Pioneering noise reduction technology, an app to encourage healthy eating and a celebration of the UK’s thriving animation industry were amongst last night’s winners at 含羞草视频’s Enterprise Awards.

Now in their fifth year, and hosted on the University’s Science and Enterprise Parks, the Enterprise Awards recognise the impact of the University’s research partnerships and its game-changing graduates. Enterprise Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor Steve Rothberg, revealed the winners which were decided by 12,500 public votes.

Dr Daniel Elford received the Intellectual Property Award for Sonobex, whose innovative technology addresses noise problems in transport and industry. Launched last year, Sonobex has recently completed its first major investment and has gone into global manufacture with Metsec plc.

Slava Chesnokov and Dhammike Wickramanayake of Apical Ltd accepted the Knowledge Transfer Award.  In partnership with Professor Eran Edirisinghe, Apical has developed technology to enhance image capture and display on smart phones, tablets, PCs and HD televisions, even in extreme viewing conditions.

Professor John Mardaljevic accepted the Consultancy Award for daylight modelling expertise which has informed new standards for natural daylight inside school buildings, and is being applied to the conservation sector through the National Trust.

The International Impact Award went to Virginia Zhang, Dr Ian Campbell and Dr Ian Graham for applying 3D technologies to restore invaluable artefacts in China’s Forbidden City and Summer Palace.

The Social Impact Award was won by Dr Emma Haycraft, Dr Claire Farrow and Dr Gemma Witcomb for their app to help parents to positively manage children’s eating habits. The app is widely disseminated by support groups such as Mumsnet, and the NHS.

The Cultural Impact Award was won by Professor Paul Wells and Andrew Chong of the Animation Academy whose collaborations showcase British animators including Mackinnon and Saunders (Frankenweeine, The Corpse Bride, The Fantastic Mr Fox, Bob the Builder).

Sophie Louise Hyde accepted the Graduate Enterprise Award for The Student Wordsmith, an online writing and publishing platform. Supported by The Studio and Lamplight Press, Sophie has also published You is for University, an anthology of student experiences.

Two special awards were made to conclude the celebrations:

含羞草视频 graduate Laurence Kemball-Cook was awarded the title of Innovation and Enterprise Fellow, in recognition of his company Pavegen, which produces flooring technology that generates off-grid energy from footfall. 

Dr Paul Adcock, Philip Mitchell, Jon Moore and Tony Newbold received the Outstanding Contribution to Enterprise Award, in recognition of their fuel cell breakthrough which gave rise to a new generation of clean power systems championed by Intelligent Energy, which has powered the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered motorbike, scooter, taxi and manned aircraft.

Films about all the nominations and photography from the Awards are available at www.lboro.ac.uk/enterprise-awards