European Inventors of the Year 2009 announced

29 avril 2009

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Health and the environment were the big winners at the European Inventor of the Year awards 2009, which were presented in Prague on Wednesday.

Around 400 guests gathered at Prague Castle to see EPO President Alison Brimelow and Heinz Zourek, Director General of the EC's DG Enterprise, present the awards to outstanding inventors in four categories, after a warm welcome by Miloslav Vlček, President of the Czech Parliament.

The guests included representatives from 24 of the European Patent Organisation's 35 member states, officials from the Japanese and Eurasian patent offices as well as numerous Czech ministries and various European embassies.

The winners

The international jury - made up of representatives from science, politics and industry - selected the following European Inventors of the Year 2009:

Industry

The "industry" award went to Jürg Zimmermann (Switzerland) and Brian Drucker (USA). They invented a drug to combat chronic myelogenous leukaemia  with unprecedented rates of recovery.

In his speech, Mr Zimmermann said he had "a great time" working on the drug and added: "It is a special honour for me, as a Swiss, to receive a European award."

SMEs/research

Joseph Le Mer (France) took home the award in the category "SMEs/research" for his work on a heat exchanger that makes heating systems less expensive and more energy efficient.

The inventor thanked the 35 engineers that collaborated on the invention and "could unfortunately not be here tonight". He also thanked the organisers for putting inventors in the spotlight, saying "the world is not attentive enough to innovation and inventors".

Non-European countries

The jury selected Zhou Yiqing and his team (China) from the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences in Beijing in the category "non-European countries." The team developed an anti-malarial drug based on a traditional Chinese remedy.

Silvio Gabriel from Novartis said he was "very proud" to accept the award on behalf of the winners. "This invention has cured many millions of people and saves lives every day," he told the audience.

Lifetime achievement

Adolf Goetzberger won the "lifetime achievement" award for his work on solar energy, making solar cells a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

"It was an interesting lifetime," Mr Goetzberger said. "I am surprised myself to see how far we have come. I am glad I have lived long enough to see my work come to fruition."

EPO President Alison Brimelow said: "The award celebrates the creativity of all inventors who, in applying their technical, scientific and intellectual skills, make a major contribution to technical progress, growth and employment in Europe."

"Such skills are particularly important in economically difficult times," she added.

The award

Launched in 2006 and held every year since, the awards are a joint initiative of the European Patent Office and the European Commission. They honour inventors and inventions that have made a significant and lasting contribution towards innovation in Europe, thereby strengthening its economy.

Now in its fourth year, the European Inventor of the Year awards stand out among other innovation prizes on account of its geographical scope and unique selection procedure. For the nominations, the jury considered candidates from an open competition as well as proposals from examiners at the EPO and the national patent offices in its member states.

Further information

• EPO events: European Inventor of the Year 2009
• Innovation and the economy: European Inventor of the Year
• European Inventor of the Year: The nominees and winners 2009