PROF Iain Baikie, director of KP Technology in Wick, picked up a John Logie Baird Award – one of the major innovation awards open to Scottish businesses- last week. At a reception for over 300 people in the Glasgow Science Centre, KP Technology won in the “Impact in Innovation” category.
KP Technology manufacture ‘Kelvin probes’ that are increasingly used in materials research, including the new ‘organic’ flat panel displays currently found in mp3 players, new ‘electronic’ books and high-end displays.
With a full order book, KP Technology sees no sign of the run-down occurring in the national economy. This Wick-based firm has active research projects with the European Space Agency, Harvard Medical School, UK and USA Police forces and various universities to develop new products.
John Logie Baird was the Scottish inventor of the television around 1926. His son, Prof. Malcolm Baird, who lives in Canada attended the award ceremony and spoke about his father and mentioned that John Logie Baird had colour TV working in the late 1940’s.
There are six John Logie Baird Awards covering a spectrum of innovation, one of the top awards is the Impact in Innovation which is awarded for an innovation developed by an existing company which has already demonstrated its potential within the marketplace.
Other awards categories were Entrepreneurial Spirit, Public Sector, Knowledge Transfer and Young Innovator. Following a written application over 80 companies across Scotland were invited to make a presentation to a regional assessment panel.
The winners of the regional assessment then made a second presentation to national panels in Edinburgh and Glasgow. As Iain was attending a conference in Boston at the time his entry took the form of a telephone presentation.
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Contact: Gayle Mann
Email: Gayle.Mann@go.uk.com
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