Researchers from two educational institutions in Twente have been nominated for the Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs

The fact that Enschede is an enterprising knowledge city with high-quality knowledge institutes and innovative companies is evident from the nominees for the Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs. Two out of the three nominees for the award are from Twente! Abeje Mersha from Saxion University of Applied Sciences was nominated for his innovative drone “The Beast”. David Fernandez Rivas from the University of Twente was nominated for his needle-free injections.

The Beast is a self-flying and life-saving robot that can assist emergency services in various situations. This drone uses many different technologies: The Beast can fly without a pilot, and it can go out to incidents and report back by itself. Emergency services such as the fire brigade, police and ambulance can work more effectively and efficiently with this drone's help. The Beast was developed by the Mechatronics research group at Saxion. Abeje Mersha leads this research group.

UT researcher David Fernandez Rivas developed a way of injecting that does not require needles. You have to get through the tough epidermis to get a substance underneath the skin. Until now, needles have always been used for this. However, the innovative technique that David Fernandez Rivas and his team developed will use liquid jet injections to administer medicines or ink (for tattoos, for example). This is done using a laser device that jets the substance through the (epidermal) skin. 

This technique has many advantages: the injection can barely be felt, reduces waste from needles, the risks of contamination (with healthcare staff, for example) is reduced, and people with a fear of needles no longer need to be afraid.

The Royal Institute of Engineers awards the Dutch Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs annually, to an engineer who stands out in expertise, innovative capacity, social impact and entrepreneurship. This award is considered to be the most prestigious Dutch award for engineers.

The award from the jury is not the only one; there is also a public award. It is possible to vote for one of the three nominees online starting February 17th.