Luca Alessandrini, a post graduate from Imperial College London, beat hundreds of other entries from 49 different countries and 17 universities, with his violin which is made from a mixture of spider silk and resin. When the violin is played, the spider silk vibrates the instrument’s casing, emitting a sound which can be customised by tweaking the exact blend of the material. The combination of silk and resin produces a unique tone which can be altered by blending different quantities of the raw materials. Luca, who won the £10,000 top prize in The Mayor of London’s International Student Innovation Award 2016, says the new material could allow the acoustics of instruments and sound equipment to be customised with a degree of control that is difficult to obtain with other modern materials such as carbon fibre. Luca, originally from Urbino, Italy, said: “Studying in London has been one of the best experiences in my life and this incredible initiative will allow me to bring my project closer to reality. “I have spent two years working full time with 38 people from 14 different countries and I couldn’t imagine a more supportive and stimulating environment than this city.”
Second place, in the initiative devised by London & Partners, the Mayor’s official promotional company, went to Chinese students Kitty Liao and Mei Ran Abellona who have developed a vaccine delivery system which could potentially help to save lives around the world.
Lord Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea, a cross-bench peer and President of the UK Council for International Student Affairs, added: “All of the entries were very interesting and innovative, but the world loves high-tech, configurable manufacturing. It is a world-changing area of industry, providing us with innovative ways of building everything from homes to aircraft and even food and drink. Luca has applied a highly advanced knowledge of acoustics and composite materials to music-making, and his idea will inspire other people to break down the barriers of what innovation can achieve.”
