NEWS & ANALYSIS MATERIALS NEWS

of antibiotics to prescribe for a bacterial Challenge prizes offer infection, in response to the growing in- cidence of antibiotic resistance. unique opportunities for Challenge prizes aim to drive solu- tions, often in the space that comes after materials innovation basic research and between early tech- nological advancement and commer- cialization. They are most effective for By Kendra Redmond well-defi ned goals that require a techno- logical leap whose details are uncertain. One such example is the USD$2.25 mil- rizes that recognize groundbreaking Called inducement prizes or challenge lion US Department of Energy’s Wave Pdiscoveries and technological ad- prizes, these competitions outline a de- Energy Prize competition, encouraging vancements are common in the scientifi c sired outcome and, in most cases, offer game-changing developments in ocean community; prizes that incentivize such participants zero funding and few guide- wave energy converter devices that ex- work with millions of dollars are much lines on how to get there. Unlike most tract energy from waves and convert it less familiar in the physical sciences. A research grants, prizes are open to indi- to electricity. growing number of competitions have viduals, academic groups, industry teams, “Wave energy became a strong candi- emerged over the past decade that offer and mixed collaborations. This can lead to date for a public prize challenge due to the a large cash prize to the person or team more novel approaches to solving prob- need for a technology leap in this sector,” that can meet a challenge most effi ciently lems, according to Tamar Ghosh, lead for says Alison LaBonte, a program manager or quickly. Many of these challenges are the Longitude Prize at Nesta, the United in the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) based on important global issues that have Kingdom’s innovation foundation. The Wind and Water Power Technologies key materials components, and they pro- Longitude Prize is a £10 million compe- Offi ce. “We have already seen signifi cant vide intriguing opportunities for research- tition for a diagnostic test that can bet- technical achievements in the 12 months ers to innovate and collaborate. ter inform doctors when and what kind since the prize was announced.” Other examples include the European Commission’s (EC) 1.5 million Horizon Prize seeking new technologies for ret- rofi tting diesel engines and powertrains to reduce emissions, the USD$10 mil- lion Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE for a lightweight device that can capture vital signs and diagnose diseases, and Sir ’s USD$25 million Virgin Earth Challenge for activities that remove greenhouse gases from the air. According to a spokesperson for the EC, “Challenge prizes have prompted a surprising array of developments, in particular when it comes to the advance- ment of materials.” In the last few years the EC has initiated several Horizon Prize competitions, with challenges ranging from overcoming the limits of long-distance optical transmission sys- tems to developing a materials-based solution for reducing the concentration of particulate matter in the air. Shan Wang, a professor of materi- als science and engineering at Stanford University, led a team to a distin- The team members of Eigen Lifescience, led by Shan Wang, won a distinguished award in the guished award in the Nokia Sensing Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE for developing a blood test that uses the microprocessor of a smart- phone to rapidly diagnose hepatitis B. Front row (left to right): Jung-Rok Lee, Adi Wijaya Gani, Shan XCHALLENGE in 2014—a Nokia Wang, Paul (P.J.) Utz; back row (left to right): Joohong Choi and Daniel Bechstein. Credit: XPRIZE. collaboration with XPRIZE. The team

MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 41 • JULY 2016 • www.mrs.org/bulletin 503 NEWS & ANALYSIS MATERIALS NEWS

developed a diagnostic strip and magnetic business ventures for SimpleFuel, the only Connect with open challenges detector that, together with a smartphone, fi nalist group in an ongoing DOE competi- can diagnose hepatitis B in minutes using tion to develop home or community hydro- ec.europa.eu/research/horizonprize magnetically tagged biomarkers. gen refueling systems for fuel-cell electric www.Challenge.gov “It was an exhilarating journey to par- vehicles. SimpleFuel is a consortium of www.InnoCentive.com ticipate in the XCHALLENGE,” Wang companies with unique contributions, ac- www.Kaggle.com says. “The very challenging requirements cording to Darryl Pollica, team spokes- www.NineSigma.com posed by the XPRIZE Foundation forced person and President and CEO of Ivys www.openIDEO.com us to design our assay and platform for Inc., one of the member companies. “Our the real world rather than the ivory tower. business arrangement will undoubtedly www.xprize.org Being able to highlight novel nanomate- live beyond the competition as we already rials such as magnetic nanoparticles and have aggressive plans to commercialize foundations across the world are taking giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors in the hydrogen refueling appliance after the notice of their results and showing inter- this international competition was also initial competition demonstration.” est, according to Zenia Tata, executive very rewarding.” Credit for the earliest successful chal- director of international expansion and Participants in such challenge prize lenge competition usually goes to Britain’s global development for XPRIZE. Digital competitions fund their entries through 1714 Longitude rewards for methods to de- platforms such as NineSigma.com and investors, crowdsourcing, institutional termine a ship’s longitude while at sea (see InnoCentive.com are becoming popular support, corporate sponsorship, philan- MRS Bulletin 25 [4], [2000], doi:10.1557/ ways to connect visitors worldwide with thropic organizations, or their own wal- mrs2000.51). The Ansari XPRIZE pro- open challenges from a range of hosts for lets. In some cases, fi nalists receive seed pelled challenge prizes into the modern varying prize amounts. money or a portion of the prize money. spotlight in 2004, when Mojave Aerospace The rise in challenge prizes has caused Organizers say this funding model pro- Ventures received a USD$10 million a growing interest in studying their effec- vides better returns on their investment prize for launching a reusable, manned tiveness. Initial reviews by McKinsey since the development costs are widely spacecraft into space twice within a span & Company and others show that well- shared. Competitors in challenge prizes of two weeks. Since then the idea has re- designed contests can spur innovation in say this model involves more risk, but can gained popularity primarily in the United areas that are beyond the scope of tradi- lead to deep levels of commitment and States and Europe. tional funding mechanisms, but exactly productive new partnerships. Challenge prizes based outside of the how they will affect the landscape of sci- Participating in the USD$1 million “H2 United States and Europe are diffi cult to ence research and advancement in the long Refuel” H-Prize competition has led to new fi nd, but corporations, governments, and term remains to be seen.

XPRIZE provides incentive for radical breakthroughs in innovation www.xprize.org By Paul Bunje, Jyotika Virmani, and Marcius Extavour

e are living in an era of extraordi- potential to lead to innovative solutions a suite of incentives, XPRIZE seeks to Wnary disruption. The technologi- to some of the world’s grand challenges. inspire the world’s scientists, technolo- cal, sociopolitical, and economic changes Importantly, many of these exponential gists, and innovators to tackle seemingly taking place around the world present technologies critically depend upon ad- intractable challenges. innovators with an opportunity to apply vances in materials science. Advanced “Grand Challenges” are a part of to- groundbreaking research to challenges of materials are at the heart of innovative day’s dynamic period of disruption. It worldwide importance. solutions to many of the world’s biggest is now possible for us to not only char- Technologies on an exponential growth problems and opportunities. acterize massive, global threats and op- path (such as advanced robotics, ubiqui- The XPRIZE Foundation relies on the portunities that might affect billions of tous sensors, synthetic biology) are rap- growing power of exponential technolo- people, but also to conceive of possible idly becoming a part of our daily lives. gies and revolutionary science to cata- solutions. Listing grand challenges—pov- These exponential technologies have the lyze radical breakthroughs. By offering erty, , a cure for cancer, total planetary exploration—may sound trivial, but in reality, framing a grand challenge Paul Bunje is principal scientist and senior director of Energy & Environment at XPRIZE. requires understanding the complexity Jyotika Virmani is senior director of Energy & Environment at XPRIZE. Marcius Extavour is director of technical operations of the NRG COSIA XPRIZE. and nuances involved in both defi ning a

504 MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 41 • JULY 2016 • www.mrs.org/bulletin