Buy Online: Element Six Scientists Win South Africa’s Most Prestigious Science Award.
Scientists at Element Six’s Diamond Research Laboratory, DRL, in South Africa have won an award from the National Science and Technology Forum, NSTF.
The laboratory has been recognized in the NSTF’s annual awards in Science, Engineering and Innovation for 2008-2009 in the category of "Research for Innovation through a Corporate Organization or Institution." This event is also referred as the "Oscars" of Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) organizations in South Africa
“This is a recognition by the scientific and engineering community leaders in South Africa of the DRL's well deserved innovation leadership position and for its proven track record of capability and capacity for innovations, intellectual property generation, local skill enhancement, business and employment creation,” says Serdar Ozbayraktar, head of the Diamond Research Laboratory
South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology handed the award to the Element Six team at a Prize Giving Gala event which was attended by about 750 people who represent the leaders of the South African Scientific Community.
The DRL’s team of scientists is pioneering new technology involving polycrystalline diamond that offer unrivalled performance in a raft of cutting applications. These range from metal cutting, machining, wood working, oil and gas drilling to grinding tools for materials as diverse as glass and granite.
Through DRL and its other research nodes, Element Six has the largest research complement in the diamond industry. “We are designing new products and materials to improve the performance of industrial diamond products, says Serdar Ozbayraktar, “and we are introducing diamond in such diverse areas as water purification, armoured components, sensors for calibrating cancer therapy machines and optics for high power lasers.”