Optical Fibre Technology Centre Wins ACS Eureka Prize for ICT Innovation

Wednesday 11 August 2004 - The Optical Fibre Technology Centre (OFTC) at the University of Sydney has won the prestigious Australian Computer Society (ACS) Eureka Prize for ICT Innovation for its breakthrough work in developing plastic optical fibres.

The revolutionary technology has enormous commercial potential to reduce the cost of ‘last mile’ and local links for broadband networks, as well as diverse possibilities for medical, biotech, endoscopy, imaging and robotics applications.

The Eureka Awards, Australia’s premier awards for Science and Innovation, were presented overnight at a gala dinner attended by over 1,000 people representing the cream of the nation’s scientific community. Also present were NSW Governor, Professor Marie Bashir, Science Minister, Peter McGauran and Environment Minister, Bob Debus.

ACS National President Edward Mandla presented the ACS Eureka Award for ICT Innovation to the OFTC team, congratulating them on their quality research and the outstanding potential of the technology.

“The ACS is proud to sponsor the only ICT-related award amongst the 22 Eureka prizes. We are particularly delighted to award an Australian research effort which has resulted in a product with such strong commercial drivers and which offers enormous potential benefits both for Australia and for international markets,” he said.

A senior researcher on the OFTC team, Maryanne Large, said the polymer optical fibres developed through their research had the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of delivering broadband Internet access to homes and businesses.

“We’re seeing lots of interest in this technology, both from Australia and overseas, and are currently negotiating with a major international player in relation to the potential broadband applications,” she said.

It was third time lucky for the OFTC team, which also entered the Eureka awards in 2002 and 2003.

“We’ve been very focused on trying to be competitive enough to win this award and are delighted with this result. There aren’t a lot of opportunities for scientific achievements to be publicly recognised in Australia and the Eureka Awards are a great forum to showcase new developments and create more awareness,” said Ms Large.

“Our technology will change lives just as mobile phones, internet access and broadband have in the past 10 years. We can't predict what the change will be but within the next decade, I expect to see these high capacity cables in homes, businesses, cars and in a new generation of powerful computers.”

The Eureka Awards will be the subject of the ABC Catalyst program this Thursday at 8.00pm AEST.

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/110804.htm

ENDS

The ACS (Australian Computer Society) is the recognised professional association for those working in Information and Communications Technology, seeking to raise the standing of ICT professionals and represent their views to government, industry and the community. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the ICT sector, committed to ensuring the beneficial use of ICT for all Australians. It provides both members and non-members with opportunities for professional education, networking and certification, as well as enabling them to contribute to the development of their profession. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.

ACS - ICT Professionals Shaping our Future

Media Enquiries:

Edward Mandla, ACS National President, Tel: (02) 8257 1777, Email: edwardm@acslink.net.au

Fleur Brown, Launch Management Group, Tel: 02 8257 1741 or 0419 270 863, Email: fleur@launchgroup.com.au