2020 Awards Winners
The KiwiNet Awards celebrate heroes in research commercialisation — those individuals and organisations whose best practice approach is changing the innovation landscape in New Zealand. We congratulate the 2020 winners!
BNZ Supreme Award
This award celebrates the supreme entry which demonstrates overall excellence in all core areas of research commercialisation as voted by the Awards Judges. This award recognises research commercialisation excellence that demonstrates the impact that can be achieved through commercialised Kiwi science - the spirit of the KiwiNet Awards!
Winner: Professor Jim Johnston — Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
A world-renowned inorganic and materials chemist focussed on commercial outcomes
Professor Jim Johnston, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington is a world-renowned inorganic and materials chemist and applied scientist. Professor Johnston is passionate about adding value to industry and the New Zealand economy through high quality research. He has pursued the commercial application of his research as a matter of course, founding a number of innovative companies and industry partnerships as a result.
Professor Johnston has either founded, or been involved with, countless new ventures and technologies throughout his long and outstanding research career. These include spin-out companies Wetox Limited, Noble Bond Limited and, most recently, Inhibit Coatings Limited.
During his extensive and much-awarded research career, Professor Johnston has spent the majority of it at the interface between academia and industry.
He has worked closely with businesses in New Zealand and overseas to utilise applied chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology to make new high-value products and generate new chemical process technologies that can be taken to market where they can help to meet business needs and create impact.
In addition to his success with research and commercialisation, Professor Johnston is equally passionate about developing his undergraduate and postgraduate students, nurturing them both academically and commercially, and making both career pathways available to them.
Professor Johnston is a textbook example of what can happen when excellent researchers are also committed to commercialising their work.
Norman Barry Foundation Breakthrough Innovator Award
This award recognises an upcoming entrepreneurial researcher who is making outstanding contributions to business innovation or is creating innovative businesses in New Zealand through technology licencing, start-up creation or by providing expertise to support business innovation.
Winner: Dr Eldon Tate - Inhibit Coatings
Antimicrobial coatings keeping people safe in food and healthcare industries
Dr Eldon Tate, Co-founder and CEO of Inhibit Coatings Limited, has developed antimicrobial technology that can be applied to surfaces. Designed for use in areas that require high hygiene, such as food processing, the technology creates a safer environment by removing the dangers associated with persistent bacterial contamination (the places where germs can live and multiply). Not only does the technology increase food safety but it also reduces the cost of cleaning and maintenance for food manufacturers.
Eldon developed the leading-edge technology during his PhD studies at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, which he completed in 2016. Having seen the potential impact for his discovery from the outset, and with the encouragement of his supervisor, Professor Jim Johnston, Eldon co-founded Inhibit Coatings later in 2016. The company, initially funded through the Callaghan Innovation technology incubator scheme, has since gone on to develop a number of commercial products including floor coatings that are being trialled with excellent results in New Zealand food processing plants.
This is just the beginning, with Inhibit setting its sights on using cutting edge technology to improve public safety across sectors, targeting applications like contamination in the food and beverage industry, hospital acquired infections and protecting the vulnerable in aged care facilities.
Under Eldon's leadership, Inhibit Coatings raised $1.5M follow-on capital last year from the New Zealand investment community (the round was over-subscribed). Eldon and the Inhibit Coatings team also continued to develop the company's product offerings and forged valuable connections with international partners. Eldon has demonstrated truly remarkable leadership and enthusiasm for commercialising his research and growing a company that contributes to the New Zealand economy.
Baldwins Researcher Entrepreneur Award
This award recognises an entrepreneurial researcher who has made outstanding contributions to business innovation or has created innovative businesses in New Zealand through technology licencing, start-up creation or by providing expertise to support business innovation.
Winner: Professor Jim Johnston — Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
A world-renowned inorganic and materials chemist focussed on commercial outcomes
Professor Jim Johnston, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington is a world-renowned inorganic and materials chemist and applied scientist. Professor Johnston is passionate about adding value to industry and the New Zealand economy through high quality research. He has pursued the commercial application of his research as a matter of course, founding a number of innovative companies and industry partnerships as a result.
Professor Johnston has either founded, or been involved with, countless new ventures and technologies throughout his long and outstanding research career. These include spin-out companies Wetox Limited, Noble Bond Limited and, most recently, Inhibit Coatings Limited.
During his extensive and much-awarded research career, Professor Johnston has spent the majority of it at the interface between academia and industry.
He has worked closely with businesses in New Zealand and overseas to utilise applied chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology to make new high-value products and generate new chemical process technologies that can be taken to market where they can help to meet business needs and create impact.
In addition to his success with research and commercialisation, Professor Johnston is equally passionate about developing his undergraduate and postgraduate students, nurturing them both academically and commercially, and making both career pathways available to them.
Professor Johnston is a textbook example of what can happen when excellent researchers are also committed to commercialising their work.
MinterEllisonRuddWatts Commercialisation Professional Award
This award recognises a commercialisation professional working within a New Zealand research organisation who has made an outstanding contribution to the commercialisation of publicly-funded research.
Winner: Brooke Marshall, AgResearch
Creating impact from AgResearch’s world class science
Brooke Marshall, Commercialisation Manager at AgResearch, is a lawyer by trade, but a commercialisation champion at heart. Brooke has vigorously applied a lean startup mindset to transform the commercialisation capability of AgResearch since her appointment in July 2018.
Acting as an "intraprenuer" within the organisation, Brooke has instigated a range of key initiatives to fast track cultural change within AgResearch and strengthen its commercialisation capability, while increasing revenue and deal-flow along the way.
In Brooke's first year at AgResearch she increased royalty and licensing revenue by 349% and pipeline activities by 33%. She also developed the "A-Prize" competition to stimulate a culture of innovation within AgResearch, generating a novel pipeline of 17 commercialisation opportunities in 2019 and a newly minted team of entrepreneurs who have recently completed KiwiNet's inaugural Rewa Tran-Tasman Pre-Accelerator programme.
Brooke's impact upon the way AgResearch does business is significant, with a key stakeholder noting that AgResearch is bringing more realistic, flexible, and innovative commercialisation options to them.
Brooke is a rising star within the commercialisation profession and is poised to make a substantial contribution to New Zealand's innovation ecosystem as her career develops.
PwC Commercial Impact Award
This award celebrates excellence in research commercialisation delivering outstanding innovation performance and the potential for generating significant economic impact for New Zealand.
Winner: Massey University: ‘FERRI PRO’ IP Sale
A partnership to help address the global problem of iron deficiency
from left: Dr Joeska Husny, Mrs Deborah McRonald, Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh, Dr Swen Rabe, Birgit Holst, Massey University business development and commercialisation Rick Gain
Scientists from the Riddet Institute, a Centre of Research Excellence hosted at Massey University, developed a unique technology (FERRI PRO) to help address global iron deficiency, a problem that effects more than 1.6b people around the globe. Anaemia effects 25-30% of the population and about half of the cases are due to iron deficiency.
The novel protein-iron complex, made using food-grade materials, enables fortification of food products and beverages without compromising the quality and taste, a common problem with many other fortification methods.
The commercialisation process involved engaging with Nestle headquarters in Switzerland, establishing an exclusive trial period and ultimately negotiating the sale of the intellectual property. The negotiation involved face to face meetings in Switzerland and regular video conferencing over an 18 month period.
The final agreement, signed in December 2018, involves the assignment of the IP to Nestle in exchange for payments against technology transfer, commercial launch and regulatory milestones. By using a risk sharing model we were able to substantially increase the potential value to Massey.
In January 2019 a senior delegation from Nestle headquarters visited Palmerston North to better understand the capability and capacity of the Riddet Institute, Massey University and the wider science system through Food HQ. The Riddet Institute presented a portfolio of 19 other market informed R&D projects. The close working relationship with the world's largest food company could provide significant and on-going benefit to New Zealand.