EPO – The Jury – European Inventor Award 2015

The Jury – European Inventor Award 2015

The independent jury that judges proposals for the European Inventor Award consists of international authorities in the fields of business, science, academia and research.

Members 

Louis Schweitzer – Chair

He is General Commissioner for Investment (appointed by the French President), Chairman of France’s Foreign Affairs Council and special representative of the French Foreign Minister for Japan; he is also Chairman of Initiative France, an association dedicated to the creation of small businesses. He serves on the board of L’Oréal and Véolia Environnement, as well as the boards of a number of non-profit institutions.

Gerhard Cromme

He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG and member of the Supervisory Board of Axel Springer AG. Previously, he was Chairman of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp and later Chairman of its Supervisory Board. Cromme has also served as a member of the supervisory boards of several major European industrial groups. He is also a former Vice President of the Federation of German Industry (BDI) and former Chairman of the European Round Table of Industrialists.

Ayşe Odman Boztosun

She is a member of the Akdeniz University Faculty of Law in Antalya, Turkey. She serves as the Head of the Private Law Section and also as the Executive Director of the University Technology Transfer Office. She contributes actively to governmental and civil activities related to the fostering of university-industry co-operation and technology transfer at national level.

Clara Gaymard

She has been CEO and President of GE France since 2006. In January 2013, she was elected president of the American Chamber of Commerce in France (AmCham France), becoming the first female president of this organisation in its hundred-year history. In 2011, Fortune Magazine ranked her as the 30th most influential woman in global business.

Mandy Haberman

She is a British inventor and entrepreneur whose inventions include the Haberman® Feeder, used in hospitals throughout the world for over 30 years, and the Anywayup® cup, which since its launch in 1996 has revolutionised the nursery market with its non-spill technology. She was the Female Inventor of the Year 2000, a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award 2003, and recognised by HM Queen Elizabeth II as a Pioneer to the Life of the Nation.

Anna Haupt

She developed the “invisible” bike helmet together with Terese Alstin. They began their quest for the “helmet of the future” as industrial design students at Lund University, Sweden. On their path from students to CEOs, they completed seven years of product research and development, applied for a patent, and won various awards – including the Innovationsbron Ideas Grant in 2005 and the Venture Cup. In 2006 Haupt and Alstin co-founded Hövding Sverige AB.

Wolfgang M. Heckl

Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, holds the Oskar von Miller chair for science communication as a professor of experimental physics and nanotechnology at the Technical University in Munich. He received the Communicator Prize from the German Science Foundation and was awarded the European Descartes Prize for Science Communication. He is spokesman of nanotechnology at the National Academy of Science and Engineering acatech and chairman of the board of the Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Light. He is the author of more than 200 peer review publications, and recently wrote a bestselling book entitled Die Kultur der Reparatur.

Ingeborg Hochmair

She holds a PhD in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Vienna. She is CEO, CTO and co-founder of MED-EL Medical Electronics Corporation, which she founded together with her husband Dr Erwin Hochmair in 1990. Together, they developed the very first microelectronic multichannel cochlear implant. She has received two honorary degrees in medicine for her pioneering scientific work and her continuing contribution to the development of implantable devices for people with hearing loss.

Tian Lipu

Commissioner of China’s State Intellectual Property Office from 2005 to 2014 and Member of the 17th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Under his leadership, the SIPO increased in size, efficiency and quality and became one of the world’s five leading patent-issuing authorities.

Mario Moretti Polegato

He is the inventor of the Geox shoe, whose innovative, breathable technology has earned him numerous accolades, including CNBC European Business Leaders’ 2010 Innovator of the Year and Ernst & Young’s 2002 Entrepreneur of the Year. Moretti Polegato is Chairman of the Italian Geox Group, which has grown into one of the world’s top casual footwear companies. He also lectures on the subject of intellectual property at schools and universities throughout the world. He is Chairman of the International Advisory Board of Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia.

Ernö Rubik

He is an architect, designer, university professor and inventor of several mechanical puzzles, including the Rubik’s Cube. He founded Rubik Studio Ltd. and acts as its Managing Director and Chairman of Rubik’s Brand Ltd., London. Rubik formerly served as President of the Hungarian Academy of Engineering, which he helped found. He also formed the Rubik Foundation to support talented young engineers and industrial designers and is a member of the USA Science & Engineering Festival’s advisory board.

Tony Tangena

He worked for more than 30 years at Philips Electronics, first as a researcher, and later in the company’s IP department. He went on to hold various management positions, including senior vice-president responsible for the entire Philips patent portfolio of 120 000 patent rights. After taking early retirement from Philips he started his own company, Tangena & Van kan. He is president of the epi, the organisation representing more than 10 000 European patent attorneys.

Christine Van Broeckhoven

She has been involved in the human molecular genetics of complex diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system since starting out in research back in 1983. Today, she is best known for her pioneering research into neurodegenerative dementias, where she has made several seminal contributions. Her work is a worldwide cornerstone in the analysis of the genetic basis of neurodegeneration. She has received numerous prestigious awards, including the International L’Oréal/UNESCO “For Women in Science” Award in 2006.

newsletter
Join our mailing list and never miss an update !
Facemasks as Protection Against COVID-19

Facemasks as Protection Against COVID-19

Wearing a mask in public is, first and foremost, an act of solidarity. They can help keep us safe and healthy, if used properly and in combination with other preventive

#Coronavirus: President vdL on the Role of the European Green Deal in the Economic Recovery

#Coronavirus: President vdL on the Role of the European Green Deal in the Economic Recovery

Coronavirus: Statement by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, on the role of the European Green Deal in the economic recovery. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-1E0fwrazc[/embed] Source: European Commission Youtube 

Connectivity During Emergency Situations

Connectivity During Emergency Situations

Emergency situations prove one thing: it is essential for every citizen in Europe to have access to high-speed connectivity. Europe is building up the Gigabit Society in rural and urban