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Rhino's RAPID Response...

Rhino's RAPID Response...

A British invention, the Real-Time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device (RAPID), hopes to help halt the dreadful predation of rhinoceroses by poachers. To satisfy the deluded belief that there is some magical medicinal power to be found in rhino horn (made of keratin, like my fingernails) it is estimated that an African rhino is killed every six hours. At current rates they will be extinct by 2035. Madness! Rhino horn is literally worth its weight in gold – hence the high inci

Genius Inventor Receives Posthumous Honour

Genius Inventor Receives Posthumous Honour

Alan Dower Blumlein was one of the great inventors you may well have never heard of. His inventive genius was compared to that of both Edison and Faraday and in his tragically short career he amassed 128 patents. These included the first stereophonic recordings, microphones, television and radar. His expertise as an electronics engineer was un-paralleled and, to honour his many achievements, a commemorative 'Milestone Plaque' is to be unveiled in his honour. On April 1st,

How we got to now (and re-visit what we missed!)

How we got to now (and re-visit what we missed!)

If you, like me, are fascinated by the stories of inventors and their wonderful inventions then you're in for a treat on BBC2 (and BBC iPlayer) at present. 'How We Got to Now' is airing on BBC2, Saturday evenings, 7.35pm. Conceived and presented by innovation expert and best-selling author, Steven Johnson, this series of six programmes explores and explains how inventions have shaped and changed our world - sometimes in the most unexpected of ways. Johnson is an amiable and

QEPrize delivers just the right medicine

QEPrize delivers just the right medicine

“One of the reasons that the QEPrize was founded was to make clear the contribution of engineering to everybody’s lives… He[Dr Robert Langer], as an engineer, developed an engineering solution to a medical problem.” So says Professor Brian Cox who was one of the judges for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Chemical Engineer, Dr Robert Langer, of MIT, USA, has changed the lives of millions by inventing methods of drug delivery on a molecular scale. His pioneering wo

That's the way to Braigo!

That's the way to Braigo!

A thirteen year old California schoolboy has invented a low cost braille printer using components sourced from his toybox. Shubham Banerjee learned that current braille printers were not only cumbersome – weighing in at a hefty 9kg – but also cost some £1,300. Armed with this knowledge he adopted the classic inventor’s mindset – “There’s got to be a better way to do that!” As part of a school science project he set about designing a low cost solution and utilised his 'Lego

Last call for entrants to the Gadget Show British Inventors' Project

Last call for entrants to the Gadget Show British Inventors' Project

Are you the next Dyson? Do you have the next invention to set the world on fire? The Gadget Show Live, now in its 7th year, is seeking entries for the British Inventors’ Project. The brief reads as follows: “We are looking for 20 of the very best inventions and innovations to be included in the specially created Gadget Show Live British Inventors’ at the 2015 show. So, if you design devices that are set to shape our future or have innovative technological solutions to som

Dynamic Dyson – an inspiration for all inventors

Dynamic Dyson – an inspiration for all inventors

It’s the end of the year and most of us are looking forward to the challenges of the New Year. News about James Dyson, announced today, should both cheer and incentivise all inventors. I first met James over twenty years ago and have followed his meteoric rise with great interest (and admiration). Back then I don’t think either of us would have dreamt that today he would have an estimated fortune of £3 billion and has just overtaken the Queen in terms of landholdings. The p

The impossible we can do at once...

The impossible we can do at once...

But miracles take a little longer! So goes the oft-seen harassed office workers notice. Perhaps this is a good description of the Longitude Prize 2014. The challenge: to create a cheap, accurate, rapid and easy-to-use point of care test kit for bacterial infections. No small ask, but let me crystallise your thought processes, there’s a TEN MILLION POUND prize at stake! Why the Longitude Prize? Well, the name echoes the original £20,000 (in its day - 1714 – a fortune) ch

Inventing for the disabled? Your chance to win support - with a top prize of £50,000!

Inventing for the disabled? Your chance to win support - with a top prize of £50,000!

It’s not often that I can recommend an initiative from Nesta – the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. I was one of the first trustees of Nesta and it breaks my heart to see how far away from its original aims and objectives it has moved, but that’s another story. In this case, the newly announced Inclusive Technology Prize can’t be sniffed at. Inventing for the disabled poses many challenges. Not least of which is the problem of seeing any sort of com

Is it the Nobel thing to do? - David Wardell

Is it the Nobel thing to do? - David Wardell

Three cheers and congratulations to the inventors of the Blue LED light. Isamu Akasaki (Japan), Hiroshi Amano (USA) and Shuji Nakamura (Japan) have won the coveted prize for physics. Developed in the 1990's, the invention of the Blue LED was absolutely crucial because it is the essential missing-link, between existing Red and Green LED's, to enable low cost and efficient White light. However, this award is not without controversy. Seeing red (if you'll excuse the pun) is P

StarStream 'Cleans Up' at the Awards! - David Wardell

StarStream 'Cleans Up' at the Awards! - David Wardell

Boffins from the University of Southampton (my home city - yay!) have won yet another prestigious award for their invention 'StarStream' - a portable cleaning system that, by using ultrasound and micro-bubble 'smart scrubbers', negates the use of harmful detergents and is effective with just cold water. This latest prestigious award, the S-Lab 'Best New Product of 2014', makes for a hat-trick, having previously won the Brian Mercer Award for Innovation in 2011, and the 2012

C'mon Suckers! - David Wardell

C'mon Suckers! - David Wardell

In the UK it’s been an interesting week for that good-old inventors’ favourite - vacuum cleaners. First we had some Eurosceptic jingoistic furore over the European Commission limiting the size of vacuum cleaner motors and then James Dyson announced the launch of his new (or is it?) robot cleaner… Certain sections of the press have been rattling their collective sabres, with one tabloid thundering “Banning vacuum cleaners isn’t about saving the planet – it’s about Brussels gr

Churchill's Iceman - Geoffrey Pyke, inventor, genius, fugitive, spy - by Henry Hemming

Churchill's Iceman - Geoffrey Pyke, inventor, genius, fugitive, spy - by Henry Hemming

Churchill's Iceman - the new book by Henry Hemming tells the astounding story of a good old British 'boffin', Geoffrey Pyke. We'll let Henry take up the story... Geoffrey Pyke lived most of his life as if it was an experiment. The idea he wanted to test was simple enough: that he could solve any problem, and what’s more, so could anyone else. There followed one of the most extraordinary lives of the 20th century. Born in 1893, the cousin of the television presenter Magnus, G

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Unless otherwise stated, all blog posts are my fault! David Wardell