Popular Mechanics seeks Inventor of the Year

South Africa’s most innovative minds will be recognised in a national competition organised by sci-tech magazine Popular Mechanics that will see one person earning the title “Inventor of the Year”. The magazine has challenged inventors from all walks of life to submit concepts with the potential to change the world (or at least a small part of it).  The winner will be honoured at a formal awards evening in November.

The categories are:

Stepping Up – open to high school learners

Breaking Ground – targeting university students

Emerging Genius – acknowledging minimally resourced entrants

Going Green – recognising inventions in the field of sustainable energy and environmental conservation

Cutting Edge – open to everyone with a good idea

A panel of experts will determine the winner in each category, from which the overall 2011 Inventor of the Year will be chosen. The competitions form part of INVENT 2011, an ambitious and wide-ranging project that combines the inaugural competition with the third annual Popular Mechanics Inventors Conference.

Says Popular Mechanics editor Alan Duggan: “With two highly successful events under our belt, we decided it was time to expand the conference into something bigger, better and decidedly different. South Africans are a very inventive bunch, and it made sense to expand the initiative with a national competition targeting the country’s most fertile minds. Based on our experience of the past few years, we’re confident of seeing some interesting entries, and probably some surprises.”

The rules of the competition call for genuinely original inventions and require entrants to motivate their submissions with useful information on potential target markets and business strategies. The closing date for submissions is 30 September. Full details are available at www.popularmechanics.co.za and on Popular Mechanics’ Facebook page.

The one-day PM Inventors Conference takes place in Johannesburg in late November. The fee is R1 000, or R850 for “early bird” respondents.