IPC members and IPC governing board members, sport technical committees, and IPC standing committees and councils can all submit nominations for the winner of the award, which will be presented at May's VISTA Conference in Bonn.

"With increased attention being drawn to Paralympic sport and the science and technology behind it, the IPC Scientific Award honours the individual who has made some of the greatest strides in helping us learn more about the science behind the athletes and their equipment," Peter Van de Vliet, the IPC's medical and scientific director, said.

Lucas van der Woude (pictured top), Professor at the Centre of Movement Sciences at the University of Groningen's Medical Centre in the Netherlands, won the last edition of the award in September 2011 for his work on the restoration of mobility during the rehabilitation of patients with spinal-cord injuries.

He organised four different congresses in Amsterdam to bring together research and had worked on optimising manual wheelchair propulsion, both in the general wheelchair population and among athletes.

To be eligible for the award, candidates must have made contributions thorough significant scientific publications related to the scientific study of sport for people with impairment in any discipline, have received national or international recognition for their work and placed an emphasis on practical application of research with direct or indirect benefit to the Paralympic Movement.

VISTA 2013, which takes place on May 1 until 4, will have some of the world's leading experts on technology and equipment in Paralympic sport travel to Bonn to discuss issues the that made global headlines during the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

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