At the end of the 1st Edition of the Cool Tools for Science event, two prizes were awarded: one for Coolest Innovation (awarded by GTPB) and one for Coolest Presentation (awarded by VWR).

Gabriel Martins (IGC) won Coolest Innovation with his OPenT – Open Source Mesoscopic Optical Tomography Imaging, while Hedi Young and Nuno Loureiro (Champalimaud Foundation) took home the prize for Coolest Presentation.

We asked two of the winners three questions and here are their answers!

GTPB Coolest Innovation Prize: OPenT - Open Source Mesoscopic Optical Tomography Imaging (Gabriel Martins, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência)

Gabriel Martins, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência

What made you participate?

I was actually challenged by a colleague of mine. He came to me and said: hey, this is going to happen and I think it is the type of thing you like, and truthfully, it is the type of thing that I like. I participated with this project that is what I have been developing lately and I thought fit well in the overall spirit of the event.

What did you think of the event?

Very fun. It was exactly what I was expecting with a bunch of fun stuff. I had no idea that were so many people developing so many cool things, I’m curious to see what happens next year. I think that if we advertise more and leave the general are of Lisboa, we will find some really cool surprises.

What is the significance of this prize for you?

This project has been a pet project for me, and is something that I do in my extra time and once again is a recognition of my work.

VWR Coolest Presentation Prize: OLIGO (Hedi Young and Nuno Loureiro, Champalimaud Foundation)

Nuno Loureiro, Champalimaud Foundation

What made you participate?

There was a lot of advertising here at Champalimaud about the event and we thought it would be something interesting to know: the Cool Tools that other people are developing and specially in this are of research that is so diverse. I really like techie stuff – so, we were looking for interesting examples in different areas where this technologies can be used.

What did you think of the event?

I thought it was very interesting. I think it exceeded expectations, specially because it is the first edition of the event and I think there are some incredible tools, both in terms of software and hardware. I hope that in the near future we can see them on television and being used by many other labs and people on their day to day lives.

What is the significance of this prize for you?

I was very supprised by the prize. I think it’s a way of further encouraging the development of what we have to do, the work that we have ahead of us. We want to use this to continue developing our previous work and develop our tool to be as user-friendly and useful as possible for our users.

Congratulations to both winners!