The EPO presented the European Inventor Award 2014, last month in Berlin to outstanding inventors or teams, honouring their contribution to social, economic and technological progress.
The award ceremony, held at the former Kaiserliches Telegrafenamt (Imperial Telegraph Office) in Germany’s capital, was attended by some 500 guests from the fields of business, science, culture and politics, including German Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Heiko Maas.
“Innovation is absolutely essential for Europe to generate growth and prosperity and secure its position among the leading industrial regions,” said EPO President Benoît Battistelli at the award ceremony. “All of the inventors we are honouring here today have introduced game-changing technological innovations in their respective fields. Their achievements improve people’s everyday lives, and represent substantial contributions to tackling major global challenges such as climate change, access to clean drinking water and improving health. Their ingenuity and creativity are indicative of Europe’s position as a leading technology region. And patents play a major role in protecting this status on a daily basis.
The winner in Research category is Christofer Toumazou (United Kingdom). Christofer Toumazou won with his invention of a quick DNA test which can decipher the genetic makeup of individuals within minutes, without the need for lab work – a milestone along the path to innovative medical healthcare with a preventive focus. The innovation is based on a microchip that detects deviations in an individual human genome. The chip can be inserted into a USB stick, providing results that are viewable directly on a computer. Accepting the award in the category “Research”, Christofer Toumazou said that the invention was for “future medical doctors, my son Markus, and my wife Melanie”. He finished with a quote: “The future has already arrived. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.”
Source: EPO
