12 Inventors of the Year 2011 are honored Last fiscal year Siemens increased the number of inventions registered by its employees to approximately 8,600 — that amounts to 40 per workday. A major contribution to this figure was made by 12 particularly successful researchers and developers, whom Siemens honored as "Inventors of the Year 2011" at a ceremony in Munich on November 22. In recent years these inventors have been responsible for a combined total of 730 registered inventions and 636 individual patents. "Every day they demonstrate a pioneering spirit, entrepreneurial thinking, and international teamwork. These are exactly the factors we need in order to be successful in the world markets both now and in the future," said Siemens CEO Peter Löscher at the award ceremony. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Munich, Germany - November 23, 2011

In fiscal 2011, Siemens generated 8,600 inventions, nearly 40 per working day – a ten percent increase year-over-year.

The number of invention reports per Siemens R&D employee (current R&D workforce: 27,800) has doubled in the last ten years.

Dr. Li-Shiang Liang - Inventors of the Year 2011 Energy-efficient desalination of seawater An invention of Dr. Li-Shiang Liang is being tested in an innovative seawater desalination plant in a pilot project in Singapore. Liang improved modules for the electrodeionization of water (shown in the photo) in such a way that they require up to 85 percent less energy to desalinate seawater when combined with modules for electrodialysis. Additional demonstration plants are planned. Liang is a researcher at Siemens Industry in Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Initial patent applications filed by the company rose to 4,300, nearly 20 per working day – a 15 percent increase over the previous year. In Europe, Siemens was Number 1 in patent applications for the first time.

Dr. Michael Unkelbach - Inventors of the Year 2011 Virtual testing of power plants before commissioning Dr. Michael Unkelbach is one of the inventors of the T3000 power plant control system from Siemens. The system not only simplifies the procedures for controlling a complex power plant but also enables operators to make reliable tests before the plant is commissioned. Such testing could previously be done only with special additional devices and was therefore not financially feasible for smaller power plants. Unkelbach works at Siemens Energy in Erlangen, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Twelve extremely successful researchers and developers, who were honored in Munich on November 22 with the company's Inventor of the Year Award, made key contributions to this achievement.

Altogether, these researchers generated 730 invention reports and 636 individual patents.

Per Egedal - Inventors of the Year 2011 Remote monitoring of wind turbines Software developed by Per Egedal monitors the vibration frequencies of the rotor blades of wind turbines. As a result, it is possible to identify damage immediately so that repairs can be carried out. This is particularly important for offshore wind parks. Per Egedal works at Siemens Windpower in Brande, Denmark. The photo shows a wind park with synchronously running rotors — another one of his inventions. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

"Every day, they've demonstrated pioneering spirit, entrepreneurial thinking and international teamwork – exactly the factors we'll need to continue succeeding on the world markets of tomorrow," said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher at the awards ceremony.

Dr. Harald Landes - Inventors of the Year 2011 Utilizing waste heat efficiently Dr. Harald Landes carries out research in the field of "green technologies." Some of his inventions make it possible to recover heat from industrial processes, while others improve the performance of the ceramic structures used in high-temperature fuel cells. His most recent inventions are electrochemical processes for storing energy. The photo shows a high-temperature energy storage device for one to two kilowatt-hours. Landes does his research at Siemens Corporate Technology in Erlangen, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Löscher also announced that Siemens' R&D investments in fiscal 2012 would exceed the previous year's level (€3.9 billion) by about €500 million.

With 2,135 patent applications, Siemens ranked Number 1 in the European Patent Office's current patent statistics (calendar year 2010) for the first time in its history, outpacing Philips, BASF and Samsung.

Dr. Thorsten Feiweier - Inventors of the Year 2011 Faster diagnosis of stroke Diffusion imagery by means of magnetic resonance technology is particularly easy on patients, but the images it produces were previously difficult to interpret. Thanks to the developments made by Dr. Thorsten Feiweier, diffusion images are now very precise. For example, circulatory disorders after a stroke can be identified in detail. Feiweier is a researcher at Siemens Healthcare in Erlangen, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

"In Germany and Europe combined, we increased our initial patent applications by 18 percent year-over-year," said Klaus Helmrich, member of Siemens' Managing Board and Chief Technology Officer of Siemens AG.
"Siemens' R&D employees are also more innovative than ever at the global level. On average, they're now reporting twice as many inventions per R&D employee as in 2001."

Dr. Rainer Graumann - Inventors of the Year 2011 Precise navigation during an operation The inventions of Dr. Rainer Graumann are making surgeons' work easier. He has already developed numerous improvements for surgical procedures that are guided by images and navigation devices. The use of a C-arm (shown in the photo) to record images during an operation now makes it possible to calculate the positions of the instruments in the patient's body more simply and reliably than before. Graumann is a researcher at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and lives in Erlangen, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

The twelve Inventors of the Year for 2011 hail from Germany (Berlin, Erlangen, Munich and Nuremberg), Denmark, Switzerland and the U.S. Because of their patents, a host of innovative products are now making industry more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

For example, some of the new products are making the conversion of seawater into drinking water much more energy-efficient, others are increasing the lifetimes of wind turbines, and still others are enhancing the effectiveness of motors and power plants.

Dr. Anand Natrajan - Inventors of the Year 2011 Luminous molecules for immunoassays Dr. Anand Natrajan does research on molecules that emit light in the presence of certain specific chemical reactions. These molecules are used in automated immunoassay diagnostics. Thanks to Natrajan's inventions of new molecule structures, Siemens systems quickly and reliably deliver the results of tests for hepatitis, tumor markers, heart disease, endocrine disorders and anemia. Natrajan, who works at Siemens Healthcare, lives in New Hampshire, U.S. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Thanks to innovative software architecture, new products are also reducing resource consumption in industrial production by facilitating the design of complex automation systems.

And in the healthcare area, an innovation created by one of the award winners is making it easier to diagnose strokes: the new technology can improve the quality of MRI images in such a way that physicians can detect the extent of brain damage and identify brain tissue that can be saved.

Ronald Lange - Inventors of the Year 2011 A software platform for industry Software is playing an ever greater role in industrial production. Siemens has now developed an engineering framework that combines all automation software tools in a single development environment. All of the data of an automation system, whether it's for design, configuration or fault diagnosis, can now be interchanged, processed, and reused. Ronald Lange played a major role in the development software architecture of the TIA Portal (shown in the photo). He works at Siemens Industry in Nuremberg, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

"With every idea, every invention and every patent, our researchers and developers are laying another cornerstone for our continued growth," said Peter Löscher.
"Pioneering spirit is our lifeblood – we need people like these who want to make a difference, who are committed and creative, who break new ground and who search for and find answers to the toughest questions of our time."

Bernd Pfannschmidt - Inventors of the Year 2011 Cool ventilation for more efficient electric motors Using a new cooling system, Bernd Pfannschmidt has improved the electric traction motor used in mining trucks in such a way that it produces 45 percent more power. Air flows through pipes positioned opposite one another (shown in the photo). As it does so, it cools the winding overheads and end rings on both sides of the disk-shaped electric motor. The huge open-pit mining dump trucks, which can weigh up to 630 tons when fully loaded, can now handle steep inclines without overheating their motors. Pfannschmidt works at Siemens Industry in Nuremberg, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Siemens has been presenting the Inventor of the Year Award to the outstanding researchers and developers who make major contributions to its success every year since 1995.

Dr. Wendelin Feiten - Inventors of the Year 2011 An automated guidance system for trucks Dr. Wendelin Feiten's specialty is the creation of mathematical models for autonomously operating machines. A guidance system invented by Feiten navigates trucks operating in shipping ports into the right position for unloading with precision accurate to a few centimeters (shown in the photo). By means of 3D laser measurements and software developed by Feiten, the robot technology recognizes a truck's dimensions and gives signals that tell drivers exactly where they should stop their trucks. Feiten works at Siemens Corporate Technology in Munich, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Detailed portraits of the inventors and their inventions as well as press pictures are available at
http://www.siemens.com/press/inventors2011  


Siemens AG

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the fields of industry, energy and healthcare as well as providing infrastructure solutions, primarily for cities and metropolitan areas.

For over 160 years, Siemens has stood for technological excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality.

The company is the world's largest provider of environmental technologies.

Around 40 percent of its total revenue stems from green products and solutions.

In fiscal 2011, which ended on September 30, 2011, revenue from continuing operations totaled €73.5 billion and net income from continuing operations €7.0 billion.

At the end of September 2011, Siemens had around 360,000 employees worldwide on the basis of continuing operations.

Further information is available on the Internet at:
http://www.siemens.com  


Contact

Ms. Klaudia Kunze
Siemens AG
Wittelsbacherplatz 2
80333 Munich
Germany
Tel: +49 (89) 636-33446
klaudia.kunze@siemens.com  


Source: Siemens AG

http://www.siemens.com/press/en/pressrelease/  

Walter Vollenweider - Inventors of the Year 2011 Reliable smoke alarms Walter Vollenweider has dedicated himself to the continual improvement of optical smoke alarm systems. His inventions are reducing the number of false alarms, lowering production costs, and enabling discreet designs thanks to new modes of construction. He works at the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector in Zug, Switzerland. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

Video
Creativity at Work - The Siemens Inventors of the Year 2011

https://www.siemens.com/press/de/tvservice/index.php?tv=984&l=en  

Dr. Götz Neumann - Inventors of the Year 2011 Lightning-fast protection for power grids Whenever a fault occurs in a state-of-the-art power grid, the system's automatic defenses need to go into action literally faster than lightning. Safety devices shut down defective grid segments within 20 milliseconds in order to prevent damage to the network and its transformers. Dr. Götz Neumann has invented a technique that enables the various modules of a cutoff device to engage completely time-synchronously in well under a millisecond. This is especially important in smart grid energy networks. Neumann works at the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector in Berlin, Germany. Courtesy of Siemens press picture

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