£10 Million Prize Fund
June 19, 2014
Many of us enjoy a challenge – whether it is solving a puzzle, learning a musical instrument, or a bit of trouble shooting. We develop medical devices!
The Longitude Prize 2014 is a new science and technology challenge with a £10 million prize fund for an innovation that will solve one of the major problems of our time, and we can help to decide what the challenge should focus on.
The six challenge themes to choose from are:
- Dementia – to help people with dementia live independently for longer
- Paralysis – to help restore movement to those with paralysis
- Antibiotics – to help prevent the rise of resistance to antibiotics
- Water – to help ensure everyone can have access to safe and clean water
- Food – to help ensure everyone has nutritious, sustainable food
- Flight – to help us to be able to fly without damaging the environment
It is 300 years since the Longitude Act of 1714, which offered a prize of £20,000 to anyone who could devise a method to accurately determine a ship’s position at sea. It was won by John Harrison with his H4 marine chronometer – it is a fascinating story, and is a great example of robust and capable engineering.
The winning idea will probably be the result of international collaboration – and we expect this challenge to be the ‘seed’ for many other exciting new ideas and technologies which will change the world for the better.
To help write this next chapter, vote for the challenge you would like to become the subject of the Longitude Prize 2014 at www.longitudeprize.org
