Award success for technology developed to counter fraud

Prize for small laser scanner which detects the unique 'fingerprint' of virtually any surface - News Release

Imperial College London press release

For immediate use
Thursday 19 April 2007

A new anti-counterfeiting technology based on research at Imperial College London has received the prestigious 100,000 Euro Hermes Award at this year's Hannover Messe technology fair.

The annual award was given to Ingenia Technology Ltd, a company commercialising Imperial research, and their partners Bayer Technology Services, for their Laser Surface Authentication (LSA) device. The LSA is a small laser scanner which allows unique identity codes to be read on the surfaces of everything from pharmaceutical packages to valuable documents. Unlike most security technologies in which a marker or chip is added to the item which needs protecting, LSA works by identifying naturally occurring features present in virtually all surfaces.

Professor Russell Cowburn , an Imperial College London Professor of Physics and Chief Technology Officer for Ingenia Technology Ltd, explains: "Laser Surface Authentication provides a unique signature, similar to a human fingerprint or DNA sequence, for all kinds of surfaces. There is significant scope for this technology to be used across a wide range of fields to detect and prevent forgeries, and therefore it stands to improve safety and reliability in a number of areas, including high value branded consumer goods."

The LSA technology is based on fundamental scientific research published by Professor Cowburn and colleagues in Nature in 2005. Following this, Ingenia Technology Ltd launched the LSA device. Subsequently, Ingenia's partnership with Bayer Technology Services, part of the industrial Bayer group, was founded, resulting in the launch of a product called Protexxion based on the LSA technology. The Hermes prize was awarded for Protexxion, and shared by Ingenia and Bayer Technology Services.

Professor Cowburn welcomed the Hermes Award, saying: "I'm delighted to have received this award, along with our partners at Bayer Technology Services. The product Bayer has developed is the result of a very successful collaboration which has seen a basic science growing into a marketable reality. It's a textbook example of how universities, spin out companies and industry can work together effectively to transform ideas into products."

The Hermes Award is given annually at the Hannover Messe technology fair. This year over 70 enterprises competed for the prize from across a broad range of technologies including state-of-the-art energy storage technology, robotics and electronic injection technology. Ingenia Technology Ltd and Bayer Technology Services were awarded the prize at the opening ceremony of the Hannover Messe on Sunday 15 April 2007, in the presence of Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.

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For more information please contact:

Danielle Reeves, Imperial College London press office,
Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 2198
Mob: +44 (0)7803 886248
Email: Danielle.reeves@imperial.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

1. About Imperial College London

Rated as the world's ninth best university in the 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement University Rankings, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 11,500 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

With 62 Fellows of the Royal Society among our current academic staff and distinguished past members of the College including 14 Nobel Laureates and two Fields Medallists, Imperial's contribution to society has been immense. Inventions and innovations include the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of our research for the benefit of all continues today with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle climate change and mathematical modelling to predict and control the spread of infectious diseases.

The College's 100 years of living science will be celebrated throughout 2007 with a range of events to mark the Centenary of the signing of Imperial's founding charter on 8 July 1907.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk