Announcing the winners of 2021 Trinity Bradfield Prize
Firstly, as a re-cap, The Trinity Bradfield Prize is the annual competition we run at The Bradfield Centre with the support of our wonderful volunteer program team of Mike Coto and Haixin Zhang, plus of course Trinity College Cambridge. The aim of the prize is to spot and nurture the leading tech & life science talent at the University of Cambridge via a non-dilutive cash prize and a tailored three month mentoring program at The Bradfield Centre.
Last week saw the final of The 2021 Trinity Bradfield Prize and the awarding of three prizes during the evening. Congratulations to all of the entrants, we had a record 125 teams apply for this year’s competition. Also our thanks to our esteemed judging panel: Sir Gregory Winter, Kerry Baldwin, Anne Dobree, and Robert Swann.
Every one of the 125 entrants has the opportunity to benefit from support provided by our partners Innovate UK Edge and #21toWatch. Our 2021 finalists will all receive three months tailored mentoring at The Bradfield Centre in the new year. The finalists were: Sparkxell, Rezyme, Lumobiotics, Oxbridge Clinical, Lamina POP, Oximen, Loci, Entrop, Miniaturised Condensation Particle Counter, ReSoIF.
The three prize winners on the night were:
First prize — £10,000 + 3 months mentoring — Benjamin Droguet, Sparkxell
Sparxell produces the most sustainable coloured pigments and glitters using cellulose extracted from plants. Today, all effect pigments (the industrial name for tiny glitter particles) contain problematic microplastics, metals, or mineral oxides. Science warns us that microplastic products accumulate in our bodies and enter our water supply. In fact, 5,500 tons of microplastics are released every year in European waters from cosmetics alone. Titania and mica are often associated to form effect pigment particles. Europe is banning mineral oxides such as titania due to cancer-causing properties (effective from 2022). In India, more than 30,000 children, who are not old enough to work, often mine mica, a pervasive mineral found in one of every six cosmetics.
The pigments are made from only one ingredient — cellulose — removing all health, ethical and environmental concerns inherent in other products. In today’s world, consumers and manufacturers favour sustainable options in line with SDGs and are willing to pay a premium for assurance of health, safety and environmental credentials.
Second prize — £5,000 + 3 months mentoring — Molly Haugen, Miniaturised Condensation Particle Counter
The device gives a particle number per volume metric using only water, heat and a common light source. It can be used for applications such as personal health knowledge, health studies, city/national/international particle dispersion model validation, and on-vehicle emission research and regulations all while fitting in the palm of your hand. We are trying to provide a reliable sensor that can measure small particles that have known health and environmental effects. The Mini-CPC will revolutionize the wearable sensor market and allow economically restricted academic and industrial groups to embark on cutting edge research.
There are other, similar devices out there, but lack reliability and ease of use. Our device (which includes postprocessing software) will allow non-scientists to use this device and feel confident about how to use the data they are presented with and what it means for their health and safety. Additionally, we have calculated the size limitations for this type of measurement method and can therefore make our device as small as it can physically be. With this, previous mass, size and maintenance limitations can be overcome and be used on drones, in sensor networks and in remote locations.
Hellings prize — £5,000 + 3 months mentoring — Jack Davis, Loci
The first-of-its-kind photorealistic rendering engine for real-life video content. Creating dynamic video content for film, TV and advertising typically involves a moving physical camera — requiring expensive camera rigs and operators. We are building an AI-based rendering platform which enables photorealistic views of real-life scenes from a moving, controllable ‘‘virtual camera’, without the costs and artistic constraints of physical camera movement.
You can watch a full replay of the prize evening below.
Once again, congratulations to our winners and to all that entered. We look forward to the mentoring commencing in the new year, and the return of The Trinity Bradfield Prize in 2022.
