In a first for the Avalon Innovation Awards, both the National and the SME Innovation Awards have been won by the same company at the AVALON 2023 Australian International Airshow & Aerospace and Defence Exposition at Avalon Airport at Geelong, Victoria.
Melbourne-based 1MILLIKELVIN Pty Limited was named winner of both the National Innovation Award and SME Innovation Award at the presentation ceremony.
1MILLIKELVIN won both awards for its world-leading work developing a stress imaging camera system which provides a full-colour representation of the stress on a mechanical structure under loads, such as the airframes of crewed and uncrewed aircraft and helicopters.
The panel of eight judges, led by former Deputy Chief Defence Scientist Dr Bill Schofield AM, agreed that 1MILLIKELVIN’s entry was a deserving winner for both awards.
The Young Innovator Award was presented to BAE Systems Australia Melbourne engineer, Mr Callum Rohweder, for his work on developing the core guidance, navigation and control algorithms at the heart of the Australian-developed Vehicle Management System (VMS) for the Boeing MQ-28A Ghost Bat uncrewed aerial vehicle.
This year, for the first time, the winners of the SME Innovation Award and Young Innovator Award were presented with a cheque for $50,000 each. These monetary Awards, funded entirely by AMDA Foundation Limited, are meant to be life-changing, especially for the winner of the Young Innovator Award.
“A sum like $50,000 can lever as much again in grants and project funding to help a project across the so-called ‘valley of death’ and turn a smart idea into a proven reality,” said AMDA Foundation CEO Justin Giddings.
“It can help a young innovator undertake a Masters or a Ph.D, to study overseas or undertake an internship focussed on mastering a new technology.”
