A technician from Lancaster University has won the prestigious Papin Prize ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.

Dr John Baum, of Lancaster University’s Department of Chemistry, was awarded the Lord Bhattacharya Lifetime Achievement Papin Prize at HETS 2019, the Higher Education Technicians Summit, held in Birmingham.

The HETS conference is for higher education technical staff in UK, Ireland and beyond, and is the largest event of its kind in the country, with more than 700 technicians attending.

Dr Baum was given the award for his strong commitment to Chemistry outreach, running activities for more than 1,000 children and members of the community. He has been a lab technician since 1978 in Higher Education and industry.

His nominator commented that ‘his devotion to outreach is outstanding, working weekends and long hours to prepare.’

Professor Peter Fielden, Head of Chemistry at Lancaster University, said: “Technicians are an essential part of any science department. They provide support for teaching, cutting-edge research and, particularly in John Baum’s case, wonderful outreach work enthusing the next generation of scientists.

“This Lifetime Achievement Award is richly deserved and I would like to congratulate John on receiving the prize.”

Speaking about the Papin Prizes, Kelly Vere, Technician Commitment lead for the Science Council, said: “This year, the standard of entries for the Papin Prizes was incredibly high, so all of the technicians and technical teams that have been nominated for the awards should be very proud of their achievements.”

Named after Denis Papin, a famous 17^th century technician, the Papin Prizes were first awarded at the inaugural Higher Education Technicians Summit (HETS) in 2015. Held biennially, the Papin Prizes recognise and reward innovation and excellence amongst technicians working in higher education.

Lord Bhattacharaya was the former Chairman of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), a passionate advocate for technicians, who passed away earlier this year. The Lifetime Achievement Award has now been named in his honour.

HETS is sponsored by Midlands Innovation, a partnership of eight universities - Aston, Birmingham, Cranfield, Keele, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham & Warwick, in partnership with the Science Council.

Dr Helen Turner, Director of Midlands Innovation, added: “I am particularly delighted that we have had so many entries for the Papin Prizes from right across the UK. This demonstrates that the excellent work which technicians do throughout the country is greatly appreciated by their work colleagues and students. I am pleased that through HETS and the Papin Prizes we are able to support technicians in HE and recognise their achievements.”

For more information about HETS and the Papin Prizes, visit http://www.midlandsinnovation.org.uk/