Finland Times

 

Technology Academy Finland (TAF) on Wednesday announced the 2014 millennium technology prize worth 1 million euros (1.38 million U.S. dollars) was awarded to Stuart Parkin, the inventor of the GMR read head, a key component of the hard disk drive.

     

Parkin's innovation enables cloud computing, social media and online streaming and sharing of music and films, TAF said.

     

Born in 1955 in England, Parkin has worked in the United States for more than 30 years, mostly for IBM but in recent years as a visiting professor at Stanford University as well.

     

He is a pioneer in the science and application of spintronic materials. His innovations have led to a huge expansion of data acquisition and storage capacities, which in turn have underpinned the evolution of large data centers and cloud services, social networks, music and film distribution online.

     

"I am extremely happy and excited to have won the Millennium Technology Prize because of course it's one of the most important prizes in the scientific community. It has been awarded to some really great scientists over the past decade," said Parkin.

     

Parkin's achievements have led to a "prodigious growth in the capacity to store digital information" and "facilitated the occurrence of the big data revolution and significantly transformed human access to knowledge," commented the selection committee of TAF.

     

The awarding ceremony will be held on May 7 in Helsinki. Finnish  President Sauli Niinisto will present the million-euro prize to the winner.

     

The Millennium Technology Prize was set up by the Finnish government in 2004 to honor individuals and groups. Aiming to particularly highlight innovations that assist and enrich our everyday lives, the award has made significant contributions in the fields of science and technology.

   

TAF is an independent foundation established by Finnish industries and the Finnish state in partnership. The prize is issued every two years.

     

Six innovators behind the World Wide Web, Linux open source software, breakthroughs in stem cell research, blue and white LEDs, cost-efficient solar energy and new biomaterials as artificial tissues have won the prize in the past decade.