The European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Commission announced the 12 nominees for this year's European Inventor of the Year awards.
According to EPO, their inventions are a reflection of many of today's toughest challenges, and the nominations are dominated by the issues of energy, environment and health.
Through these patented innovations, the inventors, who were nominated by an international jury, have combated disease, exploited new sources of energy, improved security procedures or developed new mobility concepts.
All of the nominated inventions are in keeping with the spirit of the European Inventor of the Year awards, which symbolize the force of human innovation as the basis for technical, economic and social progress.
The winners of the prestigious prizes in the four categories of industry, SMEs/research, non European countries and lifetime achievement will be revealed at a ceremony in Prague on April 28, 2009.
Previous winners include Peter Grünberg (2006), who has since won the Nobel prize for physics, and Erik de Clerq (2008), the developer of a life-saving anti-AIDS drugs cocktail.
The "European Inventor of the Year" stands out among the many prizes for innovation due to its geographical scope and unique selection procedure. When selecting the nominees, the independent international jury can rely on the results of an open competition among candidates and on the expertise of examiners at the national patent offices and the EPO.
The jury chose from among successful inventions patented by the EPO before January 1, 2004. The award is purely symbolic and does not include a cash prize or other material reward.
The awards honor inventors who have made a defining and lasting contribution to technical progress in Europe and so to strengthening the European economy. The "European Inventor of the Year" is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the EPO and was launched in 2006.
This year's awards ceremony will be held in Prague in conjunction with the European Patent Forum/PATINNOVA 2009.
SOURCE：AGIPNEWS
