Readers of The Times have been challenged by the Science Minister to come up with a name for a new government-backed engineering award that he hopes will acquire the prestige of the Nobel prizes.
David Willetts is seeking suggestions for a great engineer to be celebrated by the international prize, which is likely to be awarded every other year and could be worth £1 million.
The idea was announced last month in the Growth Review published alongside the Budget. The Treasury is seeking support from industry and charities for an endowment, to which taxpayers may also contribute.
Mr Willetts said that the award was needed to raise the status of engineering. “We’re aiming for a value of up to £1 million and we’re giving it our full encouragement and backing,” he said. “We’re looking for bright ideas as to what it should be called and I’d love to hear Times readers’ suggestions.”
His own preference was to name it after Matthew Boulton, the 18th-century manufacturer and business partner of James Watt, whose Soho factory in Birmingham became a model for the Industrial Revolution. “For me, as a proud Brummie, I’d go for Matthew Boulton to recognise Birmingham’s critical role in the Industrial Revolution,” Mr Willetts said.
Other great British engineers who could be suitable candidates include James Watt, the Scottish mechanical engineer who improved the steam engine, and his contemporary John Smeaton, whose accomplishments included the Perth Bridge over the River Tay and the Forth and Clyde Canal.
Calling it the Brunel Prize would be another possibility, which would honour both Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his father, Sir Marc Isambard Brunel. The elder Brunel’s most famous achievement was the construction of the Thames Tunnel from Wapping to Rotherhithe, the first tunnel under the river, which remains in service today as part of the London Overground railway network. Isambard is better known than his father, particularly for his role in building the Great Western Railway and the Clifton Suspension Bridge. He came second in a 2002 BBC poll to select the 100 Greatest Britons, beaten by Sir Winston Churchill.
Another candidate is Sir Joseph Bazalgette, the 19th-century civil engineer who designed London’s sewer system. The mechanical engineer Charles Babbage, who invented the first computer, is also likely to win support. A modern alternative would be to call the award the Noble Prize after Richard Noble, the former holder of the world land speed record. He is leading the Bloodhound project, an attempt to set a land speed mark of more than 1,000 miles per hour.
The Growth Review stated that engineering was critical to Britain’s future and that a prestigious prize could encourage people to take up the profession. “The Government’s aim is to make engineering a desirable profession again,” it said, adding that the prize could “create the excitement that would help give British manufacturing a brighter future”. Lord Browne of Madingley, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “We warmly welcome the formation of a new international prize for engineering as a stimulus for ingenuity and endeavour.” He added: Our Academy was formed 35 years ago to champion the very values which the prize seeks to reward — a spirit of daring and originality in designing and enabling a better future using the fruits of scientific discovery. Inspirational engineering is everywhere, from the new Olympic venues for London 2012 to the amazing functionality of the latest mobile phones. Only through engineering will the great challenges of our age be met, such as secure supplies of water, food and energy for all and addressing the threat of global warming.
“The creative engineering effort going into solving these problems is bound to generate worthy future winners of the new prize.”
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