Science Park tenants encouraged to apply for MacRobert Award

Applications for the 2015 MacRobert Award are now open!

The Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award has become synonymous with spotting the ‘next big thing’ in technology, having been established 45 years ago to identify outstanding innovation with proven commercial promise and tangible societal benefit. The very first award in 1969 recognised the extraordinary Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine, used in the iconic Harrier jets, and in 1972 the judges highlighted the achievement of the first CT scanner – seven years before its inventor Sir Godfrey Hounsfield received the Nobel Prize.

More recently, a number of innovative SMEs have won the prize. The 2013 winner (and Cambridge Network member) RealVNC developed a remote-access technology which demonstrated such potential that judges predicted that they could be a billion dollar company within five years. Thanks to their work with the likes of Google, NASA, DreamWorks and Facebook, they are well on their way to achieving that.

The 2014 winner, Oxford SME, Cobalt Light Systems, developed a liquid scanning system that is now used in 65 airports across the globe, and could spell the end for 100ml limits on liquids. Their technology has also demonstrated huge potential in other areas including real-time diagnostic tools for cancer screening.

The closing date for applications is 31 January 2015