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Voting for the Popular Prize in Europe’s “Technology Oscars”: Everyone can vote for their favorite inventor online

29-May-2014 | Source : | Visits : 8138
Special to ag-IP-news Agency
 
MUNICH – The next round of the Popular Prize, which was introduced last year in conjunction with the renowned European Inventor Award, has begun. When the European Patent Office (EPO) presents the awards on 17 June in Berlin, one of the 15 finalists will be given a special honour: While a prestigious panel of judges will decide on the other awards, the decision on which inventor takes home the Popular Prize will be decided entirely by the general public.
 
Vote on the EPO website or on Facebook by 10 June 
 
Voting is possible on the website of the European Patent Office (www.epo.org) or on the EPO’s Facebook page until 10 June. “Every single vote counts when deciding the “Oscars” of technological innovation: For the Popular Prize, the general public is asked to select its winner from among the 15 European Inventor Award finalists,” says EPO spokesperson Oswald Schröder. “Every vote is also a mark of appreciation for the creative achievement of all the people who are involved at the beginning of every invention. Taking part is extremely simple: All of the eligible inventors are presented on www.epo.org and www.facebook.com/europeanpatentoffice. Everyone can vote for his or her favourite with the click of a mouse. In addition, all participants simultaneously take part in a draw.” 
 
“Spoilt for choice”: 15 inventors in five categories
 
Inventors can be selected from any of the Award’s five categories. The finalists in the category “Industry” are: the Swedish team of Erik Dahlman for the invention of LTE technology for high-speed, mobile internet; the team of the Italian Luigi Cassar for self-cleaning concrete that also reduces air pollution; and the team of Belgian Koen Andries and Frenchman Jérôme Guillemont, who developed a new medication against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. 
 
The finalists in the category “Small and medium-sized enterprises” are: Swedish inventors Terese Alstin and Anna Haupt for their inflatable “airbag” bike helmet, Danish inventor Peter Holme Jensen for his water purification method and Carles Puente of Spain for the development of fractal-based antennae for mobile phones. 
 
The following scientists are finalists in the “Research” category: Christofer Toumazou of the UK, who invented a rapid DNA testing method using a USB stick, Thomas Tuschl of Germany for his gene-silencing method to treat diseases and the French team of Philippe Cinquin and Serge Cosnier for the development of a fuel cell for medical implants that runs on glucose. 
 
Candidates in the “Life Achievement” category are the Austrian couple Erwin and Ingeborg Hochmair, who developed a micro-electronic cochlear implant to restore hearing, Germany’s Artur Fischer, who is one of the most successful inventors of all time with more than 1 100 applications for patents and utility models as well as the “Fischer wall plug”, and Polish scientist Wieslaw L. Nowinski, who developed more than 30 trailblazing brain atlases for clinical use. 
 
The finalists in the category “Non-European Countries” are the American team of Cary L. Queen and Harold E. “Barry” Selick for their development of a new, targeted treatment method for cancer and other diseases, American scientist Charles “Chuck” Hull, who is regarded as the father of the 3D printer, and the Japanese team of Masahiro Hara for the invention of the QR code. 
 
 
More information about the Popular Prize and how to vote can be found at:
http://www.epo.org/learning-events/european-inventor/popular-prize.html
https://www.facebook.com/europeanpatentoffice
 
 
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