Ed Linacre is the winner of the 2011 international James Dyson Award.
The brief was relatively simple – “design something that solves a problem” – but the difficulty was in beating all the other entries from students around the world. With his award-winning Airdrop irrigation concept, Linacre solves the problem of excess water evaporation from plants and soil in times of drought by harvesting evaporated water moisture from the air. In Airdrop, solar panels power air turbines that draw hot air down into underground cooling towers. Once cooled, water in the air condenses and collects in underground tanks before being pumped to plants via underground dripper pipes. The Airdrop system also includes an LCD screen that displays tank water levels, pressure strength, solar battery life and overall system health.
As the designer of the only Australian project selected from the finalists at the recent Australian International Design Awards, Linacre felt the pressure as his project progressed through the James Dyson Award’s top fifteen to the top five and, finally, to being the winner. He will receive $15,000 for his win, as will his university, Swinburne University in Melbourne.
Linacre is an industrial design graduate and member of the Design Institute of Australia.
Through this high-profile, international student design award, the James Dyson Foundation aims to encourage the next generation of design engineers to be creative, challenge and invent.
