European Inventor Awards 2015

European Inventor Award 2015 -

The Finalists...

David Wardell

Industry:

Finalists for the 10th European Inventor Award have been announced and now it's up to you to vote for the 'Popular Prize'.

The following is a list of all fifteen finalists and their fabulous inventions. Just follow the link at the bottom of the page to have your say as to who is the most deserving of this prestigious 'peoples' prize.

You can vote once a day for as many of the 15 finalists as you wish. However, you cannot vote for the same inventor more than once a day. Voting is free of charge. The deadline is midnight, 4th June. There are also fifteen Pebble watches to be won by some lucky voters.

There are five categories - Industry, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Research, Non-European Countries (so this is also an international award!) and Lifetime Achievement.

I hope you find the impressive entries - nominated by you! - as inspirational as I do.

The Finalists (by category)...

Jean-Christophe Giron (FR)

Frenchman Jean-Christophe Giron and his team at US-based SAGE Electrochromics have developed an electronically tintable glass that allows natural light to shine into buildings with uninterrupted views outside while simultaneously blocking harmful rays, keeping heat levels down, and enabling occupants to save energy.

Gunnar Asplund (SE)

Although modern civilization would be unthinkable without it, electrical distribution is often obtrusive. Dealing with this problem, Swedish engineer Gunnar Asplund has helped hide away much of a power grids’ infrastructure. At the same time, he’s boosted the efficiency of transmitting electricity from remote power stations, making renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, a more viable option.

Franz Amtmann (AT), Philippe Maugars (FR)

Our mobile telephones are taking on another role as virtual pocketbooks, allowing for quick purchases without the hassle of cash or credit cards. Paving the way in the field is a technology known as Near Field Communications (NFC), which was co-invented by teams of engineers at NXP Semiconductors and Sony in 2002.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprizes:

Laura Johanna van't Veer et al (NL)

Laura Johanna van't Veer and her team’s gene-based test, introduced in 2007, evaluates breast tumour tissue for the 10-year risk of cancer recurrence.

John Elvesjö and Mårten Skogö (SE)

The eye-tracking technology developed by Elvesjö and his team at Tobii has revolutionised market research, touched the lives of people with a variety of conditions, and helped bring eye tracking to everyday experiences such as driving, computing and game play.

Michel Lescanne (FR)

Plumpy’Nut is a supplementary source of protein, vitamins and calories in a peanut paste form, developed to help children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition.

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Research:

Luke Alphey (GB)

The culprit behind the spread of dengue fever is a mosquito. By programming an extra gene into the mosquitos’ DNA, British scientist Luke Alphey have ensured that the resulting mosquito larvae never reach reproductive maturity.

Hendrik Marius Jonkers (NL)

An invention by Delft University microbiologist Hendrik Jonkers offers an innovative approach to creating more stable concrete by adding limestone-producing bacteria to the mix. This self-healing bioconcrete aims to provide a cheap and sustainable solution, markedly improving the lifespan of buildings, bridges and roads.

Ludwik Leibler (FR)

Leibler and his team created a new class of plastics known as “vitrimers” that are sturdy yet mouldable at the same time. With their ability to switch from a solid to a pliable consistency – achieved through changes in temperature – vitrimers unlock applications such as self-healing plastics that can repair themselves.

Non-European Countries:

Ian Frazer (AUS), Jian Zhou (CN)

Ian Frazer and Jian Zhou’s progressive vaccine disrupts the link between human papillomavirus (HPV) – a sexually-transmitted virus infecting the skin and mucosal tissues – and cervical cancer.

Sumio Iijima, Akira Koshio & Masako Yudasaka (JP)

Discovered by Sumio Iijima at Japan’s NEC Corporation, carbon nanotubes are the hardest substance known to humankind and 1,000 times more conductive than copper. They could usher in a new era in which computers. are faster and materials stronger than ever thought possible

Elizabeth Holmes (USA)

A revolutionary technology from Elizabeth Holmes takes the sting and anxiety out of blood tests, requiring only a drop of blood to detect influenza, as well as a host of other conditions.

Lifetime Achievement Award:

Kornelis A. Schouhamer Immink (NL)

Kornelis Schouhamer Immink’s inventions jump-started a digital revolution. The 68-year-old has fathered three very successful generations, from the birth of the CD in 1982 and the DVD in 1995 to the first Blu-ray disc in 2006.

Andreas Manz (CH)

Thanks to Andreas Manz, today there is technology that takes all of the chemistry equipment of a lab and shrinks it onto a microchip-sized wafer. The super-small devices are only a few millimetres in size but include all of the mechanisms necessary for separating compounds into tiny amounts of liquid substances and detecting the compounds’ chemical makeup.

Ivars Kalvins (LV)

During his 45-year career, Kalvins headed the development of commercially available drugs including: the anticancer drug Belinostat, the neuroprotectant Neramexane, the anti-inflammatory compound OX-MPI, and cardioprotector Mildronate.