Northwestern Mutual, The Water Council, Odyne Systems LLC and Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin are among this year’s recipients of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Eureka Awards.

Launched last year, these awards recognize creativity, innovation and progress in business, the arts, education, health care and other areas. For this year, a Junior Eureka category was created to honor high school and college innovators. The winner in that category is Alex Francis and Isopoint Technologies, a firm operating in the field of microfluidic technology.

“We received numerous nominations again this year, making it a very competitive process,” said Mark Kass, the Business Journal’s editor-in-chief, on selecting winners. “Southeastern Wisconsin is filled with innovative thinkers and organizations, and we’re proud we can honor at least some of them through these awards.”

The Eureka Award winners will be profiled in our May 9 print edition and at an awards luncheon that day in downtown Milwaukee.

Click the slideshow to see this year’s winners including The Pfister Hotel’s Artist-in-Residence Program.