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Press Invitation: Research Councils Business Plan Competition Finalists for 8 May 2002

May 03, 2002

The five finalists have now been selected in this competition to find the best business plan to commercialise British-funded science.

The teams are:

Hale-Stephenson Ltd from the University of Newcastle: The researchers have developed a new type of vibration-sensor that can be sprayed onto the surface of any structure, just like paint. When the structure vibrates it produces an electrical signal that can be measured. The Piezoelectric paint can detect impacts and vibrations that can lead to long-term damage. The 'smart' paint has already been tested on the Gateshead Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne.

NanoCo Technologies Ltd from the University of Manchester: The company will manufacture and supply customised 'Quantum Dots' that will form the basis of new technologies in areas such as the security-tagging e.g. of banknotes (they could replace the silver strips). Quantum Dots are miniscule particles of material made from a semiconductor - they are so small that 80,000 of them will fit across the width of a human hair. They are the key industrial components of the 'nanorevolution' that will eventually impact on all of our lives in much the same way as lasers and liquid crystals have in recent years.

Critical Pharmaceuticals Ltd from the University of Nottingham: The future of medicine appears to be very exciting. New treatments are being invented that can reverse arthritis, diabetes, obesity and other long-term diseases. The discovery of stem cells that can regenerate damaged tissues and the information derived from the human genome project is making these new medicines a reality. But these new treatments contain extremely fragile molecules and cells, whose disease-curing properties can be destroyed before they leave the factory. This team has developed a new method of delivering the medicines to the patient that protects the drugs and cells. As a result medicines you receive in future will work better, and we can all share in the remarkable opportunities to improve our long-term health.

Southside Thermal Sciences from Imperial College, London: This team have developed a 'smart' ceramic coating for use in gas turbines, such as those in jet engines. At present , turbine blades are protected from extreme temperatures and weathering by a standard Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC). These TBCs can fail after a period of continuous wear or through crumbling and flaking. This team's novel coating will allow maintenance engineers to monitor the wear and tear on the turbine blades without having to shut it down. This will save money and increase safety in the power generation and airline industries.

Shibden Technologies from the University of Warwick: This team has
produced a novel method for producing audible sound by using high frequency sound signals. This enables small loudspeakers to produce "perceived sounds", in which the ear is fooled into hearing something different to that with which it is presented. This means that mobile phones, laptop computers, and even hi-fi systems can now have good quality sound in a small space, quite different to any previous technology. The age-old problem of your neighbour`s music tastes impinging on your lifestyle will go away: the sound won`t pass through walls very much at all! The technology is cheap, and the efficiency of loudspeakers can be much improved, using less than 5% of conventional audio power, and be much smaller and lighter.

These five teams will battle for a £25,000 prize at the Royal Society in London on Wednesday 8 May.
The final judging and award ceremony will begin at 2.00pm. There will be a brief presentation from each of the finalists and comments from the judges. Lord Sainsbury, Science and Innovation Minister, will present a trophy and a cheque for £25,000 to the winner.

There will be an opportunity to speak to the finalists during the morning if you are unable to attend the prize-giving event in the afternoon. You are welcome to join us for a buffet lunch at 12.30pm, when many of the other teams who entered the competition will be available for interviews. There have been some amazing ideas coming out of this competition.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)