European Inventor Award

Previously, smartphone fingerprint scanners could be fooled by fake fingerprints or spoofing attacks. Bo Pi and Yi He developed the world's first system to verify a fingerprint pattern and detect live blood flow. Today, their invention is used in smartphone models across multiple brands.

For almost four decades, Metin Colpan has developed tools that aid scientists in fields ranging from disease diagnosis to forensics, and food safety to pharmaceutical therapies. His inventions have been the driving force behind a successful company that now employs over 5300 people worldwide.

Norwegian scientist Per Gisle Djupesland's device for administering medicine via the nose brings relief to millions of migraine sufferers. His experience as an ENT specialist inspired him to invent a ground-breaking system that uses our natural mechanism to deliver medication where it's needed.

Marco Donolato and a team of researchers combined lasers with magnetic nanoparticles to develop a device that can detect dengue fever and other infectious diseases. Testing is accurate, less expensive, and requires little training for medical staff - crucial factors in many developing countries.

Robert N. Grass and Wendelin Jan Stark's error-proof data-storage method encapsulates DNA strands in tiny silica beads. When these robust beads are applied to products, they ensure that specific indicators - such as origin or working conditions - are traceable throughout the supply chain.

Christoph Gürtler, Walter Leitner, and the team have taken a step towards a circular economy by developing a commercially viable method of using CO2 in plastic production.

Having seen the leather industry's detrimental impact at first hand, Carmen Hijosa developed a process for turning pineapple leaves into a soft durable, and versatile material.

Longline fishing has a devastating effect on seabirds, killing 300 000 each year. Brothers Ben and Pete Kibel invented a simple solution: a pod that covers baited hooks and only opens once 20 metres underwater out of reach for most birds.

German physicist Karl Leo advanced the organic semiconductor by improving their conductivity through a technique called doping. Currently, half of the world's smartphones and many types of solar cells incorporate his technology.

As 99% of microbes can't be cultured in a lab, new antibiotics classes have not been discovered in over a decade. Kim Lewis and Slava S. Epstein developed a device that encourages microbial growth, enabling researchers to grow almost 80 000 strains of previously unculturable organisms.

From their plant in Stockholm, Henrik Lindström and Giovanni Fili produce a dye-sensitized solar cell that can be custom-printed in almost any shape or colour and can even generate electricity indoors.

Sumita Mitra found that nanoclusters could be used in dentistry, resulting in robust, durable, and aesthetically pleasing fillings. These tiny clusters have been used in over 1 billion dental restorations worldwide.

Mathias Fink and Mickael Tanter invented a novel medical imaging method. Initially developed to test the firmness of cheese, the inventors realized the technique would work with human tissue. Their ultrasound is non-invasive, enabling doctors to conduct scans and spare patients from painful biopsies

Dutch engineer Jan van der Tempel has made offshore transfers safer, more efficient, and reliable with his motion-compensating gangway. The platform connects moving ships to offshore facilities, similar to a boarding ramp that joins an airplane to an airport gate.

Serbian-American bioengineer Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic opened new horizons in regenerative medicine by developing a way of growing new tissue ex vivo (outside the body) using the patient's own cells.