Bill Buckley − Buckley Systems Ltd
New Zealand Innovator of the Year
2020
Spark
New Zealand Innovator of the Year
Te Pou Whakairo o te Tau
Bill Buckley − Buckley Systems Ltd
Buckley Systems Ltd is the world’s leading supplier of precision electromagnets – used in the manufacture of silicon chips, flat-panel screens, high-end medical machinery and particle accelerators. The company totally dominates the world’s silicon chip manufacturing industry. Buckley Systems supplies machinery used in the manufacture of more than 90 per cent of the world’s total output of chips.
Having led Buckley Systems to such a dominant position, Bill turned his mind to commercialising a form of cancer treatment called Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT for short). He founded Neutron Therapeutics, Inc. which has designed and built a turnkey BNCT system for installation into hospitals.
The first machine was installed in Helsinki University Hospital in Finland with treatment trials due to commence in 2024, Covid having delayed trials significantly. It is considered a significant breakthrough in cancer treatment, particularly for head and neck tumours.
Typically, with traditional treatments, a patient will have to go through 30 fractions of radiation which has significant physical implications and side effects. However, the BNCT machine does it in one fraction of radiation without the physical side effects and delivers the treatment much more accurately.
Neutron Therapeutics has recently partnered with a leading US healthcare investor to be able to further develop the drugs that are an essential part of the treatment.
These game changers in their field have used their insight and their passion to make a significant impact. In the spirit of Kiwi inventiveness and resourcefulness, they have created a better future for Aotearoa.
Nominees of this Award must:
- Be an individual who conceptualised and developed an innovation involving a product, service, technology, idea/theory or process across any industry sector including (but not limited to) health, science, technology, robotics, business, education, environmental, sustainability, agriculture, disadvantaged communities, and non-profits.
- Have had significant impact over the last 12 months.
- Be a role model for New Zealanders and highlight a brighter future for New Zealanders.
- Meet Awards Conditions of Entry.
Judges will review each nominee using the following criteria:
- 10 points: INNOVATION:
Describe the innovation of your nominee and the thoughtful, creative, and innovative approach it takes to resolve a challenge. - 10 points: NEED:
What problem does the innovation solve? And how is it unique to the market? - 10 points: COMMITMENT:
Describe the commitment of time, risks, and challenges overcome to develop the innovation to this point (this may still be ongoing). - 10 points: PROVEN-IMPACT:
How has the innovation clearly demonstrated a positive impact on the targeted community (particularly over the last 12-months)? How has this been measured? - 10 points: POTENTIAL:
Describe the opportunity the innovation has to generate economic, social, and/or environmental benefits for a local industry sector, the nation, and or globally. - 10 points: LONG-TERM IMPACT:
How is the nominee planning to enhance, grow, and/or adapt the innovation in the future to best meet the changing needs of the targeted population? How would winning this award impact this person and the work that they are doing?
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