for its Porrazzo Advanced Membrane Transducer "AMT" technologies, addressing the demand for the integration of computer systems with immersion multimedia, including wireless communications, antennas, microphones, sensors and loudspeakers. * New Media Software: Examen of Sacramento, for LegalPath.com, a service providing companies with an Internet directory of legal professionals and considered the first secure, Internet-based exchange for legal relationship management. * Agriculture: Precision Farming Enterprises of Davis, for the Farming Smarter System, which uses global positioning technology to identify poorly producing crop areas and guide remediation efforts. * Biotechnology and Medical Technology: AgraQuest of Davis, for the discovery and commercial introduction of Serenade Biofungicide. * Engineering: EMCO High Voltage Corp. of Sutter Creek, for its Q Series of component-sized converters of direct current to high-voltage direct current. * Environment and Transportation: EarthWorks Environmental of Roseville, for its mobile, off-site soil remediation equipment and its Matrix Enhanced Treatment System for organic and inorganic soil contamination. The awards were based primarily on innovation and the product's impact on its market sector. To be considered for an award, the product must have been first sold or introduced during 1999 or 2000, and substantially designed and/or manufactured within the Capital Region including the Interstate 80 corridor. A committee of UC Davis deans and business experts selected three finalists in each category, who then presented their products to a judges panel of civic, business and scientific leaders. About 225 people attended the awards dinner. Guest speakers included Dan Kennedy, publisher of the Sacramento Business Journal, and Dale Schornack, an anchor and reporter at ABC-affiliate KXTV in Sacramento. The 2001 Most Innovative New Products Awards are supported by The Sacramento Business Journal, News 10, SAIC, Arthur Andersen, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak and Sproul LLP, Downey Brand Seymour & Rohwer LLP, Interland, and Morrison & Foerster LLP, among others. UC Davis CONNECT links entrepreneurs with the resources they need for success: money, markets, management, partners, support services, and access to government officials. Its programs also help business service providers, attorneys, accountants, bankers, investors and marketing professionals by providing them with knowledge about emerging technologies and access to new business opportunities.