The exploring mind is a brilliant prototype. It questions clichés, dares to defy norms and creates a body of knowledge that enriches. These Rolex Young Laureates for Enterprise 2014 are part of that brilliant group of explorers, scientists and inventors.
With one BIG difference. While inventors and explorers are honoured after their eureka moments, these Laureates have been awarded during their ground- breaking endeavours, to give them a step up and guide them through the myriad channels.
Which is why they work in tandem. All are in the process of establishing “innovations” and Rolex has in its tryst with philanthrophy “found the right people, at the right time to give the right support,” which is this case is prize money, networking opportunities and sport a brand new Rolex which they are quite chuffed about.
Spreading their inventive genius, these young innovators are committed. For many, inventions might be those mysterious and grandiose ideas, but these individuals all thirty years of age and under, are purposeful in their strides towards the light.
Hosam Zowawi, Chemical microbiologist and virologist
Body of work: Developing a quick test for superbugs in an era of antibiotic resistance, and increasing awareness of misuse.
He first saw a microscope as a child. And Hosam was hooked. Many years later, the bright and scientific mind of Saudi Arabian Hosam Zowawi is busy pouring over his microbes at the laboratory in Brisbane. This strapping young lad is as clear as he is pertinent. He is in the process of developing a quick test for superbugs that are slowly becoming resistant to antibiotics.
He says, “The father of antibiotics Ian Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, the discovery was a major milestone. Today, we are threatened by bacteria that can be resistant to antibiotics. Despite the ongoing heat with Ebola, I can unequivocally say that antibiotic resistant superbugs are the world’s greatest threat. Infections which would be treatable will become untreatable. The director of the World Health Organisation, Dr Margaret Chan has defined this as the post-antibiotic era, things as common as steph throat or scratched knees could once again kill,” Hosam explains.
Hosam is working on a test that will identify superbugs.
“We have developed a vast network of hospitals and healthcare providers with the University of Queensland, with the help of the Gulf Cooperation Council Centre for Infection Control to monitor the emergence and spread of superbugs in the region, and hopefully beyond,” he explains.
Today, present tests are tedious, time consuming and conventional — it takes upto five days. We’ve been working on a Rapid Super-bug Test, which has a capability to identify more than 200 superbugs within a matter of hours at one third the cost but it needs evaluation and validation. The second test identifies which antibiotics are being destroyed by resistant microbes,” he explains.
He stresses that cost of antibiotic resistance in the US alone is around $8.4 billion, so the cost globally is huge.
Francesco Sauro, Caveman, Speleologist, Explorer & geologist
Body of work: Exploring the dark continent of caves and discovering new organisms, formations and minerals.
The final frontier might be space, but for this extremely steadfast geologist, it lies deep in the caves — he visited the Tepuis Table Mountains between Venezuela and Brazil, discovered new bacteria and minerals, and that was after he walked on the dark side of the earth, a first for a human in this era.
The young Sauro started caving as a child exploring near his hometown Padova, he went on to explore the Dolomites and Alps. “In 2009, I visited the Tepuis Table Mountains. I was enchanted by its unique landscape. They rise from the forest and clouds, more than 1,000 metres high — with a soul that is untouched,” says Francesco, almost poetic.
These mountains separated from the world tens of millions of years ago. Infact, The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle and the Pixar film UP explores landscapes that are uncannily similar. “What they call the power of the falls are the Angel Falls. I always wondered if there were caves and if so, they would be the most ancient witnesses to earth’s evolution. Discovered in 1946 by Italian geologist Alfonso Vinci, the Tepuis are a scientific paradox made up of quartz and sandstone. When I started my research in 2012, we tried to land with a helicopter twice, the third time (2013) we were successful.
We reached the Auyan Tepui for a 10-day expedition, explored caves, passages — it’s a labyrinth and a fragile environment where no human had been. Called the ‘Imawari Yeuta’ or the house of gods, it is a sacred place. You can visit a touristic cave in Slovenia or China but those are of limestone, these are made of opal and silica. Mushrooms made of silica, resembling eggs or strangest formations on the roof, spider cobwebs — it’s a new world. They are a product of interactions of ancient bacterial communities and minerals. We also discovered a new mineral structure,” says Sauro.
Studying geology in University of Padova, he went to University of Bologna for a PhD and master thesis. The deep, dark world of caves fascinates him and the award will now make this modern day explorer continue his quest. “There are more than 100 mountains with unique evolutions and history. At one point in earth’s evolution, they were all a plateau that separated. A part are in a region called the Gran Sabana,” explains Sauro.
The dark continent of caves is literally his life’s work. “A single cave system at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky can reach a length of 600 km. In the past decade, speleologists have explored probably 10,000 km but what is still waiting to be explored is much more — one million km. From a geographical point of view this is a new dark continent. This treasure chest of new minerals, bacteria could be useful for medicine too,” he says.
Sauro loves caving, climbing and rapelling as it’s important to reach unfathomable destinations.
Olivier Nsengimana, Rwandan veterinarian
Body of work: Saving the endangered grey crowned crane
From the darkness comes the light. And this particular light shines on the endangered grey crowned cranes. Veterinarian Olivier Nsengimana rose from the sheer devastation of the genocide in Rwanda, and became a conservationist and activist. “I have worked with the gorilla doctors, providing vetenary care to critically injured mountain gorillas. I have also been involved in a programme called Predict, it’s a US Aid fund, that focuses on creating air warning systems for disease which move from wild animals to humans.
We capture wild animals, get samples and analyse them for any potential virus that is a threat to humans,” says Olivier. “We are recording birds in captivity. Once we record, we are going to select birds that can do well in the wild, reintroduce them there,” says the boy who saw cranes being domesticated, killed and maimed. A species only found in the east African region, there are only 300 to 500 remaining.
The cranes will then be taken to the Akagera National Park for a soft release. He hopes to keep wildlife wild and flourshing. “To control illegal trade, we are fitting cranes with a leg band and working with communities near the marshland who poach.”
The future: He is doing an online Masters in conservation medicine at the University of Edinburgh. “I am a conservationist. I would like to work with ambhibeans as their habitats are disappearing. Some bats that play a big ecological role are losing their habitat. There is a lot to be done,” he says.
Arthur Zang, Cameroon IT Engineer and researcher
His body of work: Developing a cardio pad for computer-generated diagnosis of cardiac problems
The smiling and down-to earth Arthur Zang grew up admiring medicine men. And then he found action films. And as they say that true believers find their thoughts in the simplest of experiences, he found that in action movies — when the hero gets hurt and doctors try to read his vital signs.
Arthur grew up in Mbankomo, a town 25 km from Yaoundé. He saw strife and people in need. “In 2009, as a student, I kept thinking about how I can use my knowledge to save lives. In my fourth year computer science, I decided to leave the classroom and find a cardiologist,” Arthur recalls. In the general hospital at Yaoundé, he met a cardiologist who taught him the basics of bio-medical engineering in cardiology.
Together, they worked on an algorithm for an automatic diagnosis for cardio care and a programme to detect heartbeats — “We published two scientific papers in the Journal of Cardiology in Cameroon, I was only 22 years old. Two weeks later, the professor called, saying, ‘Arthur, I have patients who live far-away and cannot get good cardio care, can you think of a solution?’,” In 2010, there were only 50 cardiologists for 20 million, so Arthur began to think. He developed a programme, and was able to perform heart examinations on a PC. The idea for a cardio pad — a medical device for heart examination, with a computer-assisted diagnosis — was born.
The cardio pad came first in the Rolex awards category of applied technology. Arthur then did a free electronic course online with the Indian Institute of Technology and with help of a loan his mother took, he started. He sent an electronic diagram of the tablet to Microsoft for Microsoft Imagine Corp 2011, and the project was selected. “I was sent materials to develop an embedded processing system. I developed a prototype and decided to use the Internet to raise funds,” he recalls. Two days later, the video had 3,000 views and he was on his way to creating history. “The president of Cameroon read an article and granted me $37,000 for research. I travelled to China with the grant in 2012 and was able to manufacture 30 complete devices.”
Neeti Kailas, Product designer and researcher
Body of work: She developed a portable diagnostic device that screens hearing loss in newborns that prevents consequent loss of speech.
She is pint-sized, yet with a voracious appetite for change — Designing a hearing impairment screening device for newborns, which can in many cases reverse deafness. The Chennai girl who has made Bengaluru her base started Sohum Innovation Lab with her husband Nitin Sisodia, a 2010 Stanford bio-design fellow who was also named ‘innovator under 35’ by MIT Tech review, in 2013. The design student graduated from the Art Centre College of Design and the INSEAD Business School partnership programme and always felt a need to address the health lacuna in the system.
“As a student, I redesigned a bed pan, it was one of my first designs,” says Neeti. “It’s been a whirlwind, thanks to the Rolex award for enterprise, we have so many people writing in — audiologists, ENT specialists, doctors,” she says.
“People know they have to screen newborns for hearing loss. We have started to build a network. Once we start the screening, we want a network where we can refer children to. It will be a waste if we are not able to give them timely intervention,” explains Neeti.
The device is now in its evaluation mode, “Ours is an Auditory Evoked Brain Stem Response screening device which is easy to use, and can fit into a country like India but quality as a diagnostic equipment is imperative. We will be screening almost around 1,300 infants for a start.”
