The Impact Award is awarded to researchers or groups whose innovatins have made a valuable contribution to society. It is a lifetime achievement award instead of a cash prize. The researchers will be presented with their awards on 26 November during the Amsterdam Science and Innovation Award.

The three winners this year are:

• Jaap Bonjer, Amsterdam UMC, Impact Award for Life Sciences:
  for the establishment of ASC, advanced training centers for surgical skills

• Erwin Peterman en Gijs Wuite, VU, Impact Award in the Beta category:
  for the commercial application of high-tech measuring instruments that provide better insight into how diseases develop and can be prevented

• Roeland van Geuns, HvA, Impact Award in the Alpha/Gamma category:
  for the development of tools for tackling poverty and debt issues

An honorable mention goes to Willem Bouten, Professor of Computational Geo-Ecology at the University of Amsterdam, for his innovation of lightweight GPS trackers for birds. These trackers and radar can predict bird density and large-scale bird mobility. This information is important for aviation and windmill farms. The innovation prevents collisions with birds and mass bird mortality. Bouten receives an honorable mention for his important contribution to the valorisation of ecological research. Bouten is a forerunner of e-Ecology, as valorisation can be challenging in this area of research.

The Impact Awards are part of the Amsterdam Science and Innovation Awards. The awards are an initiative organised by IXA (Innovation Exchange Amsterdam, the knowledge transfer office of the UvA, VU, HvA and Amsterdam University Medical Centre).