Rolex Awards for Enterprise

Young Laureates

Recipients

2018 Rolex Awards

2016

Laureates

• Andrew Bastawrous, Ireland. Transform eye care in sub-Saharan Africa using a smartphone-based, portable eye examination kit.
• Sonam Wangchuk, India. Assist farmers in Ladakh, the arid Himalayan highlands in India to overcome water shortages by tapping meltwaters to build artificial glaciers.
• Vreni Häussermann, Chile. Explore Chilean Patagonia's remote fjords to document unknown life at the bottom of the sea.
• Kerstin Forsberg, Peru. Protect threatened giant manta rays by working with local communities to promote awareness and appreciation of these gentle giants.
• Conor Walsh, Australia. Revolutionize how patients worldwide recover from traumas such as stroke and learn to walk again by marrying textile science with robotics.

• Young Laureates

• Joseph Cook, United Kingdom. Explore and communicate how polar ice micro-organisms help shape our world.
• Oscar Ekponimo, Nigeria. Minimize food waste through an application that manages the end of shelf life, allowing food to be sold at a discount.
• Christine Keung, United States. Empower rural women to tackle rural pollution in northwest China with a system for disposing of toxic waste.
• Junto Ohki, Japan. Improve communication among deaf people by expanding a crowdsourced, online sign-language dictionary that will become a global platform.
• Sarah Toumi, Tunisia. Fight desertification caused by climate change and reduce poverty among farmers through reforestation.

  2014

Young Laureates

• Neeti Kailas, India, Develop a system to carry out mass screenings of newborns in resource-poor settings to monitor hearing loss.
• Olivier Nsengimana, Rwanda, Save Rwanda's Grey Crowned Crane, which faces increasing threats, in order to conserve the country's biodiversity.
• Francesco Sauro, Italy, Lead a team to explore ancient caves in table-top mountains between Venezuela and Brazil and uncover the secrets of the planet's evolution.
• Arthur Zang, Cameroon, Invent Africa's first medical computer tablet to help diagnose people with heart disease.
• Hosam Zowawi, Saudi Arabia, Develop faster laboratory tests for superbugs and raise awareness of antibiotic resistance in the Gulf States through an education campaign.

  2012

Laureates

• Sergei Bereznuk, Russian Federation. Protect the last of the Siberian tigers in Russia's Far East.
• Barbara Block, United States. Track marine predators, such as tuna, and protect the oceans.
• Erika Cuéllar, Bolivia. Train local people in the Chaco region of South America to protect the biodiversity of this environment.
• Mark Kendall, Australia. Revolutionize vaccinations with a needle-free Nanopatch to save millions of lives.
• Aggrey Otieno, Kenya. Build a telemedicine centre in a slum to save the lives of mothers and babies.

  Young Laureates

• Karina Atkinson, United Kingdom. Foster research and responsible tourism in a bio-diversity hotspot.
• Selene Biffi, Italy. Revive traditional storytelling to craft a new narrative for Afghanistan.
• Maritza Morales Casanova, Mexico. Build a park for environmental education in the Yucatán.
• Sumit Dagar, India. Develop a Braille smartphone to improve life for India's blind people.
• Arun Krishnamurthy, India. Restore urban lakes in India

  2010

Young Laureates

• Jacob Colker, United States, Enable smartphone users to become volunteers by donating spare minutes to charitable, scientific and community organizations.
• Reese Fernandez, The Philippines, Help impoverished women earn a decent wage by upcycling waste, turning it into high-value “eco-ethical, elegant” products.
• Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, Nigeria,Improve the lives of farmers in Nigeria through the development of an interactive, rural radio service.
• Piyush Tewari, India, Train a network of police officers and volunteers to provide rapid medical care to road accident victims in Delhi.
• Bruktawit, Ethiopia, Tackle the high child mortality rate in Ethiopia through a television series designed to teach children about health.

  2008

Laureates

• Talal Akasheh, Jordan. Help conserve ancient Petra from the ravages of time and tourism.
• Tim Bauer, The Philippines. Reduce pollution from motorized tricycles in Asian cities.
• Andrew McGonigle, Italy. Develop a way to predict volcanic eruptions using a remote-controlled helicopter.
• Andrew Muir, South Africa. Provide training and jobs to young people orphaned by AIDS.
• Elsa Zaldívar, Paraguay. Combine loofah and plastic waste to make low-cost housing.

  Associate Laureates

• Alexis Belonio, The Philippines. Turn rice husks into cheap, clean energy for cooking.
• Arthur González, Mexico. Explore submerged caves to discover and study remains from the Ice Age.
• Rodrigo Medellín, Mexico. Save endangered bats through protection and education.
• Moji Riba, India. Safeguard the heritage of the people of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Romulus Whitaker, United Kingdom/India. Establish a network of rainforest research stations across India.

  2006

Laureates

• Alexandra Lavrillier, Siberia. Establish a travelling school to revive a vanishing culture.
• Brad Norman, Australia. Create a system of identification to protect the whale shark.
• Pilai Poonswad, Thailand. Save threatened hornbills and their habitat in Thailand.
• Chanda Shroff, India. Revive traditional hand embroidery to create a sustainable income for women.
• Rory Wilson, United Kingdom. Use mobile technology to track how wild animals use energy.

  Associate Laureates

• Cristian Donoso, Patagonia. Gather vital new knowledge about the little-known western Patagonia region.
• Zenón Gomel Apaza, Peru. Transform Andean communities through traditional agriculture.
• Shafqat Hussain, Pakistan. Develop a livestock insurance and ecotourism in Pakistan.
• Runa Khan, Bangladesh. Develop a “living museum” of traditional boats to preserve this national craft.
• Julien Meyer, France. Revive whistled and drummed languages from remote areas.

  2004

Laureates

• Lonnie Dupre, United States. Raise awareness of global warming through an Arctic crossing.
• Claudia Feh, Switzerland. Reintroduce the endangered Przewalski horses to their native habitat in Mongolia and improve life for the local nomadic people.
• David Lordkipanidze, Georgia. Transform thought on human evolution through archaeological discoveries.
• Teresa Manera, Argentina. Save a unique collection of prehistoric animal footprints.
• Kikuo Morimoto, Japan. Revive silk production in war-ravaged Cambodia.

  2002

Laureates

• Michel André, France. Create a system to protect whales from collisions with ships.
• José Márcio Ayres, Brazil. Combine the protection of the Amazon forest with the human need for sustainable income.
• Dave Irvine-Halliday, Canada. Supply low-cost LED lighting systems to people in developing countries with no electricity supply.
• Lindy Rodwell, South Africa. Create a pan-African network to protect blue and wattled cranes.
• Gordon Sato, United States. Foster the mangrove tree as the basis of sustainable development in Eritrea.

  2000

Laureates

• Elizabeth Nicholls, Canada. Extract the fossilized remains of a 220 million-year-old marine fossil.
• Mohammed Bah Abba, Nigeria. Supply an innovative food cooling system to impoverished Nigerians.
• Maria Eliza Manteca Oñate, Ecuador. Promote sustainable farming in the Andes.
• Laurent Pordié, France. Promote Tibetan medicine to communities in Ladakh.
• David Schweidenback, United States. Redistribute used bicycles to developing countries.

  Associate Laureates

• Luc-Henri Fage, France. Save ancient cave paintings in the caves of eastern Kalimantan, Borneo.
• Bernard Francou, France. Study a glacier to find the key to El Niño and global warming.
• Anabel Ford, United States. Re-establish Maya “forest gardens” as a model for conservation.
• Rohan Pethiyagoda, Sri Lanka. Protect Sri Lanka's biodiversity by reclaiming tracts of land to support endangered species.
• Reuven Yosef, Israel. Establish a sanctuary along the world's greatest migratory bird highway

  Pre-2000

• 1996: Georgina Herrmann
• 1981: Delia Owens and Mark Owens