Engineering Da Vinci Innovation and Impact Awards 2017-18
27 November 2017
Our 5th successful Engineering Da Vinci Innovation and Impact Awards night was held recently at the KuKu Club in Cardiff. Some 183 guests, comprising staff and students from Cardiff University, businesses, government organisations and business angels attended the event to vote for their favourite innovation pitches.
Seventeen three minute pitches, from contestants in different scientific fields, were judged by audience voting and the winners were announced. Some of the innovative engineering ideas pitched to the audience included a concentration of ideas around autonomous vehicles and on-the-fly charging, microwave based diabetes monitoring, and the use of drones both for circus performances and rescue situations in disaster zones.
The Da Vinci Innovation and Impact Awards event was founded and led by Professor David Barrow from the School of Engineering. Professor Barrow commented: “It continues to give me and my colleagues within the School a great sense of satisfaction to enable these fresh ideas to be seeded without the hassle of having to make written applications and wait for notification.”
The 2017 Da Vinci Innovation Award winners were: Heungjae Choi (Man’s Best Friend); Jake Wilkinson-Filmer (Autonomous Vehicles – Transport of the Future); Adrian Porch (Busting Bugs with Microwaves); James Blaxland and Adrian Porch (Biodegradable Microwaved Honey to prevent drug resistant Lung Infections); and Ross Gardner and Miles Howell (Railway Challenge at Cardiff University).
Professor Adrian Porch, from one of the winning teams, commented: "This is a truly marvelous event where everyone has the chance to trial both their pitch skills and new ideas while mixing with a diverse audience.”
Professor Barrow added that: “It was fantastic that the Royal Academy of Engineering was able to be represented at the Da Vinci Awards by Ana Avaliani, and I know that some of the contestants are now interested in the Academy’s Enterprise Hub Programme, which was introduced by Ana. It was equally fantastic that the BBC Radio Wales invited the winning contestants, for a second year running, to contribute to their Science Café programme, which will be broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday 28th November.”