Elettronica
LED Lighting Development Wins 2021 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize)
First awarded in 2013 in the name of Her Majesty The Queen, the QEPrize exists to celebrate ground-breaking innovation in engineering. The 2021 winners are announced today by Lord Browne of Madingley, Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. HRH The Princess Royal shared a message of congratulation for the winners.
Solid state lighting technology has changed how we illuminate our world. It can be found everywhere from digital displays and computer screens to handheld laser pointers, automobile headlights and traffic lights. Today's high-performance LEDs are used in efficient solid state lighting products across the world and are contributing to the sustainable development of world economies by reducing energy consumption.
Visible LEDs are now a global industry predicted to be worth over $108 billion by 2025 through low cost, high efficiency lighting. LED lighting is 75% more energy efficient than traditional incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs, and is playing a crucial role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. LED bulbs last 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs and their large-scale use reduces the energy demand required to cool buildings. For this, they are often referred to as the 'green revolution' within lighting.
The winners will be formally honoured at a ceremony later this year; they will receive the £1 million prize and an iconic trophy, designed by the 2021 Create the Trophy winner Hannah Goldsmith , a 20-year-old design student from the United Kingdom .
Lord Browne also announced a change in the QEPrize cycle to reflect the fact that just as engineering is continually evolving so too is the QEPrize, which will now be awarded on an annual basis. The increase in the frequency of the prize cycle will offer greater opportunities to recognise engineering excellence.
Regarding this change Lord Browne said,
Fine out more: qeprize.org
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QEPrize celebrates engineering's visionaries, encouraging engineers to help extend the boundaries of what is possible across all disciplines and applications. It also inspires young minds to consider engineering as a career choice and to help to solve the challenges of the future.
The QEPrize is administered by the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation and funded by generous support from the following corporate donors: BAE Systems plc, BP plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Hitachi, Ltd., Jaguar Land Rover, National Grid plc, Nissan Motor Corporation, Shell UK Ltd, Siemens UK, Sony, Tata Steel Europe , Tata Consultancy Services, and Toshiba.
The 2021 winners are awarded a total cash prize of £1 million.
The 2021 prize was open to:
The judges use these criteria to select the winner, or winners, of the QEPrize:
The QEPrize is increasing the frequency of its prize cycle from 2022 in order to offer greater opportunities to recognise engineering excellence.
Those awarded the QEPrize before 2021 received a total cash prize £1million – winners from 2022 onwards will receive £500,000. The entry and judging criteria remain the same.
The QEPrize trophy is found through the Create the Trophy competition. The winning design is selected by a panel of expert judges from across the fields of engineering and design. The competition gives young people worldwide (aged 14-24) the opportunity to get involved, testing their design skills using the latest in 3D-design technology.