Janusz Liberkowski Named Winner of American Inventor  5/19/06

AMERICA VOTED AND NAMED JANUSZ LIBERKOWSKI, INVENTOR OF THE ANECIA SURVIVAL CAPSULE, WINNER OF ABC'S "AMERICAN INVENTOR"

The Remaining Semifinalists Were Surprised with Further Business Opportunities and Words of Encouragement by the Legendary Lance Armstrong and Jerry Rice

Last night, on the LIVE season finale of "American Inventor," the winner was finally revealed. After the finale last week where the final four contestants premiered 30 second commercials for their products, America voted on who they think should win. And, in an emotional LIVE season finale, Janusz Liberkowski's American dream came true, winning the one million dollar prize and being named the next great "American Inventor."

Janusz Liberkowski, 52, is a mechanical engineer who lives in San Jose, CA, but is originally from Poland. He and his wife, Danuta, are parents to one-and-a half-year-old twins. Their older daughter passed away in a car accident seven years ago, which inspired Janusz to create the Anecia Survival Capsule, a new kind of infant car seat, named after his beloved daughter, in which the baby sits inside nested spheres, hopefully saving children's lives in an auto collision. Janusz' revolutionary safety seat impressed the CEO of Evenflo® Company, Inc. and they announced that they would work with Liberkowski to further develop his invention and help make his car seat a reality.

The semifinalists were also rewarded and surprised with great opportunities to further develop their inventions to try and take them to the marketplace. Francisco Patino, 19, who was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, and is currently a student at Queens College in New York, is the inventor of the D-Tract Bicycle, a new bike design that features a second seat on the handlebars of the bicycle, so that a second rider can sit up front and help power the bike with his/her own set of pedals. He was the first contestant eliminated in the finale. But Francisco was consoled when he was offered a product development internship with Trek Bicycle Corporation, a leader in the industry, to further develop his product. He also received some words of encouragement from seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who congratulated Francisco's efforts via video message.

Erik Thompson, 40, a factory worker and the owner of a gym from Detroit, MI, is the inventor of The Catch, a detachable vest that football players and other athletes can wear to train and develop proper catching skills. He was the next inventor eliminated from the competition. Erik was astonished to meet his hero, NFL legend Jerry Rice, who came to the show in person to congratulate Erik on his efforts and who expressed interest in helping him further develop his invention.

Edward Hall, 40, a former elementary and high school teacher and coach who lives in Chicago, IL, is the inventor of the Word Ace, an electronic table-top game for 1-6 players that teaches children spelling and vocabulary skills in a fun, interactive way. Ed was the first runner up. He was met by the VP of Hasbro Games, who expressed interest in his product and the commercial, and who invited him to their headquarters in Massachusetts to meet with their team of experts to see if they can help bring the Word Ace to the marketplace.

"American Inventor," which was recently renewed for a second season, is produced by Simon Cowell's Syco Television LLC and FremantleMedia North America, Inc in association with Peter Jones TV. The executive producers are Simon Cowell, Daniel Soiseth, Siobhan Greene, Nigel Hall, Cecile Frot-Coutaz and Peter Jones.

"American Inventor" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning.

Source: ABC Press Release