In fine company

‘What’s Your Problem New Zealand?’, IRL’s $1 million R&D competition held last year, was successful in demonstrating our renewed intent and I look forward to announcing further initiatives aimed at strengthening our links with industry in the near future.

The inspiration behind the theme of this issue, ‘The company we keep’, was the achievement of Paul Harris, who late last year was awarded the RJ Scott medal by the Royal Society of New Zealand for his significant contributions to the development and application of electronic devices in New Zealand. I was particularly pleased to see the recognition given to Paul in the form of this award because the RJ Scott medal recognises not only outstanding achievment in engineering and technology but also the application of this research.

In its citation, the Royal Society noted, “His research directly resulted in the establishment of three companies that manufacture equipment invented by him, with substantial economic benefit for New Zealand.” This to me is the essence of what we strive for at IRL—advancing science and technology in ways that bring significant economic gains for New Zealand.

A point that is well made by Paul in the article on page 8 is that deriving commercial benefit from the cutting-edge science and technology that is conducted at IRL often relies on commercial enterprises that are willing to put time and resources into transitioning what some might regard as risky, untested technology onto the shop floor.

He also notes that within these companies there is often a single person who sees the potential in the technology and champions it to the rest of the company or even goes alone to form a spin-off. These individuals are so passionate they have been known to put their family home on the line to push a new technology in the marketplace.

Such foresight needs to be applauded in a country like New Zealand that is full of world-beating ideas but not always the means to make these a commercial success. Historically our small size and distance from world markets has been our Achilles heel but as the communications revolution that started with the internet continues, this becomes less of an issue.

Stickmen Studios, a new player in the world of video game development based in Christchurch, is taking advantage of this to produce games for popular gaming console the Nintendo Wii™ that can be downloaded via an internet connection. By eliminating the cost of shipping, packaging, physical media and third-party retailing, Stickmen is able to produce high-quality games that retail for a fraction of the cost of traditional console games.

In another string to its bow, Stickmen Studios has been collaborating with IRL rehabilitation specialist Marcus King to produce the first ever game for the Wii™ that incorporates movement science. To find out more about the game, turn to page 12.

Special mention must also go to IRL’s carbohydrate chemistry team, which has codiscovered the active ingredient in a promising new gout treatment that US biotech firm BioCryst Pharmaceuticals recently announced has progressed to Phase 2 human clinical trials (see story on page 4).

Gout, a severe form of arthritis affecting tens of millions of people globally, is particularly common in Maori and Pacific Island peoples. If it weren’t for the strong relationships with other world-leading researchers specifically Professor Vern Schramm, the Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City) and strong links with the American pharmaceutical industry, the key ingredients in this treatment would never have made their way out of the laboratory.

What makes the world of R&D such an exciting and dynamic place to work is undoubtedly the nexus between science, technology and industry. As this issue of IRL Solutions shows, not only are talented researchers behind any successful product but also companies and passionate individuals who help translate great ideas into commercially succesful products. At IRL we are proud to say this is the company we keep.

Shaun Coffey
Chief Executive