Rolex Rewards Maverick Projects in Conservation, Sustainability, and Medicine

(Bloomberg) -- Hans Wilsdorf would have loved the change of venue.

Rolex SA, the watch company Wilsdorf founded in 1908, presented its annual Awards for Enterprise on June 14 in Washington for the first time. Ten pioneering doctors and scientists walked away with awards of 200,000 Swiss francs roughly $200,000), in-kind support, and chronometers at a marquee event closing out the National Geographic Explorers Festival.

The Festival is a multiday symposium that features speaker forums, documentaries, and research presentations on subjects regarding the world around us, from endangered species to space exploration. 

Wilsdorf, who designed his watches to be worn in the rugged outdoors, would doubtless have been fascinated by the projects, which range from helping farmers in India coexist with Bengal tigers to preserving the world’s largest freshwater fish deep in Amazonia. The watchmaker relished partnering with explorers to see how well his timepieces functioned in all climates. It’s a bit less clear what Wilsdorf—who left the watch company to a Swiss foundation he launched in 1945, since he had no children—would have thought of giving members of the public a vote in who receives his legacy funding. That was another change in this year’s awards.

Rolex and National Geographic have a longstanding relationship. “We have a lot of people in common,” noted Rebecca Irvin, director of philanthropy for Rolex. Edmund Hillary received a waterproof Rolex “Oyster” watch in 1953 after attaining Mount Everest’s summit, and wore it on subsequent expeditions to Antarctica. Now the company and National Geographic are focused on the same concerns about global climate change, Irvin said. “That’s another reason why we wanted to present the awards in Washington.”

Irvin announced the Rolex Award winners on Friday at a Sofitel two blocks from the White House. No one mentioned the U.S. president by name, but nearly all the winners said they need support from global governments to continue their work.

“These are not achievement awards,” Irvin said. “They are awards for people who are on the verge of doing something really important.”

All 10 Rolex finalists (from nearly 1,000 candidates) had a chance to present their projects during the explorer’s festival. Members of the public could then vote for their favorites, either in person or online. Although Rolex shared those tabulations with the 10-member jury of international experts and philanthropists, they did not disclose winners of the popular vote; this was not Eurovision. Each of the five finalists will be known as “associate laureates” and receive an undisclosed monetary award.

“We all like Miranda and the project,” Argentine public policy expert Juan Dumas said of Canadian scientist Miranda Wang. “Whenever she faced tough questions from the jury—in terms of her science and her business model—she was very, very solid.”

Wang, 25, is the youngest of this year’s five laureates. As an eighth grader growing up in Vancouver, she joined a recycling club and began studying river bacteria that could break down plastic waste. Now a molecular biologist, Wang has figured out how to replicate that naturally occurring phenomenon with a 14-step process that a municipality can undertake with local manufacturers. 

“It’s like accelerated composting, but for plastic,” Wang said, waving a clear bag stuffed with more plastic bags around a hotel ballroom. In her other hand was a small vial containing the liquefied results of the process, which heats the plastic to 150C, adds catalysts that break down the plastics just as bacteria would and produces material that can be used to make nylons and lubricants.

Wang was the only scientist who brought props, but they all made a compelling case for projects that deserve further exploration and funding.

The other four 2019 Rolex Awards for Enterprise winners are:

• Joao Campos-Silva, a conservationist collaborating with remote rainforest communities to save the arapaima, a prehistoric 400-pound fish that’s been over-harvested in Brazil. “This fish is as big as a linebacker,” said Jonathan Baillie, chief scientist for the National Geographic Society.
• Gregoire Countine, a French neuroscientist who implants pacemaker-like devices into patients with spinal cord injuries. Using a watch wirelessly connected to the pacemaker, the technology re-establishes communication between brains and spinal cords and enables patients to walk again. So far he has successfully treated six patients, and plans initiate trials across Europe. Within five years, Countine said he hopes the technically will be widely available, and standard practice immediately after a spinal cord injury in 20 years.
• Brian Gitta, a 26-year-old Ugandan technologist who developed a device that uses light and magnets to detect the presence of malaria parasites and does not require drawing a patient’s blood. “His work is going to have great impact on our continent,” said Mosunmola “Mo” Abudu, a Nigerian philanthropist who served on the jury. Early detection for the disease is crucial, she said. Gitta’s test will allow visitors to Africa to quickly learn whether they’ve contracted the parasite, as well as help healthcare providers on the continent continue fighting the disease.
• Krithi Karanth, an Indian biologist helping farmers document damage and receive government compensation when their crops or livestock is destroyed by wildlife. “Most conservationists are on the ground, working with animals,” Karanth said. “I’m someone who is working with people.” 

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Rovzar at crovzar@bloomberg.net

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