"The secret of Genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age."    - Anon.

PolyPops Awards originally started as PolyWhat Awards in 1988, during the period Roy Manns was Technical Director at Whatman Polyfiltronics in Rockland, MA, USA.

The Awards are conferred at Scientific Meetings annually in USA, Europe and Japan. Current meetings include Society of Molecular Biology and Microplate International Congress. The monetary value of the Awards varies from $ 1,000 to $10,000 and an Acrylic Plaque depicting the PolyPops logo is also presented to the winner. The plaque is provided with the compliments of Innovative Microplate Inc. of Chicopee, MA, USA.

Applications and sponsorship for the Awards are to be made to the Technical Committee of the respective meetings, and the final decision remains with the Board of the Society. In the event no person is elected or nominated, the amount of the Award is added to the next year

In special cases, discretionary grants are given to deserving individuals who are unable to fund the production of prototypes. In the event the selected individuals have not had any further education past High School i.e. a self-educated person; the Award will be doubled.

Applications for discretionary grants may be made at anytime during the year. There is no fixed schedule for the disbursement of grants, and applications are considered as and when they are received by the Foundation. Applications may be made by writing to editor@microplate.org or by writing to the Foundation at either of the addresses shown on the Contact Us page of this site.

The Foundation may also assist and advise successful candidates as to where further funds may be available for the development and patenting of their idea.

If you know a product or person worthy of special mention or an award please let us have details of the product and/or person.

Societies and Associations are invited to send us your details for potential sponsorship by PolyPops Development Foundation.

Either contact editor@microplate.org or write to the Foundation at one of the addresses below:

IMPORTANT: designs / inventions for which you are seeking recognition should be your own and should not have been made while working for your employer or a release from your employer to submit. It is quite normal however, that your employer may not wish to exploit your idea, and if they confirm to the Foundation that this the case, the Foundation will assist you if it can or it may refer you to some other party who may be interested in funding your product ideas.