Driven by curiosity. Driving changeSemper Sanare, Nil Nocere wins the 2026 Davidson Inventors Challenge
A team of Year 11 students from Cheltenham have taken the top prize at the first-ever in-person Davidson Inventors Challenge final for a project that aims to present a novel, energy-efficient water sterilisation solution.
The winning team of Fergus Mort, Conrad Van Wyk, Mahin Premkumar, Ben Lacey and Bryan Lin representing Pate’s Grammar School saw off three other teams from schools across the UK to secure the prize. The winning team was mentored by Professor Nigel Slater, former Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.
Four shortlisted teams were invited to present their work at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB) in a competition assessed by a panel of academic and industrial judges, including Professor Raffaella Ocone, President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), and Peter Davidson, son of the Challenge’s namesake Professor John Davidson.
The finalists delivered presentations on their proposed solutions before taking questions from the judging panel, who then withdrew to deliberate. Participants were treated to a congratulatory video message from alumnus Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Industry, followed by reflections on the future of chemical engineering from the IChemE president. The winners were then announced, ahead of an informal reception for finalists, their mentors and industry guests.
The winning project from Semper Sanare, Nil Nocere (‘Always heal, do no harm’), proposed using a small Venturi pump system to create hydrodynamic cavitation, a state where a drop in pressure creates air pockets in a liquid that then violently implode. This violent implosion, the team proposed, would mechanically destroy any pathogens present in the water.
They said:
“It feels surreal to be here. Even being selected as one of the four finalists was really unexpected; we’re honoured to be surrounded by so many extremely talented engineers. It’s just a real honour and privilege.”
With the competition having started life in 2020, previous versions have taken place online only, but organisers, finalists and their mentors welcomed the chance to come together at the department. Those unable to attend were still able to watch online with a hybrid option.
Associate Teaching Professor and DIC Chair, Dr Kamran Yunus, said:
“Seeing these students present today was amazing. Seeing how confident they were in being able to present their ideas and how robust they were in defending their work when they were asked questions was really, really impressive.”
The judging panel couldn’t choose between the other three finalist teams and so decided to award a joint-second place to the SuSTEMable Squad (Brighton College), Team 7 (Cambridge Maths School) and The Green Guard (Hampton School). The cash prize was generously sponsored by engineering firm Bridges Ltd.
Hosted by CEB in collaboration with partners including the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), the Challenge is an annual competition that aims to inspire the next generation of innovators to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Previous winners of the Davidson Inventors Challenge have focused on practical, sustainability-led ideas – from removing ‘forever chemicals’ from water (2024) and plant-based antibacterial soaps (2023), to a solar water sterilisation system (2022) and a biodegradable face mask made from potato starch (2021). Sutton Grammar School’s H2O Visionaries took the top prize in 2025 with their project to tackle contaminated fresh water sources.
