Innovate your way to €10,000

11 May 2009

The Innovation Award Laser Technology could net a cool €10,000 for individuals or project groups who can turn their research into a working industrial application.

Awarded every two years, the Innovation Award Laser Technology is intended to spotlight the interface between applied scientific research and industrial practice. It recognizes an individual researcher or entire project group whose skills and work are judged to have produced an outstanding innovation in laser technology.

According to the organizers, the range of possible fields extends from the development of new laser beam sources and systems for use in materials processing to the qualification of innovative laser manufacturing processes for use in industrial production environments.

Applications are invited from individuals working in European industry or at European research institutions who have successfully conceived and implemented an innovative idea relating to laser technology, and followed the project through from early-stage laboratory research to an ultimate industrial application.

To be in with a chance of collecting the prize money, the candidates must satisfy the awarding jury's stringent criteria and demonstrate that their breakthrough:
• has proven commercial benefit
• demonstrates the innovative quality of the resulting laser beam source, laser manufacturing process or laser system
• proves the scientific or technological quality of the underlying research
• shows the creative approach to technology demonstrated by the individual or project group
• makes clear the contribution of the applicant's work to the overall innovation.

The Innovation Award Laser Technology is awarded jointly by Arbeitskreis Lasertechnik (AKL) and the European Laser Institute (ELI), both based in Aachen, Germany. Official presentation of the award will take place at the International Laser Technology Congress AKL '10 on 5 May 2010 in Aachen, Germany, and the prizewinner will receive the sum of €10,000 and be awarded the title of AKL Fellow and ELI Fellow.

Further details and application forms can be found at www.innovation-award-laser.org. The closing date is 15 January 2010.