Applications are now open for the Hawley Award for Engineering Innovation. This £5,000 prize is awarded for engineering innovation that delivers a demonstrable benefit to the environment, contributing to achieving net zero carbon.

The innovation submitted for the award must have reached either prototype or proof of concept stage, with an expectation of commercial development. The innovation must come from work undertaken after the candidate has been awarded a graduate or post-graduate degree from a recognised UK university (work done for a BSc or MEng qualification is not eligible for this award).

Candidates for the award must be resident in the UK, be an early career stage engineer or scientist (usually within 10 years of beginning their career), and must be a member of a licensed professional engineering institution, at graduate level or higher. In exceptional circumstances a small team may be considered. The winner will receive an engraved medal, a certificate, and a cash prize of up to £5,000.

Established in 2006 and awarded annually, the Hawley Award is made by The Engineers Trust, which is the Trust Fund of the Worshipful Company of Engineers, a Livery Company of the City of London. The Worshipful Company of Engineers will publish the winning submission in its journal and provide it to sponsoring organisations – including licensed professional engineering institutions and international commercial organisations.

Previous winners include Robert Edwin Rouse who created a unit which can be attached to ships to extract plastic pollution from oceans, Dr Amrit Singh Chandan who worked on upcycling lithium ion battery waste, and Solveiga Pakštaitė for her work on Bump Mark, the bio-reactive food expiry label (patent pending) which provides accurate real-time indications of food’s freshness, reducing food waste.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 28 May 2021. To find out more, visit the Engineers Trust website.