1999 Minnesota Technology Award Winners Announced.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The winners of the 1999 Minnesota Technology Awards that honor the achievements of Minnesota's dynamic technology community were announced this evening at a banquet held at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center. This year's winners, all based in Eden Prairie, Minn., are:

-- 1999 Minnesota Technology Company -- SurModics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX), a

leading provider of surface modification and special coatings to the

medical device industry. The company's main focus is the

commercialization and licensing of PhotoLink(TM), its light-activated

coating technology used in medical devices such as stents and

catheters. SurModics was chosen due to the company's commercial

success and the fact that over 20% of their employees have advanced

degrees. In addition, all SurModics marketing managers have technical

backgrounds to communicate more effectively with scientists and

engineers on product development.

-- 1999 Minnesota Technology Leader -- Joel Ronning, CEO, of Digital

River, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRIV) Ronning was chosen for his leadership in

taking Digital River, Inc. through two public offerings and turning it

into a electronic software delivery market leader.

-- 1999 Minnesota Technology Innovation -- IntraNet Solutions, Inc.

(Nasdaq: INRS) -- honored for developing the first document management

system built specifically for the Web. Having gone public in 1995, the

company produces Intra.doc(R) Management System that allows companies

to build secure business libraries in Web-ready formats.

-- 1999 Best Use of the Internet or e-commerce -- Digital River, Inc.,

honored for their innovation in the sales and distribution of software

and other digital products over the Internet. Digital River's

technology is designed to manage transactions and the download of

digital products including software and music. More than 2500 software

developers, music publishers, and online merchants use Digital River's

technology to sell and distribute their products over the Internet.

Created in 1997, the Minnesota Technology Awards recognize companies for their innovative development of a leading edge technology; their impact on the growth of Minnesota's economy, the commercial success of their technology, and their contribution to making Minnesota a leading technology center in the United States.

In addition to the awards presentation, five Minnesota high school seniors who excel in technology-related studies were awarded $2,500 scholarships to pursue their academic studies. A committee of Minnesota academic and business leaders selected the following winners based on their leadership, aptitude and excellence in technology:

-- Matthew Abdel of Park High School in Cottage Grove, Minn.;

-- Eric Engesser of Grand Rapids High School in Grand Rapids, Minn.;

-- Michael Henninger of Chaska High School in Chaska, Minn.;

-- Joanie Lofgren of Aitkin High School in Aitkin, Minn.; and

-- Collin Raymond of Eagan High School in Eagan, Minn.

The awards banquet featured a humorous assessment of today's technology-dependent culture by Bob Hirschfeld, the first self-proclaimed "Cybersatirist" on the Internet. Hirschfeld is frequently quoted in the "Washington Wire" column of The Wall Street Journal and his columns have appeared over the past ten years in the USA Today and The Washington Post. Paul Douglas, chief meteorologist at WCCO TV and EarthWatch Communications founder, was the guest emcee for the evening.

Sponsors of the Minnesota Technology Awards include Medtronic, Honeywell, McGladrey & Pullen, Minnesota Technology, Inc. and Minnesota Technology(R) magazine. Minnesota Technology, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation established to assist Minnesota companies in becoming more competitive through the application and development of technology.