Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering

The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering is awarded for engineering-led advances that are judged to be of tangible and widespread benefit to the public. The organisation invites nominations from the public, engineering and science academies, universities, research organisations, and commercial organisations from anywhere in the world; self-nomination is not permitted, and that the prize is not awarded posthumously.[2]

The judging panel works from the information provided in the nomination, comments from referees and any additional information required in order to establish which nomination most fully meets the following prize criteria:

1. What is it that this person has done (or up to five people have done) that is a ground-breaking innovation in engineering?
2. In what way has this innovation been of global benefit to humanity?
3. Is there anyone else who might claim to have had a pivotal role in this development?

The winner(s) of the QEPrize are announced every two years by the Chairman of the QEPrize Foundation. In the first four prize cycles, this announcement was held at the Royal Academy of Engineering and was attended by members of the British Royal Family. The QEPrize award ceremony takes place in the same year as the announcement. The QEPrize trophy is designed by the winner of the Create the Trophy competition, presented to the winner(s) by a member of the Royal Family. In the first two prize cycles, the trophy was presented by the Queen. In the third and fourth prize cycle, the trophy was presented by the Prince of Wales.

Year	Invention	Recipient(s)	Nationality	Notes
2013	The Internet and the World Wide Web	Robert Kahn	United States	The inaugural prize was awarded to the five engineers responsible for the creation of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The announcement was made by Lord Browne of Madingley in the presence of Princess Anne on 18 March. The winners of the 2013 prize were: Robert Kahn (US), Vinton Cerf (US), and Louis Pouzin (France) for their contributions to the protocols that make up the fundamental architecture of the Internet. Tim Berners-Lee (UK) for the creation of the World Wide Web. Marc Andreessen (US) for the Mosaic web browser. On 25 June the winners received their award from Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in front of an audience that included the leaders of the UK’s three main political parties, QEPrize judges, and a number of young engineers.
		Vinton Cerf	United States
		Louis Pouzin	France
		Tim Berners-Lee	United Kingdom
		Marc Andreessen	United States
2015	Molecule drug delivery	Robert Langer	United States	The 2015 prize was awarded to Robert Langer for his work in controlled-release large molecule drug delivery. The announcement was made by Lord Browne of Madingley in the presence of the Duke of York on 3 February. Dr Langer, who made a speech at the announcement, said he was “proud and privileged to win the biggest engineering prize in the world”. On 26 October, Langer received his award from Queen Elizabeth II [3] in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
2017	Digital Imaging Sensors	George E. Smith	United States	The 2017 prize was awarded to the four engineers responsible for the creation of digital imaging sensors, an innovation that has facilitated advancements in medical treatments, science, communication, and entertainment. The announcement was made by Lord Browne of Madingley in the presence of the Princess Royal on 1 February.[4] The winners of the 2017 prize were: George E. Smith (US) for the invention of the charge-coupled device (CCD) principle. Michael Tompsett (UK) for the development of the CCD image sensor, including the invention of the imaging semiconductor circuit and the analogue-to-digital converter. Nobukazu Teranishi (Japan) for the creation of the pinned photodiode (PPD). Eric Fossum (US) for developing the CMOS image sensor. On 6 December, the winners received their award from the Prince of Wales in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
		Michael Tompsett	United Kingdom
		Nobukazu Teranishi	Japan
		Eric Fossum	United States
2019	Global Positioning System (GPS)	Bradford Parkinson	United States	The 2019 prize was awarded to the four engineers responsible for the development of the first truly global, satellite-based positioning system (GPS),[1] whose combined efforts have enabled free, immediate access to accurate position and timing information for over 4 billion people around the world. Its applications range from navigation and disaster relief to climate monitoring and banking systems. The announcement was made by Lord Browne of Madingley in the presence of the Princess Royal on 12 February. The winners of the 2019 prize winners were: Bradford Parkinson (US) for leading the development, design, and testing of key GPScomponents. James Spilker, Jr (US) for developing the L-band GPS civil signal structure using CDMA. Hugo FrueHauf[5] (US) for his instrumental role creating a highly accurate miniaturised atomic clock using a rubidium oscillator. Richard Schwartz[6][7] (US) for leading the design and development of the highly robust, long-lasting Block I satellites. On 3 December, the winners received their award from the Prince of Wales in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
		James Spilker, Jr	United States
		Hugo FrueHauf	United States
		Richard Schwartz	United States

External video
Hundreds of millions of people a year across the world benefit from the technologies that rest on the work of Robert Langer., Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering 2015

• 
  CCD inventor:
  George Smith
• 
  Molecule drug delivery: Robert Langer
• 
  WWW creator: Tim Berners-Lee
• 
  "Father of GPS": Dr Bradford Parkinson

Key

  Chair of Judges

  Judge

The QEPrize Ambassador Network is an international network that brings together the best and brightest early-career engineers from all fields around the world, who work to inspire the next generation to take up the challenges of the future. QEPrize ambassadors act as evangelists for engineering, engaging with teachers, parents, school children, politicians, and journalists about their work and why engineering is such an important profession. The Ambassador Network became a global community in 2016.

The QEPrize trophy is designed by the winner of the Create the Trophy competition which, like the prize itself, runs every two years.[8] The competition is open to those aged between 14 and 24, and is intended to encourage young people to develop 3D design skills.[9] Entries are submitted online through an app.

• List of engineering awards

• Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Website
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