Invention award nominees announced

Monday, March 08, 2010

The nominations for the European Inventor Awards 2010 have seen nine countries shortlisted.

In all 12 candidates from nine countries are competing to win the awards, which are presented annually by the European Patent Office and the European Commission. The prize, which is purely symbolic and involves no material recompense, is awarded in four categories: Lifetime achievement, Industry, SMEs/research and Non-European countries.

The nominees include inventors of pioneering innovations in a wide range of fields, from the conservation of drinking water to the synthesis of football-shaped carbon molecules or "fullerenes", and from cancer treatments to digital data encryption. Other nominations relate to technical innovations that have contributed to the success of the Wii console and the civilian use of GPS, to ground-breaking research on the mobile use of fuel cells, to "green" plastic and to internet access straight from a wall socket. In addition to countries with a tradition of innovation such as France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United States of America, this year's contest also sees candidates from Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Spain.

Commission vice-president Antonio Tajani said: "The nominees underline the richness of the human imagination. Their inventions mean a lot for mankind and for shaping our modern world; yet their innovatory spirit also helps to create jobs in Europe and strengthen its competitiveness. I hope these inventors encourage others to follow their paths."

Here's the shortlist for the 2010 awards:

Industry
Inventor: Hermann Grether, Christoph Weis (DE)
Invention: The Perlator, a jet regulator for water taps, provides an effective means of saving precious drinking water.

Inventor: Albert Markendorf, Raimund Loser (CH)
Invention: Three-dimensional laser-controlled measuring system for quality control in the automotive and aerospace industry with maximum-precision metrology.

Inventor: Benedetto Vigna (IT)
Invention: Three-dimensional motion sensor for use in wireless controllers like the motion control sensor of the Nintendo Wii.

SMEs/research
Inventor: Jürgen Pfitzer, Helmut Nägele (DE)
Invention: Arboform, the "green" alternative to plastic; this natural polymer is currently used around the world in the manufacture of car parts, children's toys, furniture and much more.

Inventor: Albert Gelet, Jean-Yves Chapelon, Dominique Cathignol, Emmanuel Blanc (FR)
Invention: Ultrasound treatment is now an integral part of a highly effective device for fighting prostate cancer.

Inventor: Jorge Blasco (ES)
Invention: Data transmission over power lines for fast internet access straight from the wall socket.

Lifetime achievement
Inventor: Peter Landrock (DK)
Lifetime achievement: Many of the encryption methods used today for the digital transmission of confidential data are based on Landrock's pioneering work.

Inventor: Wolfgang Krätschmer (DE)
Lifetime achievement: Krätschmer's procedure for synthesising C60 carbon molecules (fullerenes) helps to develop new lubricants and fuels, electronic superconductors and polymers designed for data storage.

Inventor: Désiré Collen (BE)
Lifetime achievement: Collen's findings in the field of blood clots broke new ground in medication for strokes and heart attacks.

Non-European countries
Inventor: Sanjai Kohli and his team (US)
Invention: Thanks to their revolutionary receiver-chip design, GPS has successfully found its way onto the consumer market.

Inventor: Danny Epp, Ben Wiens (CA)
Invention: Hydrogen fuel cells for many mobile applications, utilised today in many buses around the world.

Inventor: Napoleone Ferrara and his team (US)
Invention: The cancer drug Avastin inhibits the growth of cancer cells and is the basis for a gentler, focused therapy.