Pioneer of Flexible Plastic Screens Named Finalist in Millennium Technology Prize

Sir Richard Friend is one of three European inventors shortlisted for the finalists in the $1.15 million international Millennium Technology Prize. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Helsinki on June 9. The Technology Academy of Finland, which announced the finalists, chose them from 55 people and 39 innovations.

Professor Friend was selected for inventions in optoelectronics that have enabled the production of electronic paper and cheap organic solar cells. He is Cavendish Professor at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of St John’s College with a world-renowned reputation for his seminal research into the physics and engineering of carbon-based semiconductors.

His work has been applied to development of polymer field-effect transistors, LEDs, photovoltaic diodes, optically pumped lasing and directly printed polymer transistors. He pioneered study of organic polymers and revolutionized the understanding of the electronic properties of molecular semiconductors. He is also one of the principal investigators in the Cambridge-based Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration on nanotechnology and co-founder of Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) and Plastic Logic. Professor Friend has more than 600 publications and more than 20 patents.

Professor Friend’s research is key to the development and production of truly flat panel displays and future screens that can be rolled and transported. As a result of his expertise, he set up Cambridge Display Technology to capitalize and bring to market the first products using this semiconductor technology.

Also named finalists were Stephen Furber, for designing microprocessors found in 98% of the world s cellphones; and Michael Graetzel, for inventions of solar cells used in renewable energy technologies. The biennial Millennium Technology Prize was launched by the Finnish government and industry in 2004. It is given for achievements in energy and the environment, communications and information, new materials and processes as well as health care and life sciences.

The previous prize winner, in 2008, was American Professor Robert Langer from MIT for developing bio-materials used in combatting cancer and heart disease.

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Other winners include Japanese Professor Shuji Nakamura for inventions in laser technology and LED lighting, and Tim Berners-Lee, the MIT scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web.