Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 14 EPSRC the second decade 2004-14

20th anniversary special part two 4-13 2004: Wonder material graphene is first isolated; new adventures in ultrasound begin; maths giant wins major award; CONTENTS metamaterials pioneer is knighted 14-22 2005: Green chemistry steps up a gear; new facial recognition software becomes a Crimewatch favourite; EPSRC: the second researchers begin mapping the underworld 24-27 2006: The Silent Aircraft Initiative decade 2004-2014 heralds a greener era in air travel; bacteria munch metal, get recycled, emit hydrogen 28-35 2007: A pioneering approach to prepare against earthquakes and tsunamis; 10 beetles inspire high technologies; spin out company sells for US$500 million 36-41 2008: Four scientists tackle synthetic cells; the 1,000 mph supercar; strategic healthcare partnerships; supercomputer facility is launched 42-49 2009: Massive investments in doctoral training; the 175 mph racing car you can eat; rescuing heritage buildings; 24 41 the battery-free soldier 50-55 2010: Unlocking the mysteries of antimatter; spin out sells for US$330 million; harnessing the power of pee 56-61 2011: Spin out company sells for £7.1 billion; Professor Colin Humphreys on the GaN LED revolution; the world’s first synthetic organ transplant 62-69 2012: Meet the MASER – no longer the laser’s less attractive cousin; the laundry additive that purifies the air as we walk; £60 million to encourage innovation 70-73 2013: Massive investments in manufacturing, engineering and energy; drones to monitor radiation levels 74-79 2014: Slide rules: how two doctoral 44 students helped Lizzy Yarnold slide to victory; 20 years of the Southampton Optoelectronics Centre 80-83 Digging thinking: 10th anniversary of EPSRC’s pioneering Sandpit workshops 84-89 EPSRC Science Photo Competition 2013-14: Gallery of winning images 90 V-signs: At last, the mystery of why birds fly in V-formation is resolved 77 64 91 EPSRC: At a glance PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 2 Creative partnerships Chief Executive Professor Philip Nelson reflects on EPSRC’s second decade, and reveals an era defined by collaborative research and creative thinking.

Looking back research partners. This is demonstrated by a recognition that a meeting of hearts and over 20 years the fact that over 20 years, and particularly minds really can be greater than the sum since EPSRC’s the last decade, our research partners have of its parts. formation in 1994, contributed over £1.7 billion in funding. No better example of this can be found some interesting We also have dedicated staff with a than EPSRC’s Sandpit programme (see patterns emerge. comprehensive understanding of R&D pages 80-83), which celebrates its tenth The first decade issues and opportunities. People who know anniversary this year. is characterised how to join the dots between university- Built around five-day workshops dedicated by extraordinary based researchers, business and other to blue-sky thinking, Sandpits often stretch research breakthroughs across the EPSRC organisations, both to enhance and deepen beyond the outer reaches of science, and portfolio, from pioneering biomedical the body of research itself, but also to have led to remarkable research projects engineering and advanced materials, to apply the fruits of research for societal and tackling current and future challenges – charting new territory in computer science economic benefit. such as clean water for all, combatting and developing a host of renewable By getting involved in the development terrorism and cyber crime, and developing energy technologies. of research proposals, and through new forms of sustainable energy. Such has The second decade harnesses the energy engagement in research projects and been its success, the Sandpit model has and matches the research excellence of postgraduate training, our partners, been adopted by other organisations both in the first 10 years, and complements it particularly from industry, are forging crucial the UK and internationally. with a refined sense of purpose – built links with excellent, original academic My tenure as Chief Executive of EPSRC on maximising the value of EPSRC research and helping accelerate its began in 2014, in the final year of its second investments, and accelerating the impact translation for national and global good. It’s decade. Before that, I sat on the other side of the research it supports. not just about the bottom line. of the fence, as a scientist and engineer at We see dedicated centres of excellence Take the smartphone, now ubiquitous the University of Southampton. But these for the training of doctoral students; across the globe. It’s fair to say that this boundaries are not as they were. the evolution of specialised centres for modern marvel would not exist as we know There is greater collaboration not just manufacturing and innovation; longer, larger, it had it not been for the EPSRC-supported between academia and business, but also multi-partner research grants – all focused researchers who helped to develop much of between researchers, universities, research on pooling resources and providing the tools the technology that makes it such a critical councils and other funders of research – and skills society and industry need for all part of everyday life. and, I believe, a greater willingness from all our tomorrows. Today, a new generation of EPSRC- parties to join in the process of discovery This collaborative approach is echoed in supported researchers are pioneering and innovation. Creative research from EPSRC’s development of partnerships with ways for smartphones to be used for social which we all benefit. universities, business, charities, funding good – from personal health monitoring to This edition of Pioneer features snapshots agencies and government organisations. tracking disease outbreaks. EPSRC is at the and highlights from the last 10 years, and Across our portfolio we work with around centre of this cycle of innovation. is by no means definitive. It does, however, 2,800 partner organisations, and, at the last Much of this, of course, is a consequence of reflect a period of extraordinary achievement count, 45 per cent of EPSRC-supported globalisation, and the fact that so much of which would not have been possible without research projects were collaborative with our daily lives is interconnected, but it’s also collective cooperation and commitment.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 3 2004 Size zero

In 2004, EPSRC-funded research by If you’ve ever drawn with a pencil, you’ve development); and from water purification Professor Andre Geim and Dr Konstantin probably made graphene, which consists to next-generation low energy computers. Novoselov, from The University of of a sheet of carbon atoms connected in a Geim recalls the momentous days back in Manchester, led to the isolation of honeycomb-like structure. 2004 when he and his team, including Dr graphene, a material with many potentially At just one atom thick, no material is Novoselov, then a postdoctoral researcher, world-changing applications. thinner than graphene. It’s also harder than successfully extracted individual sheets Just six years later, Andre Geim (pictured diamond and 200 times tougher than steel of carbon atoms from bulk graphite – the below) and Konstantin Novoselov were – yet can be stretched by a quarter material pencils are made from. awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics of its length. True to the two scientists’ reputation for for their graphene research. EPSRC Graphene also has extraordinary properties innovative thinking, they used sticky tape to has supported their research through as an electrical and thermal conductor, strip the graphite down to the atomic level. continuous funding since 2001. and almost complete optical transparency, Although scientists knew graphene existed On the same day they received the award, making it potentially suitable for a host of (it was first studied in 1947, and named both men were back in their lab, continuing commercial applications – from lightweight in 1987), no one had worked out how to to unveil new and exciting properties materials for aircraft, cars and clothing, extract it from graphite. of graphene and other related two- to flexible, super-tough touchscreens for dimensional crystal materials. mobile phones and tablets (already under (Continued on page 6)

Double act: Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov. Their isolation of graphene and subsequent graphene- related research led to the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 and Knighthoods in 2011.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 April 2: St Mary Axe, otherwise known as the Gherkin, is officially opened in the City of London 4 PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 February 4: Facebook is launched 5 2004 Graphene facts • Graphene is over 200 times tougher than steel (Continued from page 4) • Graphene is a far better conductor The breakthrough came during one of News of graphene’s discovery sparked a than silicon Geim and Novoselov’s now legendary global explosion in graphene research, Friday evening sessions, when they head which shows no sign of abating. The global • Electrons pass through graphene into the lab to try out experimental science market for graphene-based applications at over 100 million metres per not necessarily linked to their day jobs. could potentially grow to tens of billions of second, behaving as if they have This playful approach is fundamental to pounds over the long term, in areas such no mass how both men work, and is seen as both a as electronics, high-performance materials • Graphene is the thinnest material useful way of maintaining interest in a field and life sciences. on earth – one million times and a means of generating new ideas. In 2009, the website ScienceWatch.com thinner than a human hair Following discussions with colleagues, revealed Dr Novoselov’s work on graphene • Graphene is the world’s first 2D Geim and Novoselov adopted a method that as the most cited of the decade, with material, opening the doors to researchers in surface science were using 33 academic papers quoted 2,895 times. new, experimental fields – using simple scotch tape to peel away Geim and Novoselov, who received • As well as being virtually layers of graphite to expose a clean surface knighthoods in 2011, continue to push the transparent, graphene is for study under the microscope. boundaries of graphene, and its diverse also flexible Once used, the tape was simply being potential applications. thrown away. Yet no one had noticed the In November 2014, they revealed in material on the tape was thinner than the the journal Nature that monolayers of material produced by polishing. graphene, and its sister material boron Potential applications They had made graphene, yet had not nitride, could potentially revolutionise for graphene realised it. modern fuel cell technology. They also Konstantin Novoselov continued to explore revealed that graphene membranes could • Next generation, low-energy how thin the graphite flakes on the tape be used to sieve hydrogen gas out of the computers could be made. He peeled the layers so atmosphere, where it is present in minute • Graphene paints, to protect metal thinly that what was left was one-atom quantities, creating the possibility of structures against corrosion electric generators powered by air. thick graphene. • Super-fast internet speeds In 2014, Geim and Novoselov’s original The pair then began testing the material • As lightweight materials for aircraft, Manchester graphene paper, which laid under the microscope, beginning to take cars and clothing in the vast potential of its properties. They out the foundations of graphene research, • Flexible touchscreens (already produced the first isolated graphene flakes was named among the top 100 cited under development) in 2003 and published their findings in the publications of all time. journal Science in 2004. All this from two scientists “whose • High-frequency electronic devices Professor Geim says: “Our objective was playfulness is one of their trademarks”, • Large scale electricity storage simply to see how thin materials could be. according to the Nobel committee. • Lightweight durable batteries Professor Novoselov says: “During our At the time, it was presumed materials one • Development of other 2D materials Friday evening experiments I just do all atom thick couldn’t exist. But our discovery with the potential to create kinds of crazy things that probably won’t of graphene proved this supposition previously-unimagined pan out, but if they do…” wasn’t correct.” electronic devices • Water filters for desalination and purification • Nanoscale graphene-based drug packages delivered to specific cells At the time, it was presumed materials in the body • Packaging to keep food fresh one atom thick couldn’t exist. for longer • Sensors to detect minute traces of gases or dangerous chemicals

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 March 29: The Republic of Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants 6 Going large – EPSRC’s contributions to UK graphene R&D

EPSRC has invested widely in graphene Centre, based at the Centre for Process led by Professor Andrea Ferrari. The centre research and development since 2004. Innovation, part of the High Value has attracted £13 million in additional In 2012, EPSRC advised the UK Government Manufacturing Catapult, in Sedgefield support from over 20 partners, including on its £50 million investment in the creation There are now over 35 active university Nokia, Dyson, Plastic Logic, Philips and of a global research and technology hub. groups in the UK, which have attracted over BAE Systems. Building on the UK’s research strengths £90 million in graphene-related EPSRC The centre works alongside the Centre for in many universities and business, the research grants and capital investment, as Advanced Photonics and Electronics and the hub concept was developed by EPSRC, the well as significant investment from Europe new EPSRC Graphene NOWNANO Centre for Technology Strategy Board and academic and industry. Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology at and business stakeholders. It has also been Alongside The University of Manchester, The University of Manchester. supplemented by additional investments there are EPSRC-supported centres of In 2013, the Cambridge Graphene Centre from EPSRC and Innovate UK (formerly the excellence and/or graphene programmes signed a research collaboration agreement Technology Strategy Board). at the universities of Cambridge; Lancaster; with leading flexible plastic electronics Key government investments in graphene: Imperial College London; Oxford; Bath; manufacturer Plastic Logic. A major element Birmingham; Nottingham; Exeter; Surrey; of this agreement is to develop graphene as • £38 million in the National Graphene and Durham. a transparent, conductive layer for plastic Institute (NGI) at The University of backplanes for unbreakable LCD and flexible Manchester to develop new production 2014 saw the launch of two EPSRC OLED displays. methods and techniques for large- Centres for Doctoral Training, based at the scale manufacture, application and universities of Cambridge and Manchester, EPSRC has invested £1.6 million in graphene commercialisation of graphene focusing on developing world-leading engineering at Durham University and the expertise in the science and technology University of Sheffield. Industrial partners • £12 million for graphene research of graphene. include Dyson Appliances Ltd, P&G UK equipment in other leading research and Applied Graphene Materials (AGM) groups across the UK Graphene engineering – a world leader in graphene production Since 2012, EPSRC has invested £26 million • £14 million for EPSRC-supported and applications, founded by EPSRC in graphene engineering, which includes research into manufacturing processes grant-holder Professor Karl Coleman at £12 million from the Department of Business and technologies linked to graphene Durham University. Innovation and Skills. • Over £10 million of EPSRC support towards fundamental science in The University of Cambridge has combined graphene and carbon nanotechnology three of its Graphene Engineering EPSRC grant awards, totalling £12 million, to • £2.5 million jointly from EPSRC establish the Cambridge Graphene Centre, and Innovate UK to accelerate the commercial application of emerging graphene and related carbon-based nanotechnologies • £15 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) alongside £5 million support from Innovate UK to establish the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre in Manchester • £14 million of Innovate UK funding for the Graphene Applications Innovation

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 September 1: Chechen terrorists take between 1,000 and 1,500 people hostage, mostly children, in a school in the Beslan school hostage crisis 7 2004

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 June 8: Transit of Venus between Earth and the Sun occurs 8 No limit

In 2004, John Pendry, Veselago. The papers set out the theoretical photonic materials research. Professor of Theoretical basis for creating ‘perfect lenses’, which At the University of Southampton, Professor Solid State Physics at could be used to see things smaller than Nikolay Zheludev has a major EPSRC grant Imperial College London, the wavelength of light. to develop artificial electromagnetic media was knighted for his Pendry’s perfect lens utilises what is known with myriad potential applications in areas revolutionary work as negative refraction, and sidesteps old such as telecommunications, energy, data on metamaterials. optical limits by bending rays of light the storage and defence. With EPSRC’s support, Sir John has ‘wrong way’. In other words, the so-called Research into nanoscale-structured established an entirely new field of science. ‘resolution limits’ that were thought to metamaterials by Professor Jeremy By developing and using certain materials restrict the range of things that we can Baumberg, from the University of that don’t occur in nature, he has shown examine through optical imaging need Cambridge, has revealed a host of novel that light can interact with structures that not apply. and highly exploitable optical properties, are smaller than its wavelength, making In 2002, a second EPSRC Senior Research for which he received the Royal Society it possible to see even at the nano scale, Fellowship enabled Sir John to leave his Mullard Prize. and then harness the benefits that this post as Principal of Imperial’s Faculty of Research at the University of Exeter, which insight brings. Physical Sciences to pitch himself into full- hosts the new EPSRC-funded Centre for The impetus for Sir John’s research came time research. Doctoral Training in Metamaterials, has from work he was doing with the company In 2006, metamaterials hit the headlines led to breakthroughs in the design of thin Marconi, attempting to understand why when Sir John published ideas for a radar absorbers and improved RF-ID tag certain materials absorbed radar. But the Harry Potter-style ‘invisibility cloak’. detection; the team are also developing new area of research that this led to has Metamaterials could be used, he said, to acoustic metamaterials to improve a huge range of potential applications in send light around an object, making it look underwater imaging. many different fields. like it wasn’t there. Journalists have fixated In 2014, Sir John Pendry was awarded Professor Pendry’s research built on on the story ever since. the Kavli Prize, considered the Nobel EPSRC-supported work throughout the In 2014, metamaterials are finding Prize in nanoscience, with Thomas 1990s, including a 1997 Senior Research application across the electromagnetic Ebbesen and Stefan Hell, in recognition Fellowship to further his work on ‘a and acoustic domains and are seen as an of his ‘transformative contributions’ to new class of man-made materials with enabling technology of the future. Negative nano-optics. extraordinary optical properties’. He said refraction could allow limitless computer Sir John says: “Things have come full later: “Having great ideas doesn’t involve data storage, and revolutionise biological circle: my work on metamaterials began excessive time. What does take time is imaging, nanofabrication and light with attempts with Marconi to solve a working them through. That’s what EPSRC harvesting. In theory, it could also lead to practical problem. It then went theoretical, funding allowed me to do. It put a rocket perfectly efficient solar panels. as we tried to explore the profound under the metamaterials work.” Research into this emerging field has academic implications of what we were In 2000, Sir John published a number of grown very rapidly. To date, EPSRC finding. And now here we are again, with all papers developing ideas put forward in has invested over £130 million in over kinds of practical applications coming from 1968 by the little-known physicist Victor 90 projects related to metamaterials and our research.”

Left: This striking abstract ‘sculpture’ is part of a nanoscale metamaterial with negative index due to chirality, from the EPSRC-supported Optoelectronics Centre at the University of Southampton.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November2: In the US presidential election, incumbent President George W. Bush is declared the winner over his challenger, Senator John F. Kerry 9 2004 New adventures in ultrasound

In 2004, Dr Sandy Now at the University of Dundee, Professor In its use of tiny, high performance Cochran (top left), from Cochran says: “So-called capsule ultrasound arrays and its exploration Paisley University, was endoscopes have already benefited well of therapeutic ultrasound, the SonoPill awarded an EPSRC over a million patients and are in common research forms a natural extension to the Advanced Research use in the UK and around the world. We UK-wide EPSRC-supported ‘Sonotweezers’ Fellowship to explore aim to develop that technology further to programme, involving the universities of new types of ultrasound include ultrasound, for the first time seeing Bristol, Dundee, Glasgow and Southampton source that might one beyond the surface of the gastrointestinal as well as other industry partners. day echo across our tract into the tissue itself. Following EPSRC funding, the oceans or resonate in “This will bring significant diagnostic Sonotweezers programme is developing our bodies. benefits for patients. We also want to new tools for the life sciences and high A series of EPSRC grants explore the very exciting possibilities of value manufacturing using ultrasound followed, including a treatment with such pills.” to manipulate microparticles by £5 million Platform Grant to develop The SonoPill programme includes very electronic alteration of the patterns ‘SonoPill’ technology. valuable collaborators at Heriot-Watt of ultrasonic excitation. The SonoPill is a capsule that patients University and the University of Glasgow, The team have already demonstrated can easily swallow to carry tiny ultrasound and is linked with the NHS and many local that a ‘sonic lasso’ can be used to grip technology into the body. The gut is a and international industry partners. wonderful viewing window and as the capsule passes through it, it will relay images which clinicians can use to diagnose disease.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 17: Former South African President Nelson Mandela calls for commitment by the world to take action against Aids 10 microscopic objects, such as cells, Meanwhile, at the University of Glasgow… In 2013, Professor Lucas, Professor and move them about; this has myriad In 2004, a team of EPSRC-supported Cochran and colleagues at the University possible applications, from assembly researchers led by Professor Margaret of Edinburgh were awarded a three- of nanocomposites to cell sorting and Lucas (pictured below left) began year EPSRC research grant to develop a analysis, and engineering of human tissue development of an integrated robotic needle which is actuated by vibration at from collection of cells. orthopaedic surgery system incorporating ultrasonic frequencies. In 2014, the Southampton Sonotweezers an ultrasonic cutting blade that could Amongst its many potential benefits, team helped to develop technology that consign the surgical saw to a museum. this will allow doctors to penetrate bone could lead to life-changing medical Using conventional powered saws on bone with needles with much less force than advances, such as better cartilage causes many problems for patients and in contemporary procedures and with implants that reduce the need for surgeons. For example, the action of the much higher precision, improving the knee replacement operations. saw produces swarf – small pieces of bone effectiveness of bone biopsies and allowing Using ultrasonic sound fields, the team – that can reduce visibility at the cut site, more direct delivery of drugs to parts of the showed that cartilage cells taken from a create a risk of contamination, and damage body obscured by bone. patient’s knee can be levitated for weeks delicate soft tissue structures around the In 2014, Professor Lucas and Dr Patrick in a nutrient-rich fluid, providing a zero- cut. Also, heating from the sawing action Harkness were awarded €2.4 million gravity environment perfect for optimising causes cell death, which is known to by the EU Commission to develop an cell growth. prolong post-surgery healing. ultrasonic drill to explore the surface of The tweezers can also mould the growing The team’s research led to the development Mars. The research builds on much of the tissue into exactly the right shape so that of ultrasonic cutting tools precise enough basic knowledge gained from designing the implant is truly fit-for-purpose when to remove sections from the shell of an bone cutting devices and also builds inserted into the patient’s knee. egg without breaking the membrane on an earlier EPSRC-funded research underneath. Further EPSRC-funded programme led by Dr Harkness, who says: projects allowed the group at the University “Unlike normal rotary drills, our ultrasonic of Glasgow to develop miniature ultrasonic drill tool doesn’t produce much heat – orthopaedic devices incorporating novel meaning that biological material and life transducers and smart materials. markers will not be damaged. “Because the drill only requires a very small downward force, it is ideal for use in low gravity environments such as Mars or on asteroids.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 August 22: Armed robbers steal Edvard Munch’s The Scream, Madonna, and other paintings from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway 11 2004

Knitting it In 2004, the crocheted artwork above, developed by two EPSRC-funded University of Bristol mathematicians, aroused international media interest.

the mound in a level of detail never The crochet was a striking object created Sound as a mound by Dr Hinke Osinga and Professor Bernd achieved before. Krauskopf to describe the nature of chaotic In 2004, an EPSRC-supported The team discovered that termite Loughborough University research systems – such as the weather or a turbulent mounds provide a self-regulating living river – defined by what are known as team took part in an innovative project environment that responds to changing Lorenz Equations. to investigate whether African termite internal and external conditions. The After months of staring at computer mounds could inspire new types of human equivalent of these ‘smart’ mounds animations of these surfaces they realised self-sufficient, environmentally friendly would be buildings that meet all energy, their computations had naturally generated buildings which are also cheap to run. waste management, heating, ventilation crochet instructions. Dr Osinga, who and other needs on site. The project included research in Namibia learnt to crochet at age seven, took up the to digitally scan the structure of the The research was filmed by the BBC for challenge, and 25,511 stitches and 85 hours termite mounds, which the team turned inclusion in a Sir David Attenborough later the Lorenz Manifold, the name they into a precise 3D reconstruction of natural history series screened in 2006. called their creation, was born. Dr Osinga says: “The computer-generated In 2004, EPSRC held its first ‘Sandpit’ event crochet instructions were remarkable. Big ideas (see pages 80-83), setting the template Simply by looking at the real-life surface for similar blue-sky thinking initiatives I would never have designed it the way subsequently adopted by funding agencies the computer did. After all those months around the world. of trying to create it on screen, it was One of the inaugural Sandpits, Mapping fascinating to see the surface grow under my the Underworld (see pages 16-17), brought own hands.” together academia and industry to look at But this wasn’t done just for fun. Osinga and innovative ways to best detect and manage Krauskopf’s work gave much-needed insight the UK’s buried infrastructure such as water into how chaos arises and is organised in pipes, sewers and telephone lines. systems as diverse as chemical reactions, Research proposals arising from the biological networks and even your kitchen Mapping the Underworld Sandpit spawned mixer. The Lorenz Manifold is a very helpful a major research project, now in its third tool for understanding and explaining the phase of EPSRC funding. dynamics of the Lorenz system.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 9: SanDisk releases the first SD (Secure Digital) card with a capacity of 1 gigabyte, costing about $500 12 Maths maestro Home help In 2004, Roger Orpwood, from the In 2004, the Norwegian University of Bath, became Director of Academy of Science and the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering Letters awarded the Abel (BIME), an independent charity developing Prize, equivalent to a Nobel assistive technology for disabled people. Prize for Mathematics, jointly to Sir Michael Atiyah Among EPSRC-funded projects carried out FRS, from the University of by the institute, Professor Orpwood led Edinburgh, and Isadore an initiative to develop and M. Singer, from Massachusetts Institute demonstrate dementia of Technology. support technologies in a specially designed smart Atiyah (pictured) and Singer received house in Gloucester. the prize for the Atiyah-Singer index Under Roger Orpwood’s stewardship, theorem – one of the great landmarks of over 100,000 of BIME’s innovative products twentieth century mathematics, influencing have been sold, including the Wizzybug profoundly many of the most important powered wheelchair for children with later developments in topology, differential conditions such as cerebral palsy, spinal geometry and quantum field theory. muscular atrophy, spina bifida and Professor Atiyah’s Abel Prize Medal citation muscular dystrophy. recognised his ‘outstanding contribution The technology includes smart monitors to to the advancement of mathematics, as help dementia sufferers deal with day-to- exemplified by his visionary role in the day situations. For example, a smart tap establishment of the Isaac Newton Institute (pictured) issues a verbal reminder in a in Cambridge. The institute, which is part Good vibrations familiar voice to a user who has left a bath funded by EPSRC, is now an internationally running, and turns off the flow of water if In 2004, Perpetuum, a spin out recognised centre of mathematics research the bath gets too full. company from the University thanks to Sir Michael’s direction and of Southampton, was launched guidance in its early years.’ In 2012, a two-year EPSRC-funded project in collaboration with BIME developed the to commercialise a new kind of In 1990, Professor Atiyah, a Fields Medal inTouch computer interface for people with vibration-based energy harvesting recipient in 1966 (see page 79), became the dementia to ‘virtually visit’ relatives and technology developed by Professor first director of the Isaac Newton Institute, family, reducing social isolation. Neil White and his team. which was set up to meet the need for a The company’s technology uses UK national institute in mathematics and kinetic energy resulting from theoretical physics. EPSRC continues to Paperless proposals vibration to power wireless sensors support the institute. In 2004, EPSRC announced that via microgenerators, and was swiftly Interdisciplinary research is a key criterion paper research grant proposals were adopted by industry. in the selection of the Isaac Newton to be phased out by March 2005, as Perpetuum has since become a Institute’s scientific programmes. To date it part of a move to further integrate global leader in vibration energy has brought together 24 Fields Medallists, administration systems between harvesting. Applications for its eight Nobel Prize winners, 16 winners research councils. technology range from industrial of the Wolf Prize and nine winners of the plant monitoring and transportation Abel Prize. When paperless proposals came into effect, the Joint Electronic to healthcare and aerospace. In 2013, Professor Atiyah, 85, began a new Submission (Je-S) system allowed In 2013, Perpetuum won the contract EPSRC-supported research project, with four councils, including EPSRC, to equip all 148 of Southeastern Professor Bernd Schroers, into Dynamics to provide their communities with Railway’s Electrostar train stock, in Geometric Models of Matter. electronic research grant services which includes 618 cars and This ambitious and adventurous research so that grant proposals can be carriages, with sensor systems draws on many different areas in completed and submitted on line. to monitor the wear of bearings mathematics and physics; and could pave This paved the way for universal and wheels to help maintenance the way for a radically new mathematical electronic submissions across all engineers determine when language for elementary particle, nuclear seven research councils. maintenance is needed. and atomic physics.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 December 26: A 9.3 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami, causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Maldives 13 2005

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 February 22: At least six men stage Britain’s biggest robbery ever, stealing £53 million from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent 14 Green light for chemistry

In 2005, one of the early protagonists of of oxygen, known as singlet oxygen, and featuring a growing multidisciplinary green chemistry, Professor Martyn Poliakoff which has applications in areas such as team of Nottingham colleagues. Today, (pictured), set up the Driving Innovation in photosensitised oxidations, and synthesis the site has 537 videos and over 510,000 Chemistry and Engineering (DICE) project of reactive compounds. The team showed subscribers with many followers on at The University of Nottingham, with how green chemistry methods could yield social media. funding from the first wave of EPSRC’s significant reductions in waste during the In 2011, Professor Poliakoff was elected £120 million Science and Innovation production process. Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, Awards scheme. The success of this EPSRC-funded project adding to his 2002 Royal Society Fellowship. The project, which followed a host of sparked the interest of the Bill and Melinda The role sees him travelling the world as an EPSRC research grants, including a Gates Foundation, since the use of singlet ambassador for chemistry and UK science. Clean Technology Fellowship awarded to oxygen may have a critical role to play in In 2012, Professor Poliakoff was awarded Professor Poliakoff in 1994, was one of the safer and more effective manufacture of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Nyholm the first to bring chemists and chemical anti-malarial drugs – combatting malaria Prize for Education, largely for his work on engineers together, and helped reinforce is central to the foundation’s mission. The Periodic Table of Videos. The University of Nottingham’s reputation “Progress has been very good and the In April 2014, Professors Poliakoff and as a global leader in green chemistry – results will be published soon,” Professor George joined chemical engineer Steve which promotes the design of products Poliakoff says. Pickering and 11 industrial partners in an and processes that minimise the use and In 2008, a hugely productive EPSRC- EPSRC-funded project to investigate the generation of hazardous substances. supported collaboration between Professor role that light could play in the manufacture Working with long-standing industrial Poliakoff, who had just been awarded the of chemicals. Poliakoff describes the partner, Thomas Swan & Co Ltd, Professor CBE, and video journalist, Brady Haran, project as a direct legacy of DICE. Poliakoff had already developed a radical resulted in a series of short films on each Another Poliakoff legacy – though he would new type of chemical reactor, able to do of the 118 elements in the Periodic Table. never claim it as his – is the building of the work of a 1,000-litre reactor in just four It took just five weeks. “It was completely the GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory for litres – and thus requiring much smaller bonkers,” Professor Poliakoff says. “When Sustainable Chemistry at Nottingham, amounts of chemicals to produce the same we had made the films, we thought we had which had been due for completion in 2015. end product. finished, but that was just the start of it.” Sadly, the building was devastated by The reactor exploits the unusual properties By 2010, The Periodic Table of Videos had a fire in September 2014 but already of supercritical fluids (SCFs) which flow received nearly 20 million YouTube views the university has pledged the facility like gases but behave more like liquids – in over 200 countries. The key to their will be rebuilt. The new laboratory will making them ‘clean’ solvents suitable for popularity is their accessibility, and quirky provide facilities for three new Chairs in many types of reaction. but knowledgeable approach to their Sustainable Chemistry, funded by GSK, In 2007, Professor Poliakoff and DICE subjects. Professor Poliakoff says: “One EPSRC and The University of Nottingham. member Professor Mike George, working morning, I discovered that overnight I had GSK has a long-standing strategic with pharmaceutical multinationals lectured to more people than I had reached relationship with both EPSRC and the AstraZeneca and Sanofi, and Thomas in my entire career.” university, and the new professors will Swan, used their expertise in supercritical By 2011, the Nottingham team’s web expand the interdisciplinary approach to fluids to develop a greener approach in site boasted 320 videos, with content green chemistry that Professor Poliakoff the production of a highly reactive form covering molecules as well as elements started more than 30 years ago.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 30: Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant 15 2005 Mapping the Underworld

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 5: The United Kingdom general election takes place, in which the Labour Party is re-elected for a third consecutive term 16 In 2005, EPSRC invested in a major project to help scientists discover unknown initiative, Assessing the Underworld (ATU), multidisciplinary, multi-university project historical treasures hidden beneath the which broadens the skill base of the MTU to prove the concept of technologies that UK landscape. team by introducing leaders in climate could explore the underworld of buried The three-year £815,000 initiative was change, engineering sustainability, robotics pipes, cables and utilities beneath our feet. co-funded by EPSRC and the Arts and pipeline systems. In the UK it is estimated that up to four and Humanities Research Council A main aim of the four-year project is to million holes are cut into the UK road (AHRC) under the Science and Heritage prove the concept of a single integrated network each year to install or repair programme (see page 46). assessment and modelling framework. buried infrastructure. Failure to identify In 2011, Oxems, a company created to The programme has more than 50 project accurately the location of existing buried commercialise research arising from the partners and has attracted over £16 million assets results in numerous practical MTU project, developed a unique low cost, of in-kind support. The programme’s problems, costs and dangers for utility intention is to realise a 25-year vision for low maintenance ‘asset tag’, which can be owners, contractors and road users. sustainable streetworks. attached to exposed assets such as water The Mapping the Underworld (MTU) project, pipes, sewers and cabling and detected Also in 2013, Dr Nicole Metje, from which arose from a seminal EPSRC Sandpit when reburied by an ‘intelligent’ sensor the University of Birmingham, who co- exercise (see pages 80-83), focused on device on the surface without the need leads Assessing the Underworld, was developing the means to locate, map in 3D for excavation. awarded £241,000 by EPSRC as part of and record the position of all buried utility an Innovate UK-funded project to develop Oxems believes the technology could assets without excavation. This would an inexpensive sensor-based pipeline reduce the costs to utilities of streetworks be achieved through the development of leak detection system, which can be by at least 40 per cent, and prompted a single shared multi-sensor platform. fitted to new water pipelines or retrofitted John Divit, Leakage Best Practice Adviser To meet the challenge, the team opportunistically during repairs or using at Severn Trent Water, to comment: “The developed vibro-acoustics, low frequency keyhole excavation technology. Oxems product could have an impact as electromagnetic fields, passive magnetic significant as barcodes.” The project, which is a collaboration fields and ground penetrating radar with water companies and other In 2012, EPSRC invested £6.3 million in a technologies, combined with intelligent industry stakeholders, aims to develop multidisciplinary, multi-university research use of existing utility company records and a commercial system that harnesses project led by Professor Chris Rogers ground databases. the technology. focused on transforming the engineering The project, led by Professor Chris Rogers, Chris Rogers says: “This sequence of of cities to deliver a low-carbon, resource- from the University of Birmingham, funding has underpinned radical thinking secure sustainable future. aimed to integrate the sensor and record on how cities should be supported in the information in a single, integrated, The wide-ranging project draws on the far future and how existing infrastructure searchable database. social sciences and takes into account systems, some of which date back to the The research led to the establishment of factors such as quality of life, social 1800s, can be integrated into the brave new an industry-sponsored, co-created MTU aspirations and engineering policy. world of smart and smarter cities.” Centre of Excellence, which opened up for Co-investigators on this project include In 2014, EPSRC invested in a Quantum the first time the possibility of a national University College London’s Professor Technology (QT) Hub (see page 79) at the certification scheme – something the Hélène Joffe (see pages 28-29) and University of Birmingham. Dr Nicole Metje, industry had wished to see for some time. Professor Nick Tyler, also from UCL. a co-investigator at the hub, will explore the In 2010, the Mapping the Underworld In 2013, EPSRC invested £5.8 million in the use of QT sensors for pipeline detection, project spawned a major archaeology next phase of the Mapping the Underworld working alongside the MTU sensors.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 24: North Korea bans mobile phones 17 2005 Printer’s progress

In 2005, Dr “The sum I asked for was about half the best student project in the country, based Adrian Bowyer, cost of the cheapest 3D printing machine on his work with Bowyer on the RepRap an engineering available on the market at the time,” says project. Ed Sells was to prove key to the researcher the recently retired University of Bath development of the technology, and is working with engineer. Not only would he try to run now a senior research figure in one of the the University the whole project on this modest budget, world’s leading 3D printing companies, of Bath’s he set himself “the challenge of turning 3D Systems. EPSRC-funded a machine that costs £40,000 to buy into For Dr Bowyer, the key to success was Innovative something that costs £400.” making the project open source – a free Design and The result was RepRap, a remarkable DIY licence to the product’s design or blueprint, Manufacturing 3D printer that achieved all the project’s enabling subsequent improvements to it by Research stated goals. anyone, anywhere. Centre, To achieve this, Dr Bowyer had a secret By 2007, Bowyer and Sells had established made a modest application to the centre weapon in the form of engineering doctoral a global ‘virtual’ team of over 30 volunteer for £20,000 to build a 3D printer based on student Ed Sells, who in 2005 came within collaborators, from software developers reproductive biological principles which, an ace of winning the national Science, to designers and mechanical engineers. with man’s help, would be capable of Engineering and Technology award for the Adrian Bowyer says: “The group were replicating itself.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 30: John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York 18 unimaginably helpful, and gave us a lot of In the same year, MakerBot raised a further bang for our buck.” $10 million from the likes of Facebook’s The additive manufacturing By May 2008, within a few minutes of Sam Lessin and Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos. revolution being assembled, the first ‘child’ RepRap In October 2011, rising bioengineering machine had built the first component for star, Jordan Miller, of the University of Designed to ‘laser print’ products a ‘grandchild’. Dr Bowyer estimates that by Pennsylvania, and a core member of the layer by layer, with virtually zero waste, September 2008 over 100 copies had been RepRap project, used a RepRap Mendel additive manufacturing (AM), otherwise produced around the world. and a Makerbot 3D printer to make blood known as 3D printing, has the potential In 2009, three RepRap volunteers from vessels from sugar. His method later to revolutionise the way we make New York, Zach Smith, Bre Pettis and Adam appeared in a special edition of Scientific things. But there are still significant Mayer, used the knowledge from the project American on the future of medicine. hurdles to overcome before successful to set up their own company, MakerBot. By 2012, MakerBot had generated annual commercialisation of the technologies. “They didn’t have a bean between them,” income in excess of US$11 million and was EPSRC-supported research groups says Dr Bowyer who, “being horribly old”, selling more than 20,000 printers a year across the UK are developing world- did have a few beans to rub together and – including the MakerBot Replicator 2 – leading technologies and processes at helped them with $25,000 dollars to form inspired by RepRap. the forefront of this research. the start-up – and so, MakerBot was In June 2013, one of the world’s largest In addition to individual AM projects, born. Within four years, the company had 3D printing companies, Stratasys, made EPSRC-supported research groups captured 20 per cent of the multi-million an offer MakerBot could not refuse. The include the £4.5 million EPSRC Centre dollar US market in home-use 3D printers. company Adrian Bowyer helped create for for Doctoral Training in Additive In August 2010, Dr Ed Sells left Bowyer to $25,000 four years earlier was sold for the Manufacturing and the EPSRC Centre join UK start-up Bits from Bytes, which, sum of $403 million, with an additional for Innovative Manufacturing (CIM) in using modified RepRap technology, had $200 million in potential performance- Additive Manufacturing, hosted by the gone from launch in January to a £2 million based bonuses. University of Nottingham in partnership business by the end of the financial year. Dr Bowyer says he knew from the outset with Loughborough University. In 2011, open source hardware company, that RepRap had the potential to grow CIM projects include development of Aleph Objects, based in Colorado, exponentially; but even he could not have ways to deposit more than one material established LulzBot to make 3D printers, predicted how an idea that began with a within a single build process, making it parts and materials which, Aleph says, £20,000 EPSRC grant could have developed possible to print entire working systems are “all developed as part of the RepRap so fast, in so many countries, and evolved (incorporating electronics, for example) project”. The company now has 540 in so many diverse ways – with no sign of in one go, instead of making individual employees, and exports worldwide. slowing down. parts or components – taking AM to the next technological level.

Main picture: It’s a rap: Dr Adrian Bowyer (left) and Vik Oliver, a member of the RepRap project, proudly show off a new addition to the family. All of the plastic parts for the machine on the right were produced by the almost identical machine on the left.

Top left: the original RepRap 1.0 ‘Darwin’ prototype.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 December 11: The Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead, England, is rocked by explosions, causing a huge oil fire 19 2005 Face value

In 2005, Dr Chris Solomon and Dr Stuart Dr Solomon says: “E-FIT has developed a the creation of near photo-realistic, Gibson, two physicists from the University reputation as a highly reliable and flexible colour images of criminal suspects from of Kent, created their first version of an system for feature-based composite eyewitnesses’ testimony and is credited ‘electronic sketch artist’ that has changed construction. However, it relies on the with helping to solve hundreds of crimes. the way UK police forces identify criminals. witness’s ability to recall individual Dr Stuart Gibson says: “The key advantage Their system, EFIT-V, allows victims and features, provide verbal descriptions and with EFIT-V is that the technology allows witnesses to select the best and worst then select them from stored libraries people to respond to faces they see matches from a group of computer- of labelled features. This is a task which rather than having to break it down into generated faces, helping identify suspected extensive psychological research shows component parts. that witnesses often find difficult. Through criminals in a new way. “Police forces using EFIT-V have reported our early research in computer vision we Based on the witnesses’ responses, the sustained, correct naming rates up to began to suspect that a better approach computer system eventually ‘learns’ what 10 times the average success rate using could be taken. type of face they are after and displays feature-based systems. “The EFIT-V facial composite system is options accordingly. “EFIT-V is even effective when witnesses based on different principles, employing Dr Solomon’s EPSRC-supported research cannot provide good descriptions of the a holistic (whole face) approach to led directly to the creation of spin out face but know that they would recognise construction. In essence, the witness is company VisionMetric Ltd. Fast forward to the face if they saw it again.” 2014 and VisionMetric’s facial composite shown a number of randomly generated EFIT-V is now in use globally, and has products, EFIT-V and E-FIT, have become faces and is asked to select the one that customers from as far apart as Europe, the preferred choice of 90 per cent of best resembles the target. A genetic Australia, USA, Singapore and Chile. British police forces and are used in over algorithm is then used to breed a new 30 countries around the world. generation of faces based upon the Among excellent customer reviews, a selected individual. This process is Computerised facial composite systems satisfied client from New Scotland Yard repeated until the user is satisfied with in the UK date back to the late 1980s and wrote: “I thought it would be appropriate to the composite generated.” the original E-FIT system – which was let you know as soon as possible about the developed by John Platten, a software Today, EFIT-V has evolved into what is new product. Put simply, I love it… This has engineer, and Peter Bennett, a former widely accepted to be the most advanced led to six cases so far getting ‘near as Metropolitan Police officer. facial composite software, enabling damn-it’ likenesses.”

Spot the fakers: Only one of the pictures above is a real photograph; the others were created by EFIT-V.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 August 29: Hurricane Katrina makes landfall along the US Gulf Coast, causing severe damage. At least 1,836 die in the aftermath 20 Light touch In 2005, an EPSRC- supported team from the universities of Dundee and St Andrews, led by Dr Norman Alm, developed a simple touch-screen aid to help dementia sufferers recall their memories. The aid was simple to Young Researcher of use and stimulated more enjoyable, rewarding the Year conversation between In 2005, Dr Julie Macpherson, an EPSRC- sufferers and those who funded researcher from the University of care for them. Warwick, won the influentialTimes Higher During development, the Education magazine’s inaugural award for CIRCA system was tested on CIRCA team member Dr Arlene Astell, Young Researcher of the Year. 40 dementia sufferers in day care, nursing of the University of St Andrews School of She received the award in recognition of home and family situations, with many Psychology, says: “Dementia sufferers’ pioneering research into single-walled carers reporting that sufferers seemed like declining ability to hold normal conversations carbon nanotubes, which made it possible their old selves. causes a lot of stress and frustration. to map the chemistry of surfaces at a CIRCA exploits the fact that, while dementia “Helping them access their memories molecular level, with potential applications in sufferers find it hard to recall recent events, makes living with dementia more bearable areas such as cell signalling processes and longer-term memory is less affected by and less distressing for sufferers and the detection of aircraft corrosion. their condition. their carers.” Professor Macpherson is also recognised for her research into the development of new The team secured further EPSRC funding The research led to the formation of Circa synthetic diamond electrochemical sensing from the EPSRC-led RCUK Digital Economy Connect Ltd, a spin out company, which devices and techniques. programme to develop an interactive brings together expertise in the fields of multimedia activity system that dementia design, psychology and computer science She co-leads the Warwick Electrochemistry sufferers can use on their own. to commercialise the work. and Interfaces Group, and is Taught Course Leader at the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Diamond Science and Technology. such as materials, mechanical and Challenging The centre is working with companies such medical engineering, information & as De Beers Group and synthetic diamond engineering communications technologies and specialist Element Six to help pioneer new process, environment & sustainability. In 2005, EPSRC launched its Challenging diamond-enabled technologies. In 2011, many of the features of the Engineering Awards programme, Professor Macpherson says: “Interfacing programme were incorporated into through which support is given to the with and integrating diamond into electronic EPSRC’s new Fellowship framework. most promising early career researchers. devices can solve some of the biggest The highly successful programme research problems, such as effective cooling was designed to identify and support Council forum for faster and more reliable devices; and lasers that are more powerful and compact individuals with the potential to In December 2005, EPSRC held its first than current devices.” become future leaders of engineering Council Open Forum. The event, held at research, with the ambition of building the Royal Institution, opened the floor In May 2014, Professor Macpherson was a team around them over the course to anyone wishing to put questions to awarded a four-year Royal Society Industry of a five-year period to achieve their members of EPSRC’s Council, its senior- Fellowship in acknowledgement of her work research vision. decision-making body. Open forums in diamond electrochemistry. In total, £35 million in Challenging have since been integrated into EPSRC’s The fellowship will enable Professor Engineering Awards was invested ongoing programme of engagement with Macpherson and her team to push forward in nearly 40 researchers in areas the research community. the significant work already accomplished with Element Six.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 April 27: The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France 21 2005

Science and innovation awards In 2005, EPSRC launched its Science areas such as intelligent and Innovation Awards programme, a software; graphene and major tranche of funding focused on its applications in nano- directly building the UK’s research base electronics, photonics and through large-value, long-term grants in bio-sciences; synthetic strategically important research areas biology and innovation; identified as being missing or ‘at-risk’ carbon capture related in the UK. to fossil fuels; energy Funded by EPSRC in partnership with efficient cities; statistics the Higher Education Funding Council underpinning science, for England (HEFCE) and the Scottish technology and industry; Higher Education Funding Council, the and green chemistry. projects, awarded annually for five years, Among recipients of a Hands-on research: Asieh Kazemi, a researcher from the created centres of excellence in their Science and Innovation University of Bath’s Centre for Graphene Science, operates the respective fields under the leadership of a Award were Professor ‘nano-factory’, which will allow researchers to build new devices principal professor. The scheme supported Martyn Poliakoff, from The onto a single graphene layer. The centre has been funded by 29 programmes of research activity with a University of Nottingham strategic investments by the universities of Bath and Exeter into value in excess of £120 million. (see pages 16-17) and materials research, and by a £5 million award from the EPSRC/ The diversity of the research activity is Professor Lynne Gladden HEFCE Science and Innovation Awards programme in 2008. testament to the scope of the investment, from the University of Photograph courtesy: SWNS.com with new centres of excellence emerging in Cambridge (see page 24).

Winging it – epoxy resin ‘bleeds’ from embedded to lighter aircraft, cutting both fuel costs vessels near the crack to quickly seal it and and carbon emissions. In 2005, a team of aerospace engineers restore integrity. The resin and hardener In 2008, EPSRC awarded Professor at the University of Bristol, led by Dr enable the composite material to recover Bond a further grant to continue the Ian Bond, developed a revolutionary up to 80-90 per cent of its original strength, development of these techniques. new technique that could enable comfortably allowing a plane to function at In 2014, Professor Bond co-leads the damaged aircraft to mend themselves its normal operational load. EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in automatically, even during a flight. In addition to improving aviation safety, Advanced Composites for Innovation and If a tiny hole or crack appears in the the technology, which mimics the healing Science at the University of Bristol. aircraft – due to fatigue or a stone strike processes found in nature, could also lead

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 September 12: Israel completes its withdrawal of all troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip 22 What lies beneath piping, even if they are buried in sand layers beneath the seabed. The concept or mud. came from the petroleum industry, which The team, led by Professor Jonathan Bull, uses seismic reflections to locate oil and developed the first truly three-dimensional gas fields. sub-seabed profiler called GeoChirp 3D, The system, which later went into which they successfully demonstrated by production, is capable of imaging the upper imaging the skeleton of The Invincible, a tens of metres of the sub-surface in three Royal Navy ship that sunk into the Solent dimensions and provides the perfect base sands in 1758. for shallow-water engineering, archaeology, Developed with the help of GeoAcoustics military and geological studies. Ltd, a manufacturer of sonar seabed GeoChirp has been successfully used In 2005, a team from the School of Ocean survey equipment, the GeoChirp 3D is a during surveys in near-shore and harbour and Earth Science (SOES) at the University surface-towed seismic system that works environments in the UK and internationally. of Southampton used EPSRC funding to by firing sound waves at the sea floor and Development of the GeoChirp system was create a device that could identify undersea measuring the reflections as they bounce funded by GeoAcoustics Ltd, EPSRC and objects such as shipwrecks, mines and back from objects and different rock English Heritage. Taking the heat Blastproof concrete

In 2005, an EPSRC-supported In 2005, a research team at the universities team of specialists in fire of Sheffield and Liverpool, led by Dr Steve chemistry, polymers and textiles, Millard, began development of a new type led by Dr Baljinder Kandola at the of concrete that could help protect terrorist University of Bolton, developed a targets against car or lorry bomb attacks. range of new, inherently flame- The team’s Ultra High Performance Fibre retardant polymers. Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) has needle- The breakthrough was a result of thin steel fibres added to the concrete mix a 2003 project funded by EPSRC instead of or in addition to steel reinforcing and the MoD to investigate the use bars to increase its tensile strength. of nano composites in synthetic Developed over four years, in partnership materials. The multidisciplinary, with the Centre for the Protection of multi-university team’s research National Infrastructure, UHPFRC was was based around the belief that found to absorb a thousand times more the barrier layer and char-forming energy than plain concrete and could properties of nano composites therefore be used for bomb-proof litter bins could improve fire resistance of and protection barriers. synthetic fibres, while enhancing The concrete has been utilised in Australia their physical and mechanical in the design of slender footbridges and properties. other specialised applications. The team later turned their attentions to creating a new generation of textiles with applications ranging from soft furnishings to soldiers’ uniforms. In 2014, Dr Kandola is a member of the FRBiocomp group at the University of Bolton, funded by Innovate UK, which aims to develop fire-retardant, environmentally sustainable composites using natural fibres and biopolymers.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 27: The first partial human face transplant is completed in Amiens, France 23 2006

Silent flight In 2006, building “This collaboration has stretched our the environmental impact of take-off noise on previous EPSRC imagination and generated noise mitigation from aircraft. investments, the ideas that we will be able to study for The work, co-led by Professor Dowling, international Silent potential future use.” merges with and extends two highly Aircraft Initiative (SAI), Colin Smith, Rolls-Royce Director of successful earlier EPSRC-funded jet a collaborative venture Engineering and Technology, said: “The noise projects, specifically looking at between the University study confirmed that the solution for aerodynamics and aero-acoustics of of Cambridge and extremely low noise must be a highly complex geometry hot jets and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology integrated combination of engine and dynamics of co-flowing jets. (MIT), unveiled its revolutionary single-wing aircraft design and operation.” In 2014, Professor Dowling co-leads the concept SAX-40 aircraft (pictured above). In 2007, the Silent Aircraft Initiative led to a new EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in The highly-efficient design, which has four-year EPSRC-supported project, jointly Gas Turbine Aerodynamics at Cambridge. neither flaps nor slats (a major source of with MIT, investigating the development In 2014, EPSRC invested over £10 million aircraft noise), offered improvements of of embedded engines mounted above the around 25 per cent in the fuel consumed in in a new National Wind Tunnel Facility. wing to reduce noise on the ground and The investment, which includes £2.6 a typical flight compared to current aircraft increase the aircraft’s efficiency. and offered significant noise reductions million from research partner the UK In 2008, Professor Dowling co-led a major compared to conventional aeroplanes. Aerodynamics Centre, will finance seven EPSRC-funded project into energy efficient wind tunnels at universities throughout The academic/industry project, supported cities, led by Professor Lynne Gladden at the UK. by EPSRC and the Cambridge-MIT Institute, the University of Cambridge. The findings focused on next-generation aeroplanes Professor Dame Ann Dowling, who in of this project, funded by an EPSRC Science entering into service in 2030 and was led 2013 became Chair of the UK Aerodynamics and Innovation Award (see page 18), by Cambridge’s Professor Ann Dowling Council, says: “The new wind tunnel influenced future government policy. (pictured), a world authority on combustion facility will give researchers and industry and acoustics. Commercial partners of this In 2009, Professor Dame Ann Dowling, who access to the world-class facilities and multi-partner initiative included BA, Rolls- received a DBE for services to science in instrumentation vital for the development Royce and the Civil Aviation Authority. 2007, became head of the Department of of future quiet, ultra-efficient aircraft.” Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Interviewed in 2006, Jim Morris, Vice In 2014, Dame Ann was appointed President of Engineering & Manufacturing In 2011, EPSRC funded a four-year project President of the Royal Academy of at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said: jointly with Caltech focused on reducing Engineering, the first woman in the role.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 28: The Provisional IRA issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 24 Precious metals, such as platinum and including palladium, rhodium and platinum. palladium, are used extensively in a wide Over time, tiny particles of these metals are range of industrial chemical processes – ejected through the exhaust system, settling providing a vital trigger or accelerator for as highly valuable road dust. Rhodium, for chemical reactions. A current EPSRC-project, example, sells for around £100 a gram. of which she is a member, is applying novel All UK councils are required by law to bionano-catalysts for upgrading heavy oils. clean up and collect road waste, so this In 2006, a sister project to the sugar- part of Roads to Riches’ operation is free. related research, led by the Biotechnology Next, the company uses natural separation and Biological Sciences Research Council techniques, such as magnetism, to sort out Full metal jacket (BBSRC), evaluated the potential for sourcing the metals from the organic road waste, precious metals from wastes: together these which is processed into low grade building In 2006, an EPSRC-funded project led projects have demonstrated a ‘one stop aggregates, rather than sent to landfill. by Professor Lynne Macaskie at the shop’ method to bio-manufacture active What’s left is a metal concentrate, which University of Birmingham demonstrated the catalysts from waste. traditionally would be sent for energy- commercial potential arising from ‘feeding’ a The combined research projects spawned intensive smelting. The company has certain type of bacteria on high-sugar waste a life of their own through a pioneering developed a greener option – it sends in products, such as those produced by the commercial venture launched by Dr Angela the bacteria. confectionery industry. Murray (pictured), a bioscientist at The The bacteria used in the process are already The bacteria give off hydrogen as they University of Birmingham. on their second life, having been used in the consume the waste, and the team used In 2009, Dr Murray, whose doctorate was earlier process to create clean hydrogen this gas to generate clean electricity via a supervised by Professor Macaskie, used from fermented food waste. fuel cell – potentially a valuable source of a BBSRC Enterprise Fellowship Award After being added to the metal concentrate, non-polluting energy in the years ahead. The to develop a way to recover precious the bacteria emerge wearing what Angela waste was supplied by the team’s industrial metals from roadside waste, with the aim Murray has described as “tiny nanoparticle partner, Cadbury Schweppes plc, whose of producing new, cheap catalysts. This metal jackets”. factory is conveniently located just down the led to the creation of a spin out company, The bacteria are then either dried into a road. The waste would otherwise have been Roads to Riches. Macaskie and Murray fine powder to make a range of platform sent to landfill. are both directors of the company, which chemicals/catalysts or can be used in Since 2006, Professor Macaskie has headed works closely with the Birmingham hydrogen fuel cells to generate clean several EPSRC-supported projects to research teams. electricity. In essence, the bacteria producing evaluate the potential for using bacteria to The catalytic converters in most modern the hydrogen are the same ones recovering bio-manufacture precious metal catalysts. cars are coated with precious metals, the precious metals.

The and damage to roads and buildings company’s surrounding the pipes. award- In 2013, Syrinix’s TrunkMinder technology winning was short-listed for the Most Innovative portfolio has New Technology of the Year title at the developed Water Industry Achievement Awards. ‘listening’ Also in 2013, the company secured technology £2.1 million in funding from a number that can help of investors, including the EU-funded reduce the Low Carbon Innovation Fund, and the 3.3 billion Angel CoFund, to accelerate national and litres of international growth. treated water lost every day In 2014, the company’s TrunkMinder in the UK by devices are being commercially deployed making maintenance more cost effective. in a major rollout by Thames Water for the Pipeline to success The technology uses vibro-acoustic signals £15 billion Crossrail project, one of the from the water mains pipe and analyses largest engineering projects in Europe. In 2006, Syrinix, a company formed in 2004 these sounds to enable leaks to be To avoid catastrophic pipeline failures, by Professor Paul Linford to commercialise detected in their early stages and pinpoint Syrinix worked closely with Crossrail to his EPSRC-funded blue-skies research at their location. deploy the system on critical water mains, the University of East Anglia, was named Detection stops bigger, more devastating many of which have been in the ground Business Initiative of the Year in the Times leaks from springing up and helps water for decades and some for in excess of Higher Education Supplement 2006 awards. companies prevent massive loss of water 100 years.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 April 23: YouTube, the popular video sharing website, is founded 25 2006 Helping humans help Potential applications for the technology, which has been licensed for use in tissue themselves banks in the UK and South America, include knee damage repair, heart valves In 2006, Tissue Regenix, a medical devices and advanced wound care for leg ulcers. company in the field of regenerative medicine specialising in human tissue In 2010, Tissue Regenix’s first product – a regeneration products, was founded by vascular patch derived from pig tissue Professors John Fisher and Eileen Ingham which repairs damaged human veins – to commercialise their EPSRC-funded gained its CE mark and was sold globally research at the University outside the USA. of Leeds. In 2012, the company, now listed on the The company’s London Stock Exchange’s international proprietary dCELL® market for smaller growing companies technology platform (AIM), opened an office in the USA works by removing all as a significant step forward in its cells from the animal commercialisation strategy. tissue, allowing it to be Today, the Tissue Regenix Group has used to replace worn out a market capitalisation of over £60 or diseased body parts – million. The basic research that led to the without the need for anti- company’s formation was funded by EPSRC rejection drugs. in 2000, and Tissue Regenix continues to Because a patient’s own receive EPSRC support. cells can populate the Professor Eileen Ingham says: “The new biological scaffolds, support from EPSRC and other funders, they are accepted by the including the Technology Strategy Board, immune system and can over many years has been crucial in be repaired like normal enabling us to pursue the basic technology tissue. The dCELL® and then drive forward its potential. We process can be used to were able to use these grants flexibly, make 20-30 enabling continuity of employment for different products. key researchers.”

Walking the walk In 2006, a laboratory designed to make By monitoring and measuring all aspects pedestrian environments safer and easier of pedestrian behaviour – from their gait to use was set up with EPSRC support and biomechanics to how they perceive at University College London (UCL). The the world around them – the project has investment stemmed from a three-year generated data leading to improvements EPSRC grant awarded to UCL’s Accessibility in the design of pavements, footways and Research Group to create a new lab for concourses, and will enable new ideas and investigating issues related to pedestrians products to be tried out. and the pedestrian environment. In 2014, among other EPSRC-supported The PAMELA (Pedestrian Accessibility projects, Professor Tyler, who has received and Movement Laboratory) project, over 20 EPSRC research grants, is a led by Professor Nick Tyler, led to the key member of the Transforming the development of a ‘lab-based’ fully- Engineering of Cities project (see pages configurable pedestrian walkway, enabling 16-17), and co-leads a team investigating real-world conditions to be replicated in a the feasibility of a wholly new concept in controlled setting. exoskeleton design.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 1: The Human Genome Project publishes the last chromosome sequence 26 Getting in gear

In 2006, Magnomatics, a high technology company from the University of Sheffield, was set up to commercialise ground- breaking research by Dr Kais Atallah and Professor David Howe into magnetic transmission systems, high-torque electrical machines and electromechanical actuators and dampers. The inspiration to form the company came from an EPSRC- supported project to investigate the advantages of magnetic gears over their mechanical counterparts for a range of applications. Members of Dr Atallah’s original research group formed the core of the Magnomatics technical team. In 2012, the company, now active in a range of industries, including renewable energy, automotive, aerospace and defence, secured funding of over 30 people, with a strong focus on wind and tidal energy production; ultra- £2.5 million to complete the development renewable energy and energy efficiency. compact and efficient marine propulsion of its magnetically-geared motors for the Together with its various strategic systems; and wheel hub motors and electric and hybrid vehicle market. partners, the company is developing a continuously variable transmissions to In 2014, Magnomatics has evolved into range of technologies, including high be employed in commercial hybrid and a clean technology company employing efficiency, ultra-compact generators for electric vehicles.

biometric passports – and so could be used to help combat crimes such as EPSRC & SIP identity theft, social security fraud, people In 2007, EPSRC set up a new advisory trafficking and terrorism. panel to advise Council, its senior In 2009, the system, which can identify decision-making body, about how best partial, distorted, scratched, smudged, or to take account of public opinion and otherwise warped fingerprints in just a few attitudes in policy development. seconds, scored top marks in the world’s The Societal Issues Panel (SIP) two toughest technical fingerprint tests. Making its mark complemented the Technical It was ranked best for overall accuracy by Opportunities Panel (TOP), which mainly In 2006, Warwick Warp, a spin out company the UK National Physical Laboratory and comprised academics, and the User from the University of Warwick, won the placed third overall out of 36 in tests by Panel (UP), whose main component Research Councils UK Business Plan the US National Institute of Standards and is industrialists. Competition for its unique software-based Technology (NIST). fingerprint identification system. In 2011, EPSRC’s panel system, which In 2013, the company’s fingerprint had remained largely unchanged for Warwick Warp’s technology, which was feature extractor was certified for use in nearly two decades, evolved into a substantially more reliable and faster India, where the Warwick Warp is being more flexible Strategic Advisory than those available at the time, can deployed in multiple government and Network (SAN). be incorporated into identity cards and civilian projects.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 March 21: Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams found social networking service Twitter, officially launched later in 2006 27 2007 Making waves

In 2007, structural earthquake engineer, Professor Rossetto says: “The main gap in In 2011, EPSRC funded a five-year project Professor Tiziana Rossetto, received an our knowledge is about what happens when led by Newcastle University to enable EPSRC Challenging Engineering award the tsunami wave approaches the near UK scientists to visit an earthquake zone to establish the Earthquake and People shore region and then runs inland. together with the EEFIT team in order Interaction Centre (EPICentre), based at “These flow processes cannot be simplified to gather data immediately after an University College London (UCL). She is using mathematical models because of the earthquake has struck. also director of the centre. complex interaction that takes place with Researchers, including those from It was Professor Rossetto’s experience of beaches, sediment, coastal defences and EPICentre, used the funding to visit the surveying the sites of the 2004 earthquakes then in and around buildings.” site of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and tsunami in Sri Lanka and Thailand with The tsunami generator has been made in Japan and the area devastated by the UK’s Earthquake Field Investigation available for use by researchers from all earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, Team (EEFIT) that led her to set up a over the world. both in 2011. multidisciplinary research group under An example of a project that will use the In 2012, Professor Rossetto led the first- EPSRC’s Challenging Engineering scheme. tsunami generator is CRUST, funded in 2014 ever earthquake return reconnaissance Launched in 2005, the scheme identified by EPSRC to develop a new assessment mission to investigate building repair, and supported individuals with the potential methodology to help risk management after strengthening and reconstruction after the to become future leaders of engineering earthquakes and tsunami. 2009 L’Aquila earthquake in Italy. Before research, with the ambition of building a the grant ends in 2016, the team will have team around them (see page 20). The CRUST team brings together expertise from the University of Bristol and UCL, conducted five investigations in total. The EPICentre team of earthquake and partners widely with industry and In 2013, EPICentre co-director Professor engineers, social scientists, psychologists, universities worldwide. Hélène Joffe won the prestigious Lloyds coastal engineers and statisticians Science of Risk award for her study of investigate and model risk from natural In 2010, with support from EPSRC, people living in highly seismic areas. hazards to buildings and infrastructure EPICentre launched the Virtual Disaster and study their impact on populations. The Viewer (VDV), an innovative web-based Professor Joffe is a co-investigator in a team study disasters in the field, and their portal that allows earthquake experts to major multi-university EPSRC-funded research covers earthquakes, tsunami, pool knowledge quickly and effectively to project led by Professor Chris Rogers volcanoes, floods, risk reduction and help relief operations. from the University of Birmingham into risk representation. The VDV captures before-and-after satellite sustainable future cities (see pages 16-17). In 2009, with EPSRC support, EPICentre images, videos, and real-time field data, In 2013, EPSRC funded a £1.6 million unveiled a unique wave-generation facility enabling engineers and scientists to EPICentre project on earthquake and fire which can accurately model realistic provide detailed damage assessments to risk. The team are developing tools for tsunami waves. Developed by EPICentre help relief organisations target damage evaluation in fire engineering and and marine engineering specialists, emergency supplies, prioritise repairs are planning an innovative study in Seattle, HR Wallingford, the tsunami generator has and plan reconstruction. USA to get people to prepare and plan for a 70-metre long, four metre-wide flume, The viewer was used in post-earthquake the effects of earthquake and fire. and includes a coastal slope and model field investigations in China in 2008, Italy in This research builds on knowledge of risk beach to show how the coast, buildings and 2009 and after the 2010 Haiti earthquake representation gained in the course of structures are affected. which killed an estimated 100,000 people. Professor Joffe’s work.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 9: Apple CEO, the late Steve Jobs, announces the launch of the first iPhone 28 Pictures in descending order: Professor Tiziana Rossetto talks with locals from Khao Lak, Thailand, as part of an EEFIT mission after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The Fast Flow facility at HR Wallingford, site of the world’s first tsunami generator. EPICentre team members visited the site of the devastating 2011 tsunami in Tohuku, Japan, capturing these dramatic images.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 21: Cutty Sark, the last surviving tea clipper, is badly damaged by fire in Greenwich, England 29 2007

In 2007, XenSource, a company formed XenSource began as a consultancy service by four EPSRC-supported researchers at advising banks and other businesses on the University of Cambridge’s Computer deploying Xen. Laboratory, was sold to US company Citrix The company’s creators soon realised for $500 million. there were further business opportunities XenSource was set up in 2004 to help in building and supporting an ‘enterprise- commercialise the team’s ground-breaking ready’ version of Xen, and their work software, called Xen, which makes a single became instrumental in the development of computer appear to be many similar, but cloud computing through which companies smaller, computers. undertake large computing jobs. Amazon Among its key features, Xen enables was also an early adopter, and used several people to use the same computer Xen software in one of the largest cloud server without being able to affect each computing bases. other’s personal virtual machine – and Researchers around the world have without being aware of each other. Each used Xen to develop further research virtual machine can run any operating and generate new applications. Cloud system and any application. computing has become ubiquitous for The notion of getting the most out of the both the corporate world and for least number of servers initially attracted individual consumers. companies that handled large amounts In 2014, Citrix offers a suite of security of data, such as Wall Street banks, which software including mobile applications for traditionally had hundreds of thousands iOS, Android and Windows smartphones of servers. and tablets.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 June 27: Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 30 Innovation nation In 2007, EPSRC launched a major initiative Successful projects have developed and to enable business to access the for academics to develop the commercial new coatings and surfaces that can best research and technical expertise, potential of their research alongside be used to turn buildings into power infrastructure and equipment. commercial businesses in university-based stations; enhanced jet engine efficiency; Operating at an earlier stage than centres of excellence known as Innovation technologies to help the body heal itself, Catapult centres, IKCs are led by an expert and Knowledge Centres (IKCs). and systems to combat the threat of cyber entrepreneurial team and offer a shared Originally funded by EPSRC, and now co- attacks and terrorism. space and entrepreneurial environment in funded with Innovate UK, with additional Spin out and spin in activity is integral to which researchers can work side by side funding from the Biotechnology and the IKC concept. Successful companies with potential customers and professionals Biological Sciences Research Council include Microsense, formed to from academia and business. (BBSRC), IKCs were set up to accelerate commercialise research at the Centre for Since 2007, IKCs have created 801 jobs, and promote business exploitation of an Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) spawned 11 new spin out companies; filed emerging research and technology field. IKC at Queen’s University Belfast (see page 60 patent applications; initiated The seven centres funded to date have 35). The company’s award-winning wireless 12 licensing deals and brought 60 products developed ground-breaking work in areas microwave fence was designed for use and services to market. They have such as manufacturing technologies for in critical installations such as airports, also trained 273 doctoral students and photonics and electronics; regenerative power plants and country borders, creating 213 MSc students. medical therapies and devices; and secure an invisible but sensitive detection curtain The IKC concept has gone down well information technologies. They have quickly around a secure location. It is also able with industry, attracting £132 million established both a global profile and an to distinguish between real targets and in additional research income and international reputation. nuisance environmental disturbances. £43 million in business investment The brief is simple: to ensure great ideas IKCs have also developed successful through over 180 partner companies and are swiftly translated into industrial partnerships with the Innovate UK-funded 340 collaborating businesses. development, products and jobs. In turn, Catapult centres – a network of business- You can find more about Innovation and the techniques and technologies developed led technology innovation centres designed Knowledge Centres in Pioneer 13, available are fed back into the research ecosystem. to advance innovation in specific fields to download from epsrc.ac.uk.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 1: Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces 31 2007 Beetle drive In 2007, an EPSRC-funded team of “Nobody had studied the beetle from a researchers at the University of Leeds physics and engineering perspective as we showed that a species of beetle that squirts did – and we didn’t appreciate how much its predators with a high-pressure spray we would learn from it.” of boiling liquid could provide the key to In 2010, the Leeds team won the significant improvements in aircraft engine prestigious Times Higher Education design. Their research also inspired work to Outstanding Contribution to Innovation develop new types of nebuliser, needle-free and Technology Award, in recognition of injections, fire extinguishers and powerful their breakthrough in the discipline fuel injection systems. of biomimetics. The bombardier beetle squirts its fiery In 2013, Swedish Biomimetics 3000®, potion, which reaches 100 degrees Celsius, which has a worldwide exclusive licensing at 300 explosive pulses per second. agreement with the University of Leeds for The team, led by Professor Andy McIntosh, the µMist™ platform technology, formed believed the beetle’s jet-based defence a technical partnership with motorsport mechanism could help solve a problem that engineering specialists Cosworth to can occasionally occur to jet aircraft at high advance fuel injection systems altitude – re-igniting a gas turbine engine inspired by the bombardier beetle’s which has cut out, when the outside air defence mechanism. temperature is as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. The spray’s chemical and physical characteristics and the insect’s physiology were simulated using a scaled-up experimental rig in Professor McIntosh’s lab. The research, funded initially by EPSRC and subsequently by Swedish Biomimetics 3000®, led to the development of new technology, µMist™, which has the potential to become the platform for the next generation of eco-friendly mist carrier systems used in applications such as fuel injection, medical drug delivery systems and fire suppression. Interviewed in 2007, Professor McIntosh likened the beetle’s defence mechanism to a pressure cooker controlled by a complicated system of valves, saying: “Essentially it’s a high-force steam cavitation explosion. Using a chamber less than one millimetre long, this amazing creature has the ability to change the rapidity of what comes out, its direction and its consistency.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 21: The final book in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is released selling over 11 million copies in the first 24 hours 32 Knowing the score

In 2007, a consortium of five university with the charity Practical Action to research In 2012, an international conference was research teams, led by Dr Paul Riley, from and develop the technology.” held to disseminate the work of Score, and The University of Nottingham, received people from five continents attended. In 2010, the first Score Centre was set up in £1.6 million in EPSRC funding for a five- Malaysia and ramped up its research with In the same year, the Score stove project year project to develop a low cost, high-tech the aid of three doctoral students. received a second round of EPSRC funding generator that could transform the lives to install more devices in developing of some of the world’s poorest countries’ universities. Electricity people by turning sound energy generating stoves were sent to into electricity. The process, Kathmandu and Bangladesh known as thermo-acoustics, universities, and Kenya installed converts heat from biomass 75 clean wood burning stoves. fuels into sound – and then into Kathmandu University, with the electrical energy. support of Dr Riley and his team, The creation of a Stove for successfully used the stove to Cooking, Refrigeration and produce electricity and boil water. Electricity not only gave the The Practical Action charity’s project its name – the Score Teo Sanchez says: “Partnerships stove project – it also gave like this, which combine active hope to some of the three involvement of academics and billion people around the world non-academics from north and who still cook on an open south with effective exchange fire, resulting in at least four of knowledge and know-how, million premature deaths each contribute to real solutions to year from smoke inhalation, help the poor to use technology to according to the World challenge their poverty.” Health Organisation. Twelve clean burning stoves (not electrically In 2013, Paul Riley and his team won generating) were installed in Kenya and Dr Riley says EPSRC, which leads the Siemens’ Empowering People award for results published. Research Councils UK Energy Programme, the Score stove technology and secured set up to tackle global energy challenges, In 2011, Score Centres in Bangladesh, further funding to develop the technology had identified rural fuel use in poor areas at the University of Engineering and in the field. as a priority and had set up a workshop to Technology (BUET), and in Nepal, at Work has still to be done on developing a discuss solutions. He explains: “I knew that Kathmandu University, were set up. Field stove more adapted and appropriate to the thermo-acoustics has no moving parts, trials in Nepal and Kenya were reported, local conditions. so it could be made cheaply. Following the confirming the need for a technology that Dr Riley hopes that, by making it easier to workshop I assembled a multidisciplinary generated as little as 10 Watts of electricity. build and more reliable, the Score stove team of colleagues from several The main uses were seen as being for will be transformed from highly promising universities and brought them together lighting, radio and charging mobile phones. device to life-saving invention.

Above: Score team members test out the stove in Kenya.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 3: British child Madeleine McCann disappears from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal 33 2007

Bricks from waste

In 2007, Encos, a spin out company from the University of Leeds, was formed to develop carbon neutral masonry products made from waste products. The blocks literally lock carbon into the fabric of buildings. The research behind the company’s formation was developed by Dr John Forth and Dr Salah Zoorob, and funded by EPSRC. Dubbed Bitublock, the new building blocks used 100 per cent recycled and waste materials as the aggregate, bound together by bitumen, a heavy by-product of the petrochemical industry. Using a low-energy process, Encos’s products are manufactured from recovered aggregates and a patented vegetable oil- The smarter ambulance based binder, encosol™. The result is net carbon neutral bricks and building slips with the looks, strength and performance of In 2007, EPSRC co-invested in a joint technologies including patient vital signs their traditional counterparts, without the initiative with the Helen Hamlyn Centre monitoring and hospital data transfer to environmental impacts. for Design and the Royal Academy of Art specialist stroke, cardiac or trauma units. to create a new ambulance interior fit for In 2011, Encos commissioned a £200,000 Possibly the design change with the 21st century healthcare. test plant at Yorkshire Water’s Knostrop biggest impact was the decision to move site in Leeds, where it began producing The project brought together frontline the stretcher from its traditional position carbon-negative masonry from incinerated paramedics, clinicians, patients, academic against the side of the ambulance and sewage. The bricks were subsequently used researchers, engineers, designers and place it in the centre. This gave emergency to build several test walls at Poundbury potential purchasers in a co-design teams 360 degree access to the patient. – the experimental urban development in process, specifically looking at ways to The new design proved a hit with staff. provide healthcare in the community, Dorset designed according to architectural In 2011, a full-size mobile demonstrator of reducing hospital admissions and principles advocated by the Prince of Wales. the new ambulance interior was formally patient journeys. In 2012, the award-winning company launched and went on the road. The new ambulance’s redesign focused on conducted successful full scale Modular equipment packs containing improving clinical efficiency and enhancing manufacturing trials working with specific treatment consumables were patient safety. independent construction materials incorporated to aid clinical performance, manufacturer S. Morris Ltd in Somerset. Among the changes were better located infection control and stock control. equipment storage spaces and an easily- In 2013, Encos began a partnership with cleaned interior, making infection control In 2012, the 21st century ambulance project Columbia Machine, a world-leading much simpler and more effective. The won the Industrial Designers Society of manufacturer of concrete products vehicles were also equipped with some America Silver Award for Research at the equipment, to bring its products to the of the latest mobile communications International Design Excellence Awards. mainstream market.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 December 20: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom 34 Inventor of the year

In 2007, an EPSRC- supported Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) lecturer, Dr Maire McLoone (later O’Neill), was named British Female Inventor of the Year at the British Female Inventors and Innovators awards. She received the award for a product that enhances security mechanisms to protect the public from cyber criminals, such as hackers, and also helps to identify thieves. Maire O’Neill went on to become the youngest ever professor to be appointed at Queen’s at the age of 32. She was instrumental in the creation of the Centre Cool water liquid waste for disposal, using a unique for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), adsorption material called Nyex®. an EPSRC Innovation and Knowledge In 2007, spin out company Arvia Technology Since its formation, the company Centre (see page 31) at QUB, which has was formed to commercialise EPSRC- has received a host of awards and established strong links with global supported research into water treatment at commendations and in 2009 featured in The security organisations. The University of Manchester by Dr Nigel Guardian’s Global Cleantech 100 listing. In 2014, Professor O’Neill’s invention is Brown and Dr Ted Roberts. In 2010, Arvia secured investments of used in more than 100 million TV set-top Arvia’s formation followed proof of principle £3.8 million to develop its nuclear and boxes, and she is widely regarded as one funding from EPSRC in 2001, which later water business. of Europe’s leading cryptography experts, awarded follow-on funding to the company. In 2014, Arvia is collaborating with the UK’s helping enhance global data security. Arvia’s patented water treatment National Nuclear Laboratory on a project Also in 2014, she received the Royal method removes and destroys organic using its technology to destroy oils and Academy of Engineering Silver Medal, one contaminants and oils using a procedure solvents contaminated by high levels of only five engineers who have received that is free of process chemicals, is energy of radiation currently located at the the medal in national recognition of their efficient, and produces little solid or Sellafield site. contribution to society.

in forensic evidence which will prove the In print presence or absence of illicit substances. In 2007, Professor David Russell from the In 2012, Intelligent Fingerprinting received University of East Anglia founded a spin an investment of £2 million from US out company, Intelligent Fingerprinting Ltd, backers, and over the next 15 months based on his EPSRC-supported research secured almost £700,000 in government- into the detection of drugs and drug funded grants. metabolites in fingerprints. In 2014, Intelligent Fingerprinting secured The company specialises in the £750,000 in funding from a consortium of development of non-invasive diagnostic private US-based investors to support the screening technology for fast and final stages of development of the world’s convenient point-of-care testing first handheld fingerprint-based drug using fingerprints. screening device, which is able to screen The company has attracted worldwide for multiple drugs and provides results in interest in its technology for a wide range less than 10 minutes. of drug-screening applications including Simple to operate and totally non- criminal justice, drug rehabilitation, prisons invasive, the device is ideal for a variety and the workplace. The technique has of drug screening applications including potential for many other uses including drug rehabilitation services, offender healthcare diagnostics and homeland management and criminal justice. The security applications. product is currently in development and will In 2009, Professor Russell received follow- be available in 2015. The global market for on funding from EPSRC to develop bio- drug screening was recently estimated to molecules that specifically bind to residues reach US$2.6 billion by 2015.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 April 3: French TGV high speed passenger train breaks the speed record of the fastest conventional train, clocking 357.2mph 35 2008 Picture courtesy Surrey Satellite Technology Limited Technology courtesy Satellite Surrey Picture

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 September 15: Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, laying the catalyst for the global financial crisis 36 Space aces In 2008, Surrey Satellite Technology The company, whose Group Executive The satellite’s onboard computer checks Limited (SSTL),a company set up in 1985 Chairman is Professor Sir Martin Sweeting which components of the phone are to commercialise EPSRC-funded research FRS, continues to work closely with the working normally and relays images led by Professor Martin Sweeting at the University of Surrey, mainly through the and messages back to Earth via a radio University of Surrey, was sold to space Surrey Space Centre, a dedicated facility system. In phase two of the programme, technology giant EADS Astrium for borne out of research at the university. the STRaND-1 team hope to switch the £40 million. In 2013, in a world-first space mission satellite’s in-orbit operations to the phone, Today, SSTL is the world’s leading small destined to make space exploration more testing the capabilities of a number of satellite company, with over 500 staff accessible, a University of Surrey research standard smartphone components for a and export sales of over £150 million. team, led by Dr Chris Bridges, formerly space environment. The company designs, manufactures and an EPSRC-supported doctoral student, Among the pioneering technologies operates high performance satellites and in collaboration with SSTL, developed the developed for the mission is its WARP ground systems for a range of applications STRaND-1 nano-satellite – made from an DRiVE (Water Alcohol Resistojet including Earth observation, science and unmodified Google Nexus smartphone and Propulsion system), a novel new communications – at a fraction of the price built using advanced commercial off-the- propulsion system that will help the normally associated with space missions. shelf components. satellite to perform manoeuvres. Since 1981, SSTL has built and launched The satellite made its maiden voyage In 2014, SSTL supplied navigation payloads over 40 satellites, and has developed aboard the Indian Space Research for the first two Galileo Full Operational an innovative approach that is changing Organisation’s Polar Satellite Launch Capability spacecraft launched for a the economics of space. It also provides Vehicle, and is currently orbiting the Earth landmark European satellite navigation training and development programmes, at around 16,000 miles per hour. It will programme led by the European Space consultancy services, and mission studies be the first test of whether commercial Agency (ESA). Galileo is Europe’s own for the European Space Agency, NASA, elements and components found in global satellite navigation system. international governments and everyday devices can survive in the Ultimately, it will consist of 30 satellites commercial customers. extreme conditions experienced in space. and their ground infrastructure.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 28: The historic Weston-Super-Mare Grand Pier burns down for a second time in 80 years 37 2008 Healthy relationships

In 2008, EPSRC co-invested in two major healthcare initiatives clinical cancer research. The total investment is now £116 million. with two new Strategic Partners, Cancer Research UK and the With the Wellcome Trust, £30 million was invested in a range Wellcome Trust. of leading-edge research projects including computer-guided With Cancer Research UK, EPSRC co-invested £45 million in ultrasound technologies, and ways to transform the safety and medical imaging research to support the development and efficacy of foetal surgery. The total co-investment is now £75 million. introduction of the latest cancer imaging technologies. The investment included £5 million from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Department of Health for England. The partnership principle Four large cancer imaging centres were established to serve as Since 2000, EPSRC has forged a network of Strategic focal points in techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging Partnerships with blue-chip global industries and and Positron Emission Tomography. Five cancer imaging research other ‘research users’, such as major charities and UK programmes were also set up to concentrate on a specific area of Government departments. imaging research. Strategic Partnerships provide a key link between the needs In six years the multidisciplinary centres have established of research users, such as industry, and long-term academic themselves as world-leading facilities in cancer imaging, whose research. They also provide joint funding of UK universities breakthrough technologies include new techniques to enable non- to support research, training and other activities in gap invasive assessment of disease progression. areas of strategic importance to UK economic and social The £45 million co-investment with the Wellcome Trust led to the wellbeing; and enable clear routes to exploitation. creation of four UK Centres of Excellence in Medical Engineering Beyond the major Strategic Partnerships, such are the in June 2009. The centres, which are based at Imperial College benefits of working with collaborators from industry and London, the University of Leeds, the University of Oxford and other sectors that 45 per cent of EPSRC’s research King’s College London, focus on finding new solutions for arthritis; portfolio is collaborative. medical imaging; personalised healthcare; new medical devices EPSRC works with around 2,800 companies and partner and regenerative therapies. organisations. By ensuring the early engagement between In 2013, EPSRC strengthened its Strategic Partnerships with industry and the research base, the fruits of EPSRC’s CRUK and the Wellcome Trust with two new major investments. investments can be maximised, helping to keep the UK at With CRUK, £35 million was invested in four university-based the forefront of global research and innovation. centres to develop cutting-edge imaging technologies for basic and

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 August 16: Usain Bolt sets a new 100 metres dash world record of 9.69 seconds at the Beijing 2008 summer Olympics 38 Tag team between a cartridge fired during a crime In 2008, a multidisciplinary and whoever handled the cartridge. EPSRC-funded research The project was a joint collaboration team, led by Professor between Brighton, Brunel, Cranfield, Paul Sermon, a Surrey and York universities. nanomaterials engineer at Brunel In 2012, the team came up with a refined University, devised version of the technology. an ingenious After years of testing, they hit on a new bullet tagging technique that could also stash away skin technology that could make cells of any person touching the bullets, to it much harder for criminals who use increase the probability of obtaining useful firearms to evade justice in future. associative evidence. The tags primarily consisted of naturally- To label the hands of anyone who touches occurring pollen, a substance that evolution the bullet, they took the sticky pollen grains has provided with extraordinary from the Easter lily, and coated them in adhesive properties. titanium dioxide (TiO2) before dropping The tiny tags, which are invisible to the them in liquid plastic. naked eye, are designed to be coated This solution was used to coat the bottom Crop logic onto gun cartridges. They then attach of the bullet casing. While the pollen is not In 2008, EPSRC-supported engineers at the themselves to the hands or gloves of uncommon, and TiO2 is found in paints and University of Leeds co-developed a device anyone handling the cartridge and are very sun lotions, together they form a unique to help some of the most impoverished difficult to wash off completely. tag, says Professor Sermon. farmers in Africa maximise crop yields. Crucially, some of these ‘nanotags’ also When tested on coatings on bullets from a The device gathers data on air temperature, remain on the cartridge even after it has nine millimetre Browning pistol, the team humidity, air pressure, light, soil moisture been fired. found that 53 per cent more viable DNA and temperature – information crucial to This research helped paved the way for could be harvested from these bullets than making key agricultural decisions about ways to establish a robust forensic link from uncoated ones. planting, fertilisation, irrigation, pest and disease control and harvesting. The 1,000 mph super car The research team, led by Professor Jaafar Elmirghani, worked with two Kenyan villages In 2008, wheels were set in motion to build to develop the technology, funded under the fastest car in the world, Bloodhound the Research Councils UK Digital Economy SSC, capable of 1,000mph – 30 per cent Programme, led by EPSRC. faster than any car that has gone before. The devices fed back information via a In addition to setting a new World Land wireless network to a central hub, or server, Speed Record, the project has two other located at the village school, which was then goals: to inspire the next generation sent to agriculture experts to assist farmers’ about science, technology, engineering An EPSRC-funded aerodynamics team at decision-making. The data was also fed into and mathematics; and to share an iconic Swansea University have played a vital role agricultural teaching at Kenyan schools. research and development programme with in the project, which EPSRC has sponsored This project was led by the London a global audience. since launch. Swansea’s Dr Ben Evans says: Knowledge Lab, and involved UK Bloodhound SSC is a jet and rocket powered “Wind tunnels have massive limitations. researchers working with the University of car weighing over seven tonnes. Its engines Bloodhound is a car, so it’s rolling on the Nairobi, and with rural communities produce over 135,000 horsepower – six times ground. There are no wind tunnels where you in Kenya. the power of a combined starting grid of can simulate this with a car travelling faster In 2014, Professor Elmirghani leads the Formula 1 cars. than the speed of sound. Our job is to make £6 million INTelligent EneRgy aware The only other manned vehicles capable sure the vehicle stays on the ground, and NETworks (INTERNET) research project of exceeding 1,000 mph within Earth’s that the drag is as low as possible.” in collaboration with colleagues at the atmosphere are military fighter jets, In 2015, the Bloodhound team, led by University of Cambridge and a number although none can do this speed close to the Richard Noble OBE, will begin its attempt on of major industrial players. The five-year ground where the air is thicker. the World Land Speed Record. project is funded by EPSRC.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 September 10: The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, described as the biggest scientific experiment in the history of mankind, is powered up in Geneva 39 2008

of an industry and academic partnership producing world-class research for the RCUK India benefit of the environment and the car buyer. In 2008, a major collaborative research “The most important part of the project partnership between Research Councils is that the technologies developed are UK and Indian agencies was launched. available and affordable and, as we have The initiative set up a dedicated Delhi- already shown, can be easily implemented based programme, RCUK India, into next-generation models to produce which was set up to address major lower emissions.” global challenges. The affordable technology caught the EPSRC is heavily involved in the Hotfire interest of the car industry, and also won initiative, which spans energy In 2008, a multidisciplinary collaboration the Automotive category at The Engineer security, food, arts, humanities, social between EPSRC-supported engineers and magazine’s Technology and Innovation sciences, water & climate change, industry partners resulted in a concept car Awards 2008. chronic disease and sustainable crop production. engine that reduces fuel consumption by In 2009, the work on the Hotfire project was 15 per cent. completed, and some of the technologies Projects co-funded by EPSRC include The award-winning system, which sprays developed were taken forward by research into advanced manufacturing; fuel directly into the cylinders of a petrol Lotus Engineering in subsequent smart energy grids and storage; and engine rather than using a fuel/air mix, engine development. sustainable energy. attracted interest from a number of major In 2015, Professor Ladomattos and In just six years the joint research car manufacturers. colleagues at UCL begin a new EPSRC- programme had gone from an almost The project, led by Professor Nicos funded project, working with the University zero base to close to £150 million in Ladommatos, from University College of Brighton, investigating ultra efficient jointly-funded UK-India projects. London (UCL), was a collaboration between engines and fuels. A project partner in the UCL, Loughborough University, Lotus research is UK car manufacturer Jaguar Early warning Engineering and Continental Powertrain. Land Rover (JLR) with which the university Interviewed in 2008, Mike Kimberley, has had a long-term collaboration, In 2008, at the age of 27, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus Plc, supporting its advanced engine Olga Kubassova, a former said: “The project is an excellent example research programmes. EPSRC-sponsored doctoral student at the University of Leeds, founded medical High performance HECToR software company Image Analysis to commercialise In 2008, EPSRC launched HECToR, the and encouraged industry and commerce to her research. largest and most advanced supercomputing make effective use of high-end computing. The company’s image analysis platform, facility in the UK. As one of the largest and most advanced Dynamika, allows clinicians a vital window Based at the University of Edinburgh’s supercomputers in Europe, HECToR played of opportunity to treat arthritis and other Advanced Computing Facility, the a key role in keeping researchers at the inflammatory diseases in its early stages. It £113 million service ran for six years and forefront of their fields. Its work included does this by turning the abstract concept of was managed by EPSRC on behalf of the forecasting the impact of climate change, algorithms into innovative software to enable UK Research Councils. modelling fluctuations in ocean currents, repeatable and reliable early diagnosis. The new supercomputer, which was projecting the spread of epidemics, The software is now used in hospitals and capable of making 63 million, million designing new materials and developing clinical departments across Europe, and calculations per second – 10,000 for every new medicinal drugs. Image Analysis has grown to employ 25 staff. person on the planet – provided a world- In 2014, HECToR was decommissioned and In 2012, Olga Kubassova (pictured) was class, internationally accessible service for replaced by the ARCHER supercomputer, named Entrepreneur of the Year at the UK-based academic research. one of the fastest on the planet. Everywoman in Technology Awards, and in HECToR also supported the development You can find out more about HECToR in 2014 Image Analysis was featured as Wired of innovative computational technologies Pioneer 12, covering 1994-2003. magazine’s Start-up of the Week.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 August 17: Michael Phelps surpasses Mark Spitz in Gold Medals won at a single Olympics, winning eight in total 40 synthetic copycat of a living cell, using steps towards creating ‘life’ from inorganic Cell mates long-chain molecules to mimic the chemicals, potentially defining the new area surfaces of the real thing. of ‘inorganic biology’. The year 2008 marked the highly significant The EPSRC-supported research could The inorganic cells, which can store fourth anniversary of an enduring research one day lead to new targeted drug delivery electrons similar to a battery, and also partnership between four scientists from systems, where the artificial cell capsules harvest solar energy, could potentially be different disciplines: Professors Lee Cronin, carry drug molecules to attack specific used in numerous medical applications in from the University of Glasgow, Natalio diseased cells in the body, while leaving medicine, as sensors or to confine chemical Krasnogor and Cameron Alexander, from healthy cells intact. It could thus offer a new reactions. By taking a ‘minimal’ approach to The University of Nottingham, and Ben weapon in the fight against superbugs. the assembly of inorganic CHELLS they Davis from the University of Oxford, who met In 2009, supported by an EPSRC Platform hope to understand how living systems during a 2004 EPSRC-sponsored ‘Sandpit’ Grant, chemical biologist Professor Ben can spontaneously emerge in the creative workshop aimed at promoting blue- Davis and Paul Gardner, from the Davis ‘inorganic’ world. sky, curiosity-led research. research group, constructed a lipid-bound The Cronin group’s aims are ambitious: The Sandpit, one of the first in a new ‘protometabolism’ that synthesises complex to engineer/discover routes to artificial generation of creative workshops, focused carbohydrates from simple raw materials. life. These routes may also be relevant to on the potential development of synthetic This encapsulated system may represent determining the origin of life on Earth and to chemical-cells, or CHELLS, a phrase coined the first step towards the realisation of a understanding how easy (or hard) it could be at the workshop and now adopted in many synthetic chemical cell that displays complex for the emergence of life elsewhere. scientific and popular articles on behaviours such as communication with In December 2014, Cronin’s team reported synthetic biology. natural cells. it had succeeded in creating an abiotic Following on from the Sandpit, Professors All four founding members of Chellnet evolving chemical system for the first time. Alexander, Krasnogor, Davis and provided input into this research; Davis has The process uses a robotic ‘aid’ and could be Cronin co-authored a discussion piece also worked with Cameron Alexander on the used in the future to ‘evolve’ new chemicals in Nature Biotechnology with fellow development of polymer CHELLS. capable of performing specific tasks. Sandpit participants proposing a ‘thought In 2011, Natalio Krasnogor, at the time All stemming from a creative thinking experiment’ to determine whether an working at The University of Nottingham’s workshop (see pages 80-83) the like of which artificial cell is alive. This led to a thought- School of Computer Science, began an none of the four scientists had experienced provoking film with designer James King, ambitious EPSRC-funded project that takes before, and which set them on a journey of The Imitation Game. And so the Chellnet a synthetic biology approach to developing discovery which could lead to new forms of network was born. a biological cell equivalent of a computer life – but not quite as we know them. The film was the first product of a operation system. If successful, the research remarkable multidisciplinary collaboration will lead to a ‘re-programmable cell’ within between the four scientists, which, through a living organism. Not only would this individual and joint research projects, took revolutionise synthetic biology, three approaches to the CHELL concept: it would pave the way for polymeric, chemical biological and inorganic. scientists to utilise biology These projects explored, in different as a next-generation platform and complementary directions, ways to from which to build a understand how cellular structures might ‘biological computer’. imitate a living system, and the profound Now at Newcastle University, impact this might have. All four scientists where he is professor of have since contributed important advances computer science and synthetic in synthetic, chemical and computational biology, Krasnogor’s expertise biology research. in synthetic biology has helped In 2008, chemist Cameron Alexander, who to unify the diverse projects has steered his research towards medical conducted by the Chellnet. uses for CHELL technology, working with In 2011, Lee Cronin and his doctoral student George Pasparakis, took team of EPSRC-supported some initial steps towards creating a scientists took their first tentative

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 11: The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) set sail on her final voyage to Dubai 41 2009 Investing in future talent

In 2009, in a bold new approach to doctoral global megabrands such as P&G and Tata student training, EPSRC invested Steel to SMEs. £250 million in 44 all-new Centres for Combined governmental and partner Doctoral Training (CDTs). funding for CDTs is now £962 million, It was the biggest-ever single investment in including £31 million in capital investment. training scientists and engineers and led to It is the UK’s largest investment in comprehensive ‘cohort-based’ training for postgraduate training, in areas of key over 2,000 doctoral students, tackling some importance to the UK economy and of the biggest problems facing the UK and society, representing perhaps the biggest the planet, such as climate change, energy, industry-educational trans-sector training an ageing population and high-tech crime. investment in Europe. Such has been the success of the initiative, EPSRC Associate Director, Dr Alison EPSRC has continued to develop the Wall, says: “Cohort-based training such programme, particularly through a major as this brings people together to look new tranche of investment in 2014. at real-world problems. They don’t just There are now 115 new CDTs in focus on areas of concern to GSK or 33 universities, training over 7,000 Rolls-Royce, they will often have 10-20 postgraduates on specific research companies working on problems. They challenges, such as cybersecurity, renewable see commonalities of approach, which are energy, robotics and applied photonics. usually multidisciplinary, and they develop multiple solutions. Based on a series of successful pilot schemes in ‘cohort-based’ doctoral “More than 40 per cent of CDT studentships training, begun in 2002, the initiative are collaborative with a company from the created communities of researchers, very start. Students work with business and bringing together diverse areas of expertise other mentors and some may spend most to train engineers and scientists with the of their time in a company. skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle “We also help to provide students with today’s evolving issues. the skills that might lead them to become Centres for Doctoral Training create new entrepreneurs. This is training for the working cultures, build relationships business environment. between teams in universities and forge “Nearly half of all EPSRC-supported lasting links with industry, providing clear students go into business straight after pathways and opportunities for businesses their doctorate, and most will end up and universities to work together. Today working in business and government for there are 1,000 partner companies – from their longer-term career.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 3: Israeli ground forces invade Gaza 42 PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 20: Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the United States’ first African-American president 43 2009 Green speed

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 June 1: Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, en route from Rio de Janeiro, killing all 228 on board 44 In 2009, an EPSRC-supported team from Grand Prix and later demonstrated at the The car later broke the World Land Speed the University of Warwick, led by Dr Kerry European Grand Prix. Record for a lightweight electric car, hitting Kirwan, an EPSRC Challenging Engineering In 2009, WorldF3st was featured as one of a top speed of 204.2 mph at a racetrack at award holder, designed and built the world’s TIME Magazine’s Top 50 Global Inventions. RAF Elvington in Yorkshire. first fully sustainable Formula 3 racing car. In 2010, the research team were short-listed Also in 2013, a multidisciplinary, multi- The WorldF3st (pictured) is made from for Times Higher Education magazine’s university team led by Dr Kirwan began woven flax, recycled carbon fibre, recycled award for Outstanding Engineering a £3 million, three-year EPSRC-funded resin and carrot pulp for the steering wheel. Research Team of the Year. project aimed at using plants and bacteria to It runs on biofuel made from chocolate and recover useful materials, such as platinum, In 2013, EPSRC funded further research at animal fats and is lubricated with plant oils. nickel and arsenic, from contaminated land. Warwick to develop recycled composites and It is both environmentally friendly and fast, flax-reinforced composites for the Lola- Working with a University of Edinburgh and can achieve 0-60 in 2.5 seconds before Drayson all-electric prototype racing car, team, led by Dr Louise Horsfall, the team reaching a top speed of 175 mph. demonstrating the potential of sustainable use fungi and bacteria to degrade the plant The car was launched at the 2009 technologies in the biomass, a process which unlocks the Goodwood Festival of Speed, motorsport industry. metals the plants have accumulated. showcased at the British The bacteria ingest the metals, forming metallic nanoparticles for later extraction. With the fungi the bacteria also produce chemicals and other products for the pharmaceutical industry. The idea for the project emerged from an EPSRC ‘Sandpit’ (see pages 80-83) involving scientists from Newcastle, Birmingham, Cranfield, Edinburgh and Warwick universities. In 2014, Dr Kerry Kirwan is Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing at the University of Warwick. He is also Strategic Director of the Industrial Doctorate Centre and Head of the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Research Group within Warwick Manufacturing Group. Dr Kirwan also leads the university’s Global Research Priority in Innovative Manufacturing.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 June 25: The death of American entertainer Michael Jackson triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief 45 2009

Putting life back into stone In 2009, EPSRC-supported scientists and Through their research, the project team, Working on York Minster’s iconic preservation experts joined forces to help led by Dr Karen Wilson from Cardiff magnesian limestone cathedral, the team save historic York Minster Cathedral from University, were able to provide crucial developed a new treatment, utilising decay and erosion. advice to conservation experts on how best hydrophobic surface coatings, which Researchers co-funded by EPSRC and the to treat the stone to prevent further decay. protects limestone from erosion by acid Arts and Humanities Research Council They also advised on the most suitable rain and atmospheric pollutants, while (AHRC) at the Universities of York and materials to be used in the restoration of allowing the stone to ‘breathe’. Cardiff used advanced X-ray techniques York Minster’s East Front. Findings from the project, which was to investigate the composition of the In 2012, a team led by Dr Karen Wilson funded through the Science and Heritage limestone and historic mortars used and her fellow Cardiff colleague, Professor Programme co-funded by EPSRC and to build York Minster, and the ways in Adam Lee, developed a new treatment AHRC, could now be used to help conserve which these have decayed as a result of that could help protect historic limestone other historic limestone buildings around weathering and pollution over time. buildings from erosion. the world.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 19: The UK Government confirms a £300-billion bailout package for the United Kingdom’s banking industry 46 Fisher and Eileen Ingham, is addressing 50 after 50 these challenges through seven major In 2009, EPSRC-funded researchers at centres and EPSRC Programme Grants. the University of Leeds embarked on The centres include the EPSRC the 50 Active Years after 50® healthcare Centre for Doctoral Training in Tissue technologies initiative, focused on Engineering and Regenerative Medicine; regenerative therapies such as joint and the EPSRC/Wellcome Trust-supported organ replacements. Its aim was to help WELMEC Centre of Excellence in Medical ensure people can live as actively Engineering; and the EPSRC-supported up to 100 years of age as they did up to Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) in 50 years. Regenerative Therapies and Devices. The group’s work includes developing With his team, Professor Fisher, a longer-lasting joint replacements for the hip, member of EPSRC Council, its senior Successful IKC projects have included knee and spine; bio-regenerative scaffolds decision-making body, has pioneered work a portable heart scanner, new surgical for tissue regeneration in areas such as on longer-lasting joint replacements, technologies and an award-winning product heart valves, blood vessels, meniscus revolutionary spinal interventions and a new that can reverse early-stage tooth decay. The and ligaments; enhancing the quality and generation of biological scaffolds for tissue research that led to this product was funded reliability of devices such as implants repair that grow with the body. by EPSRC, beginning in the 1990s. and biomaterials and advancing stem The Medical Technologies IKC alone has In 2013, the EPSRC Centre for Innovative cell therapies. attracted over £90 million in research Manufacturing in Medical Devices was Based within the prestigious Institute of and innovation funding, as well as over inaugurated at the University of Leeds. The Medical and Biological Engineering at Leeds, £50 million in private sector investment in centre dovetails with the Medical Technologies the research team, led by Professors John product development (see page 31). Innovation and Knowledge Centre.

Called to account

In 2009, EPSRC introduced its Knowledge Transfer Account programme, which saw investment of £55 million in 25 university-led projects focusing on grants to help further exploit the outputs of EPSRC-funded research. Universities were given the flexibility to use their KTA funding in areas such as proof-of-concept funding, entrepreneurship training, networking, people exchange, business relationship-building and start-up generation. Among many successful projects, a team from Newcastle University used Trump card their Knowledge Transfer Account funding to develop an ultra low-cost In 2009, cutting-edge computer modelling early music, used Edinburgh’s designs to pre-natal scanner that uses pulses software brought an extinct, trumpet-like build two identical examples of the long- of high frequency sound to build up instrument back to life – allowing a work lost instrument. Both were later used in an a picture of the unborn child on a by Bach to be performed as the composer experimental Bach performance. computer screen. intended for the first time in nearly 300 years. The research opened up the potential for Conventional ultrasound scanners No one alive had heard, played or even seen tailor-made musical instruments to suit the can cost up to £100,000, but the a picture of the lituus – a two-metre long individual needs of musicians. device can be manufactured for as little as £40. horn made from beech. It was recreated The project also has potential applications thanks to software developed by Dr Alistair in structural engineering. For example, In 2012, Knowledge Transfer Braden, an EPSRC-supported doctoral acoustic signals could be sent through hard- Accounts were replaced by Impact student at the University of Edinburgh. to-reach pipework and ducting in buildings Acceleration Accounts, which build Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, a Swiss- such as power stations to reveal their on the KTA concept. based music conservatory specialising in condition accurately.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 21: Toyota surpasses General Motors to become the world’s largest car maker 47 2009 Synthetic science

In 2009, following a successful blue-sky Still in its infancy, synthetic biology could In 2009, EPSRC and the Biotechnology thinking ‘Sandpit’ exercise (see pages 80- revolutionise how we make things – from and Biological Sciences Research Council 83), EPSRC and the United States National innovative biofuels to a new generation (BBSRC), held a year-long series of public Science Foundation (NSF) co-invested of antibodies and vaccines – and the workshops and stakeholder interviews £6 million in five new collaborative research projects launched under the on the science and issues surrounding research projects between UK and US initiative covered areas ranging from synthetic biology, and helped to articulate researchers in the emerging field of biological and chemical engineering to some important questions for those synthetic biology – a new approach to plant biology and sociology. developing the field. engineering biology. The Sandpit concept was subsequently In 2009, EPSRC co-invested in the Centre adopted by the NSF and by other UK for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at research councils – inspired by the Imperial College London under its Science creative thinking it unlocked. and Innovation Awards initiative (see page 18). The centre is developing the foundational tools for synthetic biology and using these to generate innovative biological applications in healthcare and industry. In 2013, EPSRC invested in the SynbiCITE Innovation and Knowledge Centre (see page 18), led by Imperial College London. With funding from BBSRC and the Technology Strategy Board (now Innovate UK), the centre aims to serve as a national resource integrating university and industry-based research in synthetic biology and to accelerate this into industrial processes and products. It also functions as a vehicle for the support of UK SMEs and start- up companies. Since its formation, the centre has generated over £4.5 million in additional research income. In 2014, a multidisciplinary UK/US research team published Synthetic Aesthetics, a book resulting from their project of the same name emerging from the 2009 Sandpit event. The book explores synthetic biology and the design of living systems, using design and art as a way to open up the discussion.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 October 2: Rio de Janeiro is elected as host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics 48 commissioned by EPSRC and Dstl, which includes research into converting and storing other sources of energy such as solar power and body heat. In 2011, Professor Bell and colleagues at Leeds launched Ionix Advanced Technologies Ltd to commercialise the research. The company focuses on a range of devices Sky science based on high-temperature piezoelectric materials which could transform industry’s In 2009, research by EPSRC-sponsored ability to electronically monitor and interact engineers at Queen’s University Belfast’s with extreme environments. Institute of Electronics, Communications The products’ potential market in industries and Information Technology (ECIT), led by such as aerospace, oil and gas and nuclear Cleared for take off Raymond Dickie, an Engineering Doctorate power is estimated at more than £500 million student funded by EPSRC, developed per annum. In 2009, one of the most sophisticated a high performance filter that will allow In 2014, Ionix received funding from Innovate aircraft simulators ever created – designed weather forecasters to make more UK to accelerate the commercialisation of to mimic the flight deck of supersonic accurate predictions. its products. aircraft Concorde – was officially re- The filters will be installed in European commissioned at Brooklands Museum in Space Agency satellites for launch between Surrey, four decades after the first British 2018 and 2020, and will enable more The thick of it Concorde made its maiden flight. accurate global weather forecasts to In 2009, an EPSRC- The simulator was brought back to life be compiled. funded team at thanks to an EPSRC-supported public The filters will also help to provide important Imperial College engagement project led by a team from new insights into climate change. London’s Department the University of Surrey and involving of Chemistry Cancer ECIT’s research on Frequency Selective experts from XPI Simulation and dozens of Cells, led by EPSRC Surface structures has led to major advances museum volunteers. Postdoctoral Fellow in the design and manufacture of the next Today, the simulator helps explain to Dr Marina Kuimova generation of Earth observation satellites. visitors the roles played by advanced (pictured), showed how cancer cells technologies, and especially airframe and become ‘gloopy’ or viscous as they die – engine aerodynamics, in making Concorde a discovery which could lead to a better the world’s only successful supersonic understanding of how to treat cancer. passenger transport. In 2009, Dr Kuimova won the Roscoe The simulator, one of only two in the world, Medal for Chemistry at the SET for cost £3 million in 1975 (equivalent to over Britain awards, a national competition £30 million today). aimed at raising the profile of early-stage researchers. In 2010, Dr Kuimova was awarded a five-year EPSRC Career Acceleration Well above average Fellowship to continue her viscosity- In 2009, a three-year study of over Zappy feet related research. 7,000 academic journal articles showed In 2009, a team of engineers at the University In 2012, she received the Royal Society of that EPSRC-supported researchers of Leeds, led by Professor Andrew Bell, Chemistry’s Harrison-Meldola Memorial achieve a higher than average citation developed a system to convert foot power into Prize for her pioneering studies in the rate of 1.6 compared to a UK average of battery power for use by foot soldiers. The spectroscopy and imaging of biological 1.4 and a world average of only 1.0. system could reduce the weight of troops’ materials. The higher rating reflected the impact packs by up to 10 kilogrammes. The devices In 2014, Dr Kuimova was awarded the that EPSRC-supported researchers use high-tech piezoelectric transducers to International Union of Pure and Applied have and also highlighted how convert mechanical stress into electricity. Physics C6 Young Scientist Prize in competitive EPSRC-funded research The project was part of a larger programme recognition of her exceptional achievement is internationally. of research called the ‘battery free soldier’, in the field of biological physics.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 February 1: The wreck of the British warship HMS Victory is discovered in the English Channel 49 2010 Anti-heroes

In 2010, after years of The ALPHA project breakthrough came way for the later trapping experiments and research, Professor Mike after a period of more than 15 years, during now the detailed studies of their properties. Charlton (pictured) and which EPSRC supported teams from the The 2002 breakthrough had been made his team in the Physics physics departments of the universities of possible thanks to EPSRC support for the Department at Swansea Swansea, Liverpool and Manchester. Swansea team over the previous six years, University made the first- Mike Charlton says: “This was the particularly through the development of ever direct measurement culmination of many years of effort for a positron accumulator – a vital piece of of an atom of pure anti- the Swansea team and our colleagues. equipment that enabled the breakthrough. hydrogen – the simplest form of antimatter. EPSRC support helped us to put our Built in the UK before being shipped over This was no easy task. When matter and teams together and also paid for specialist and installed at CERN, the accumulator antimatter come into contact they instantly equipment. EPSRC has been by far the was able to collect around 100 million annihilate each other, making it very tricky largest source of support for this work positrons every three minutes, for use in to keep an atom of anti-hydrogen around in the UK.” anti-hydrogen experiments. long enough to look at it. In 1996, EPSRC was the first national In 2013, EPSRC announced further support But the team, part of the wider ALPHA research council anywhere in Europe to for Mike Charlton’s team, this time for experiment at CERN seeking to make commit to the ATHENA project at CERN, Dr Niels Madsen, a Reader in Physics at detailed observations of anti-hydrogen, which aimed to produce large amounts of Swansea University’s College of Science. developed a technique using magnetic anti-hydrogen atoms for the first time. A £1.66 million grant will fund experiments fields to trap anti-atoms for up to half an Mike Charlton says: “EPSRC took a chance to trap anti-hydrogen atoms for still longer hour (“an eternity for physicists” according in funding this highly speculative project in periods of time, and to carry out further to Mike Charlton), and easily long enough 1996. But its support acted as a catalyst, precision measurements of them. EPSRC for them to be studied. persuading other countries to contribute to support for the Swansea team’s research At stake in all this is nothing less than an the ATHENA consortium. EPSRC’s faith in will continue at least up to 2017. understanding of why the universe exists the project was key to the success of this Antimatter has long been a staple of at all. The picture that we have of how the international collaboration.” science fiction. We may not be about to universe began suggests that there should Given that CERN was the only place where see Star Trek-style warp engines any time have been equal amounts of matter and research in this area could be carried out, soon, but thanks to Mike Charlton’s team antimatter created in the Big Bang. The EPSRC’s support included a large number we may soon be able to understand some lack of antimatter that we can see in the of travel grants, in addition to capital and fundamental aspects of the universe. universe is a mystery. other investments. Mike Charlton says: “The epoch of By studying antimatter atoms, we may In 2002, the ATHENA consortium, within EPSRC support for this project, and its come to discover some of the tiny but which Mike Charlton’s team played a pivotal farsightedness in backing it when there fundamental asymmetries between role, achieved the world’s first controlled was no guarantee that anyone else would, particles of matter and antimatter, which production of anti-hydrogen atoms. Though is a remarkable story in itself.” may explain why they didn’t just cancel the atoms only lasted for a fraction of a themselves out after the Big Bang, leaving second before annihilation, this paved the a universe with nothing in it.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 4: The US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removes HIV infection from its list of 50 communicable diseases of public health significance PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 February 24: News reports indicate that Europe risks a double-dip recession after bad results emerge from France, Germany and Italy, with the 51 Eurozone only growing by 0.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2009 2010

Graft masters

In 2010, ApaTech, an award-winning spin innovative technology from a UK university In 2009, by now an acknowledged leader in out company launched to commercialise can be developed and commercialised synthetic bone materials for orthopaedic EPSRC-supported research by medical on a global scale. Several successful and dental applications, with a major materials engineer Dr Karin Hing and venture capital investment rounds manufacturing plant in the UK and growing Professor William Bonfield at Queen underpinned significant expansion of the sales world-wide, ApaTech generated sales Mary, University of London, was acquired business including new manufacturing of around US$60 million. capacity. These enabled it to continue by global healthcare company Baxter In the same year, the company was ranked the development of its lead products, International for US$330 million. number two in The Sunday Times Tech particularly its bone graft substitute, The company was formed in 2001 with Track 100 Fastest Growing Private Medical Actifuse, which was successfully marketed an initial investment of £3 million to in Europe, the United States and other Technology Companies listing. commercialise pioneering research into select sectors around the world. In 2009, ApaTech was named fastest- synthetic bone substitutes. In 2007, ApaTech won the Business growing company in its category by The research, which led to a form of Initiative Award at the Times Higher Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 for Europe, bone graft with enhanced structure and Education Supplement awards. the Middle East and Asia. chemistry to boost healing, was developed In 2008, ApaTech received the Research In 2011, Dr Karin Hing, a senior lecturer at the EPSRC-supported Interdisciplinary and Development Award at the Tech Track at Queen Mary, University of London, Research Centre in Biomedical Materials at awards, in recognition of the innovative received a Royal Academy of Engineering Queen Mary, University of London. and ground-breaking research which has Silver Medal for her role as the ‘technical ApaTech became an object lesson in how underpinned the company’s growth. linchpin’ behind ApaTech.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 April 20: The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers, resulting in one of the largest oil spills in history 52 Manufacturing the future

In 2010, the first three state-of-the- centres’ directors hail from industry, or art EPSRC Centres for Innovative have a strong industrial background. Manufacturing (CIMs) were launched under Some CIMs are focused on future a new £70 million EPSRC investment to products such as composites, food and help UK businesses develop the technology pharma that will be especially important products of the future and underpin to the UK, and some investigate manufacturing growth. production technologies and how they Specifically the centres were tasked with scale up, such as additive manufacturing enabling the commercial development of and automation. the key discoveries in university-based EPSRC works very closely with Innovate manufacturing research. UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Based at Southampton, Loughborough and Board). The CIMs and Innovate UK’s EPSRC currently invests £80 million Brunel universities, the EPSRC Centres Catapults – technology innovation centres every year in UK manufacturing research focused respectively on research into – have a particularly close symbiosis, – mainly through its Manufacturing the photonics, regenerative medicine and liquid often overlapping. The Catapults tackle Future initiative. This programme has a metals for reuse and recycling. the problems of today, EPSRC Centres for portfolio of 230 projects representing an The new EPSRC Centres built on the Innovative Manufacturing research the investment of over £350 million in cutting- success of the Innovative Manufacturing solutions of the future. edge work at the UK’s leading universities, Research Centre (IMRC) funding model, Between them, the CIMs and Catapults and through collaboration with over in place from 2001 until 2009, which saw cover more than 20 core fields of science, 600 companies, which have contributed a 18 university-based centres receive an engineering and business. Together they further £136 million. initial block grant for five years, with are tackling key challenges for modern Together, the manufacturing researchers potential for up to a further five years. industry, including automation, the supported by EPSRC and the business By 2014, the number of EPSRC Centres for digital economy, future cities, continuous partners they work with help decide which Innovative Manufacturing across the UK pharmaceutical manufacture, food, products and production methodologies had grown to 16, covering subject areas satellites, industrial sustainability, the UK should focus on, and work out how ranging from liquid metal manufacturing graphene engineering, sustainable to link the UK’s network of people and to additive manufacturing. Many of these feedstocks and much more. manufacturing processes.

38 billion litres of urine are produced by Pee power humans and farm animals worldwide – the In 2010, EPSRC awarded a four-year Career energy from which, they have shown, could Acceleration Fellowship to Dr Ioannis potentially be harnessed by scaling up Ieropoulos, from the Bristol Robotics MFCs into stacks. Laboratory (BRL), a University of Bristol/ Another aspect of the research is the use of University of the West England research waste from oxygen-producing organisms, facility, to develop his research into how such as algae, within a self-sustaining waste could be used by microbial fuel system through which the bacteria use cells (MFCs) to generate energy. Live their own waste to produce energy. investigating generating electricity from microorganisms inside the fuel cell process In 2013, claiming a world-first, Dr Ieropoulos urine and wastewater for countries of the the waste to produce electricity. and BRL colleagues used urine to produce developing world. The project is also funded By 2010, the BRL team had already electricity to charge a mobile phone, by EPSRC. launched the third generation of EcoBot, a generating enough power to enable the Dr Ieropoulos says: “Not only is the robot which can power itself by digesting phone to be used to make a brief call, send technology we are developing a means of waste. The early stage work of this text messages and browse the internet. electricity generation, it can also improve research was funded by EPSRC. In 2014, the Bill & Melinda Gates sanitation. The work carried out under A unique aspect of the team’s research Foundation awarded US$100,000 to BRL the EPSRC grant is primarily focused is the use of urine as a waste material under the Grand Challenges Explorations at developing this technology for the to power the MFCs. Every day, around Scheme to fund the Urine-tricity project developed world.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 15: Aged just 16, Australian teenager Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world solo 53 2010

In 2014, the partnership between EPSRC Ashok Roy, Director of Collections at the State of the art and the National Gallery led to EPSRC National Gallery, says:“We expect we will be funding the purchase of a new state-of- able to acquire very high resolution images In 2010, the hidden secrets of some of the-art high-tech easel that makes it in various parts of the spectrum that the world’s most famous paintings were possible to examine great works of art in would be unobtainable without this revealed, thanks to a partnership between unprecedented detail. technology, so it is a real advance in our EPSRC and the National Gallery. The computer-controlled easel is capable imaging capabilities.” A state-of-the-art gas chromatography- of safely holding a very large painting and The easel helped inspire part of the 2014 mass spectrometer (GC-MS), funded by moving it in minute steps to make the most Making Colour exhibition, through which EPSRC, helped specialists in the National of the latest digital technology. National Gallery visitors were able to get Gallery’s science department study the Identifying the materials used as pigments involved in an interactive experiment that organic chemistry of old master paintings provides information on aspects such will feed into future research on human to understand how paintings were made as the age of a picture and the painting colour perception. and how they have changed over time. technique used. In painstaking investigations, the scientists Scientists and other researchers at the Nobel achievement used GC-MS to study the characterisation National Gallery are using digital imaging and composition of paint binding media, to build up a high resolution image of In 2010, Professor Andre Geim and additions to paint media such as resins, paintings to learn about their structure, the Dr Konstantin Novoselov, who were and the composition of old varnishes. way they are made and what needs to be the first to isolate wonder-material graphene, in 2004, were awarded the The ground-breaking project culminated done for their preservation. Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. in the first major exhibition of its kind in The easel will open up opportunities to try (see pages 4-7). summer 2010 and also featured in Pioneer. out new types of research.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 4: Anti-government protests in Tunisia and later other Arab nations begin. These protests become known collectively as the Arab Spring 54 Calculating carbon They also used the process with In 2010, mayonnaise – creating a five per cent fat a carbon version which tastes as good as the full-fat calculator one – and with porridge. software tool The low-fat chocolate bar, which melts developed at 32-34 degrees Celsius, was created by by chemical bonding water particles with crystals of engineers led by Professor Adisa Azapagic cocoa butter. A similar technique was used at The University of Manchester won as a way to lower salt content in foods by major awards from the chemical industry, up to 80 per cent. including the Outstanding Achievement in Chocolate heaven Chemical and Process Engineering prize at While at Unilever, Professor Norton was the IChemE 2010 awards. an inventor on more than 60 granted In 2010, EPSRC-supported researchers at patents leading to many new and innovative The team’s CCaLC carbon calculator helps the University of Birmingham, overseen products, including Flora Light and companies measure and reduce their by Professor Ian Norton, previously Chief Chicken Tonight. carbon footprint at minimum cost and has been developed in collaboration with a Scientist at Unilever, created a low-fat In 2014, Professor Norton holds four range of industry partners. chocolate which is 60 per cent water – EPSRC food-related grants. He also co- claiming it tastes as good as a normal bar. leads the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Professor Azapagic, who leads the The team replaced fat in foods with calorie- Manufacturing in Food and the Centre for Sustainable Industrial Systems research free substances such as water, air or gel. Sustainable Energy use in Food Chains. group at The University of Manchester, is world-renowned for her work on life cycle sustainability analysis. In 2011, CCaLC won the GSK Innovation Icy attraction Award, from the prestigious Chemical Industries Association. In 2009, an EPSRC- The research dates back to 1997, when In 2013, Professor Azapagic is co-director supported team at Steve Bramwell, working with Mark Harris, of the newly-formed £7.5 million Centre the London Centre from the Science and Technology Facilities for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains, for Nanotechnology Council, discovered the unusual magnetic funded by the Research Councils UK material ‘spin ice’, drawing attention to at University College Energy Programme, led by EPSRC. In the certain similarities found within water ice. London (UCL), led same year she was elected a Fellow of the by Professor Steve In 2010, Professor Bramwell was awarded Royal Academy of Engineering. Bramwell (pictured), the Holweck Medal and Prize for pioneering discovered ‘magnetricity’ – the magnetic new concepts in the experimental equivalent of electricity. and theoretical study of spin systems. Critical chemistry By proving the existence of currents of Two years later he was a co-recipient atom-sized ‘magnetic charges’, that behave of the prestigious Europhysics Prize In 2010, a report by leading economic and interact just like electric charges, the for condensed matter physics, for the forecasting consultancy Oxford UCL team won the Research Project of prediction and measurement of magnetic Economics, commissioned by EPSRC the Year prize at the 2010 Times Higher monopoles in spin ice. and the Royal Society of Chemistry, revealed that one in every five pounds Education awards. In 2014, Professor Bramwell led an in the UK economy is dependent on In the same year, Professor Bramwell was EPSRC-supported team who demonstrated developments in chemistry research. named by The Times on its list of the the surprising properties of thin films of Industries reliant on chemistry 100 top UK scientists. spin ice. contributed £258 billion to the UK The pioneering research, which revealed an The team’s research opens up new economy in 2007 – equivalent to unexpected symmetry between electricity possibilities for the control and 21 per cent of UK GDP – and supported and magnetism, could lead to new and manipulation of magnetricity and magnetic six million jobs, accounting for at unusual magnetic material properties, with monopoles in spin ice. This could lead to least 15 per cent of the UK’s exported potential applications in technology, such a number of applications; for example, goods and attracting significant as in ‘magnetic memory’ storage devices or magnetic technology in computer hard inward investment. for use in future computer memory. disks is often based on thin magnetic films.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 20: Scientists announce they have created a functional synthetic genome 55 2011

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 56 Bright lights

In 2011, UK semiconductor manufacturer, of gallium nitride. In 1997, that wasn’t LED light beam, opening up a new field Plessey, purchased University of Cambridge at all clear.” of complementary wireless networking spin out company, CamGaN, founded In 2000, Professor Humphreys was technology with numerous advantages, by Professor Sir Colin Humphreys to instrumental in setting up The Cambridge including energy efficiency and security. commercialise his ground-breaking Centre for Gallium Nitride, which EPSRC The term li-fi was coined by its inventor, research into gallium nitride (GaN), a has supported ever since, with grants Professor Harald Haas, an EPSRC- remarkable man-made material jointly to him and to Professor Phil Dawson supported scientist at the University of with enormous potential. at The University of Manchester. The centre Edinburgh and recipient of a 2014 EPSRC Plessey then set up a factory in Plymouth works with UK universities and a range of RISE leadership award in recognition of his to make millions of GaN LEDs every week, industrial partners to investigate GaN’s achievements. Professor Martin Dawson using a process developed at the EPSRC- unusual properties and develop its myriad at the University of Strathclyde has an supported Cambridge Centre for Gallium possible applications. EPSRC Programme Grant to develop li-fi, in collaboration with Professor Humphreys. Nitride to make a new generation of low- In specialist applications, GaN could cost, low carbon, long-life LED lighting have a transformative effect. New cancer Colin Humphreys says: “We had no idea of bulbs which could have a dramatic impact therapies are being developed which some of these applications even 12 months on carbon emissions, among will use GaN devices to show where the ago. Gallium nitride is a good example other applications and benefits. edges of tumours are, so that X-rays of a material where its possible uses Professor Humphreys says: “If everyone can be focused on them much more can mushroom, once you have a proper switched to GaN LEDs, we would halve the accurately. GaN could also be instrumental understanding of how it behaves. amount of electricity used in lighting. This in developing new therapies which use “For example, just by mimicking sunlight, would reduce the world’s total electricity protons, rather than X-rays, to zap cancer GaN LED lights have positive effects. We consumption by 10 per cent. GaN LEDs cells. This work has been initiated by know that patients on the sunnier side of a also have a longer lifetime and typically Professor Bruce Hamilton at The University ward get better quicker. And schools with only need replacing after 60 years of of Manchester in collaboration with higher quality lighting get better results.” household use.” Professor Humphreys. In 2014, the Nobel Prize in Physics was As is often the case, getting to the Deep ultra-violet GaN light could be used shared by Japanese scientists Isamu point where GaN LEDs can be made for water purification in the developing Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji commercially has largely been about world, as it has been shown to kill all Nakamura for their invention of blue LEDs. getting costs down. The Cambridge centre’s known viruses and bacteria. In hospitals, Colin Humphreys and his team are building breakthrough was in working out a way of it could be used to wipe out bacteria such on this important work. The deal with growing GaN-based semiconductors for as MRSA. Shining a GaN ultra-violet light Plessey is an integral part of the vision. LEDs on silicon wafers, which are much around a ward could be enough to kill any Commenting on GaN LEDs’ potential for less expensive than the sapphire that was bugs lurking there. affordable low-carbon lighting, Professor used before. Getting to that point depends In the world of computing, gallium nitride Humphreys says: “It’s very important to upon a profound understanding of how GaN could be deployed in the optical computers us that this research will be exploited in behaves, built up over years of research. of tomorrow, which would use photons the UK. If we had stopped at the research In 1997, an EPSRC grant helped rather than electrons, making much faster stage, our work would probably have been Professor Humphreys to identify the processing speeds possible. picked up and commercialised overseas. particular potential of gallium nitride, With the extraordinary growth of wi-fi, the “This way, we can create more jobs in a among a number of other promising current wavelengths it uses will soon be low-employment part of the country and semiconductors. He says: “EPSRC should saturated. But GaN could be used to create potentially turn Britain into a major centre be congratulated on seeing the importance a kind of ‘li-fi’ – wi-fi provided through an for better, greener lighting.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 15: Wikipedia, the free internet encyclopedia, turns 10 years old 57 2011 Autonomous thinking Tag team In 2011, Dr Sithamparanathan Sabesan and Dr Michael Crisp, from the University of Cambridge, won prizes at the inaugural ICT Pioneers competition. The annual competition, which EPSRC coordinates on behalf of sponsor companies such as Microsoft, recognises the most exceptional UK doctoral students in topics related to Information & Communications Technology (ICT). The duo went on to receive a Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) ERA Foundation Entrepreneurship Award, together with project partner Boeing, for research into a low-cost location-sensing system that could save airlines and retailers millions of pounds. The team’s research, which uses a form of radio tagging, was developed as part of the five-year The INtelligent Airport (TINA) project, funded by EPSRC and Boeing. The TINA project focused on the development of a next-generation advanced wireless network to In 2011, Autonomy while at Cambridge, served as CEO of meet the requirements of future Corporation plc was sold Autonomy for over 15 years and is widely ‘intelligent’ airports for both fixed for £7.1 billion to US regarded as Britain’s most successful and mobile appliances. computing giant Hewlett technology entrepreneur. Packard. It was the He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of largest takeover of a Engineering, and a scientific adviser to the FTSE 100 company since UK Prime Minister. He was elected a Fellow Brightest light Kraft bought out Cadbury for £13 billion of the Royal Society in April 2014. early in 2010. In 2011, the brightest gamma ray In 2012, Dr Lynch was inducted into Founded in 1996 by Dr Mike Lynch to beam ever created – over a thousand the Digital Hall of Fame, alongside Tim commercialise his EPSRC-funded PhD billion times more brilliant than Berners-Lee, Warren East and Stephen Fry. thesis in mathematical computing at the sun – was produced in EPSRC- the University of Cambridge, in 16 years In the same year he joined the advisory supported research led by Professor Autonomy became the UK’s biggest pure board of Tech City’s Investment Committee. Dino Jaroszynski at the University software company, with nearly 2,000 He is also an adviser to the Prince’s Trust of Strathclyde. employees in the UK, and a world leader Technology Group. The device, which can produce laser in allowing computers to harness the full In 2013, Dr Lynch co-founded Invoke pulses lasting a quadrillionth of a richness of human information. Capital, a technology fund vehicle second, is smaller and less costly Over 90 per cent of Fortune 1,000 dedicated to unlocking the potential of than more conventional sources of companies are Autonomy customers and European technology. gamma rays, a form of X-ray. more than two billion people rely on the In 2013, Invoke made its first investment, in Potential uses for the device include company’s software every day. Darktrace, a cyber-security company based applications in medical imaging, Dr Lynch (pictured), who held a research on ground-breaking mathematical research radiotherapy and PET scanning. fellowship in adaptive pattern recognition at the University of Cambridge.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 March 11: A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing 15,840 people and leaving another 3,926 missing 58 EPSRC sponsorship of the project began has developed a new generation of strong, Life savers in 2006, but the windpipe for Andemariam flexible biocompatible polymers suitable for Beyene was ‘designed’ and grown in just use in human patients. two weeks. His materials have been used in a range Professor Seifalian’s team worked around of world-firsts, including transplants of the clock to build the polymer windpipe. It trachea, nose, ear and tear duct. They are was then taken by doctoral student Claire also poised to find application in artificial Crowley, a key member of the development blood vessels, opening up potentially team, to Karolinska University in Sweden vast markets. where it was ‘seeded’ with the patient’s In 2013, Claire Crowley visited Andemariam own cells by a team led by Professor Beyene in Iceland, where he was alive and Paolo Macchiarini. well and in his final year as a PhD geology In 2011, surgeons in Sweden carried out The full biological trachea was grown in student at the national university. a bioreactor specially designed for the the world’s first synthetic organ transplant In 2014, Professor Seifalian (pictured, with procedure by Harvard Bioscience. using a windpipe ‘grown’ from the patient’s Claire Crowley) began work on two three- stem cells. The artificial trachea was successfully year EPSRC-supported projects in the field Without the new windpipe, the patient, transplanted during a 15-hour operation of regenerative medicine, in partnership Andemariam Beyene, from Eritrea, whose by Professor Macchiarini, who holds an with Pharmidex Pharmaceutical Services. own windpipe had been blocked by an honorary appointment at University College One project in particular, in partnership inoperable tumour the size of a golf ball, London, and who worked with Professor with Biomer Technology Ltd, includes would have died. He had been given just Seifalian on the design and development building a custom-made 3D bio-printer two weeks to live – not long enough to find of the trachea scaffold using a material with multi-printing heads and an a donor. known as a novel nanocomposite polymer. environmental chamber which can print The artificial organ was designed and Over the past two decades, with funding ‘live’ tubular organs with trachea as an developed by a multidisciplinary team led from EPSRC and the Wellcome Trust, and exemplar. This project has paved the way to by Professor Alex Seifalian at University drawing inspiration from natural structures printing a range of artificial organs to meet College London. such as butterfly wings, Professor Seifalian individual patient needs.

another. By analysing the collection of light of making stainless steel surfaces become Whisky a scattered from the whisky, the researchers resistant to bacteria, and also stronger. no-go were able to diagnose the sample. By introducing silver or copper into the steel surface (rather than coating it on to In 2011, using a ray Using this sample, the team were able to the surface), the researchers developed of light the width of a investigate and discriminate single malt an innovative technique that not only kills human hair, a team Scotch whiskies based on brand, age and bacteria but also makes the surface very of researchers at the even which cask had been used. hard and resistant to wear and tear University of The chip used in the study was originally St Andrews during cleaning. employed to detect bio-analytes in developed a Bacteria resistant surfaces could be biomedical studies. new method for used in hospitals to prevent the spread testing whether of superbug infections on stainless a whisky is genuine. steel surfaces, as well as for medical The method can work out the brand, age equipment, for example, instruments and even which cask was used to create a and implants. single malt, from a sample no bigger than The technology developed by Professor a teardrop. Dong and his team could also be adapted The patented research, subsequently for use in the food industry and in presented to the drinks industry, which loses domestic and professional kitchens. millions annually to counterfeit producers, In 2013, Professor Dong was awarded was carried out by physicists Praveen Ashok, a £230,000 grant from the Commission Kishan Dholakia and Bavishna Praveen. of the European Communities to The project involved researchers placing develop innovative plasma surface a tiny amount of whisky on a transparent Steely resolve alloying technologies. plastic chip no bigger than a credit card. In 2014, Professor Dong is director of the Using optical fibres the width of a human In 2011, materials scientists at the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in hair, the whisky sample is illuminated University of Birmingham, led by Professor Innovative Metal Processing based at the by light using one fibre, and collected by Hanshan Dong, devised an innovative way University of Birmingham.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 September 22: CERN scientists erroneously announce their discovery of neutrinos breaking the speed of light 59 2011

The car that drives itself

In 2011, EPSRC-sponsored researchers in this area. Paul Newman puts things the cars to find their way. The researchers from the University of Oxford equipped a succinctly: “If it moves, mobile autonomy explain that such systems cannot provide modified Bowler Wildcat off-road vehicle has a role to play.” the coverage, precision and reliability (pictured) with technology to help it ‘see’ the The team’s innovative navigation software autonomous cars need to safely navigate. world around it, and enable it to drive itself, can be applied to surveying, mining, Crucially, GPS also fails to tell a robotic car without any human intervention. One day warehousing and agriculture, and it has anything about its surroundings. this technology could help cut down on road already been licensed for use on the The technology is controlled from an iPad accidents and traffic congestion, which cost European Space Agency’s ExoMARS project. on the dashboard, and at any time a tap the UK economy more than £4.3 billion a on the brake pedal returns control to the year, or £491 per car-commuting household. MRG’s initial research into autonomous vehicles, co-sponsored by EPSRC Strategic human driver. The project is part of research at the Partner BAE Systems, used a Bowler university’s Mobile Robotics Group (MRG) co- In 2014, Professors Newman and Posner Wildcat, based on a Land Rover Defender. led by Professor Paul Newman, an EPSRC formed a spin out company, Oxbotica, Now, working with Japanese manufacturer Leadership Fellow, and Professor Ingmar to commercialise their research, and to Posner, who say the low-cost technology Nissan, the team have installed their latest exploit the Mobile Robotics Group’s suite enabling the vehicle to drive itself could one technology in a Nissan Leaf electric car, of intellectual property and know-how day be a feature on all cars. which gives a glimpse of what driving an developed over a decade of research. In ‘autonomous’ car of the future might be like. The research group use the mathematics the same year, Professor Newman was of probability and estimation to enable The car’s low-cost in-car navigation system awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Academy computers in cars and robots to interpret uses 3D laser mapping, and can recognise of Engineering. data from cameras, radars and lasers, aerial its surroundings using small cameras and In 2014, Innovate UK (formerly known photos and road plans. lasers discreetly built into the vehicle’s body as the Technology Strategy Board) The group have been at the cutting edge of and linked to a computer in the boot. invested £250,000 in Oxbotica to develop research into infrastructure-free navigation Unlike the automated technology that has a production-feasible prototype of a low (i.e. navigation without GPS) for over a already found its way into some production cost, infrastructure free (without GPS), decade, and are acknowledged leaders cars, the system does not rely on GPS for 3D imaging device.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 October 31: The world population reaches seven billion inhabitants according to the United Nations 60 3D chocolate heaven

In 2011, to showcase ground-breaking 3D printing technology, a team of scientists at the University of Exeter, led by Dr Liang Hao, unveiled the world’s first chocolate printer using know-how that could revolutionise the retail industry. Slope sensors As well as the life-saving implications for An EPSRC-produced YouTube video of the countries prone to disastrous landslides, printer in action has since received In 2011, an early warning system to the technique can be used in monitoring 650,000 hits. warn of landslides, developed by an the condition of potentially unstable slopes Dr Hao and his team were the first to EPSRC-supported team at Loughborough built to support transport infrastructure, develop a way of applying 3D printing University led by Professor Neil Dixon, won such as rail and road embankments, in to chocolate, which is a challenging The Engineer magazine’s Civil Engineering developed countries such as the UK. material to work with because it Award at its annual awards. In 2012, Professor Neil Dixon received a requires accurate control of viscosity Thought to be the first of its kind in the follow-on EPSRC research grant to develop and temperature conditions. world, the Slope ALARMS detection system, a revised lower power design of the Slope Dr Hao says: “In future this kind of developed through a collaboration between ALARMS sensor. technology will allow people to produce Loughborough University, Geotechnical and design many other products such as In 2013, Professor Dixon began work on a Observations and the British Geological jewellery or household goods. Eventually multidisciplinary, multi-partner EPSRC- Survey, is a network of sensors buried we may see many mass-produced products funded project investigating the sustainable across the hillside or embankment that replaced by unique designs created by the presents a risk of collapse. The sensors, management of embankment slopes. customer. We also envisage consumers acting as microphones in the subsoil, The project is led by Professor Stephanie owning their own 3D printers.” Glendenning from Newcastle University, record the acoustic activity of the soil In 2012, Dr Liang Hao founded Choc Edge across the slope and each transmits a a key member of the Assessing the Ltd, to develop and sell its unique 3D signal to a central computer for analysis. Underworld project (see page 17). chocolate printer developed under the research project. Interviewed in 2012, Dr Hao said: ”The initial Twitter tracks flu worldwide interest in creative and bespoke 3D chocolate products was enormous… By In 2011, a study by the microblogging service of Twitter to next Easter, consumers will be able to order researchers at the investigate two scenarios: levels of rainfall their own, personalised Easter eggs along University of Bristol in a given location and time using the with other chocolate gifts.” used social media, content of tweets; and regional flu-like In 2013, the company launched Choc such as Facebook illness rates from tweets to find out if an Creator V2, a more sophisticated and and microblogging epidemic was emerging. efficient design, and created a chocolate services like Twitter, Professor Nello Cristianini, who led the printer hub to develop a community of to track events or research, says: “Twitter, in particular, people engaged in 3D chocolate printing. phenomena such as encourages its 200 million users worldwide The technology featured on popular TV show flu outbreaks and to make their posts publicly available as The Gadget Man, hosted by Stephen Fry, who rainfall rates. well as tagged with the user’s location. held a high-tech dinner party for friends. The research “Our research has demonstrated a method, In 2014, Choc Creator V2 was highly rated in geo-tagged by using the content of Twitter, to track an a special Christmas party edition of Channel user posts on event when it occurs and its scale.” 5’s The Gadget Show.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 April 29: An estimated two billion people watch the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey 61 2012 The art of science

In 2012, Dr Simon Colton, an Dr Colton (pictured), an Artificial in print and on television, including BBC’s EPSRC Leadership Fellow Intelligence researcher specialising in Horizon and newspapers such as the based at Imperial College questions of computational creativity, Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, El Pais and who today leads Goldsmith University’s London, was nominated El Mundo. Computational Creativity Group, has for a prestigious World The Observer carried a wide-ranging programmed the Painting Fool to Technology Arts Award feature on the Painting Fool, whose work recognise human emotions and create for his work with The Painting Fool, a original paintings, in a variety of styles. has been exhibited in five group exhibitions computer programme he developed that The hope is that one day it will be taken in London, Brussels, Paris and Lisbon. paints original artwork inspired by what seriously as an artist in its own right. In 2013, The Painting Fool turned his it sees. The pictures in this article are Dr Colton’s work has been covered widely creative talents to poetry, drawing his examples of the Painting Fool’s handiwork. by the UK and international media, both inspiration from news stories.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 February 6: Queen Elizabeth II marks her 60th anniversary as British monarch 62 PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 February 28: Discovery of the largest prehistoric penguin, Kairuku grebneffi, at nearly 5ft tall 63 2012 Meet the MASER

In 2012, pioneering technology that makes it possible for the from 2004-2009, to investigate microwave research by maser to function at room temperature, dielectric materials, and a six-year EPSRC-sponsored and without the need for an external Programme Grant in 2009 to develop scientists revived magnet. The breakthrough meant the cost nanostructured materials for energy the fortunes of the to manufacture and operate masers could efficient refrigeration, energy harvesting MASER (Microwave be dramatically reduced. This paves the and production of hydrogen from water. Amplification way for their widespread adoption. In 2005, among notable achievements Stimulated Emission Potential applications for the maser include related to his microwave-based research, of Radiation), more sensitive medical scanners; chemical Professor Alford led the development a cousin of the sensors for remotely detecting explosives; of technology that uses heat delivered ubiquitous laser, first developed nearly advanced quantum computer components; by microwaves to destroy liver tumours. 60 years ago. and better radio astronomy devices for The EPSRC-funded research team, from Despite predating the laser by five years, potentially detecting life on other planets. London South Bank University and the the maser has had little technological Professor Alford says: “When lasers were University of Bath, found that by heating impact – primarily because it was invented, no one knew exactly how they cancer cells to around 80 degrees Celsius inconvenient to use. would be used; yet they are now ubiquitous. (much higher than previous microwave Masers, which use concentrated beams of There’s a long way to go before the maser treatments) a large region of necrosis – microwaves rather than intense beams of reaches that level, but our breakthrough cell death – can be generated. light, require high magnetic fields and sub- does mean this technology can start In 2007, Professor Alford was awarded a zero conditions to work. Hence for so long becoming more useful.” Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship; they were left out in the cold, only able to The research was funded by EPSRC in 2010, he was awarded Fellowship of the operate at temperatures close to absolute and, at NPL, through the UK’s National Royal Society of Chemistry; and in 2013 zero, minus 273 degrees Celsius – the Measurement Office, and builds on over received an MBE. same temperature as interstellar space. 20 years of consistently innovative EPSRC- In 2013, Professor Alford received a follow- Masers are used only in very specialised supported materials science research by on EPSRC grant to construct a maser applications such as atomic clocks and as Professor Alford. that can work at room temperature and in amplifiers in radiofrequency telescopes, Professor Alford says: “The work really the Earth’s magnetic field. The research but the results can be spectacular. For started with my first EPSRC grant, in 1995, team are exploring new materials that example, masers were responsible for the enabling me to carry out research into will miniaturise the maser, which will also stunning images of the solar system taken low microwave loss dielectrics. This was require very low power input to achieve the by the Voyager spacecraft. followed by a small feasibility study, also threshold required for masing. The researchers, from Imperial College funded by EPSRC, which ultimately led As director of materials at Imperial, London, led by Professor Neil Alford to the maser.” Professor Alford’s knowledge is sought (pictured), and Dr Mark Oxborrow, formerly Over 20 years Professor Alford has been after, and in 2013 he advised Apple on of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) supported by more than 40 EPSRC grants, suitable screen materials for its and now at Imperial, demonstrated new including consecutive Platform Grants, iPhone 6 mobile phone.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 April 10: Apple claims a value of US$600 billion, making it the largest company by market capitalisation in the world 64 PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 27–August: The 2012 Summer Olympics are held in London 65 2012

Steel resolve

In 2012, The British Steel, which became Corus Group, formerly known as super-bainite, the Engineering Doctorate was later sold to Tata Steel, one of EPSRC’s brainchild of Professor Harry Bhadeshia (EngD), EPSRC’s Strategic Partners. at the University of Cambridge. Professor innovative doctoral Interviewed in 2002, Martin Brunnock Bhadeshia’s research has been supported training programme said: “The benefit of still being involved by EPSRC and its predecessor, the Science where students and Engineering Research Council (SERC) in the scheme is that I can help mentor spend the majority of for over 20 years. His work with British and encourage new research engineers their time working in Steel led to the unique alloys used to make with my previous experience. It’s also a industry, turned 20 years old. the rails for the Channel Tunnel, Europe’s fantastic opportunity to be involved with busiest rail link. The EngD is a doctoral level qualification new research projects which are generally that involves a taught component and a at the forefront of technology.” Pavise, developed by Tata Steel in large, four-year research project defined partnership with the University of In 2012, EPSRC co-funded the new COATED by industry. Cambridge and the MoD, is twice as strong EngD centre at Swansea University, as the current product on the market. In addition to developing a new generation providing funding to recruit 21 EngD of industry-savvy doctoral students, Martin Brunnock says: “The technical students between 2012 and 2014. the relationship between university and expertise behind this material is nothing industrial sponsor provides a level of The range of research projects at COATED short of brilliant.” access to industry not normally available includes boron steel processing, car In 2014, Martin Brunnock is Technical to academics; it also enables companies, chassis fatigue performance, solar cell Director of Tata Steel’s Strip Products UK sectors and policymakers to be guided by development, life cycle analysis and division based in Port Talbot and Llanwern, the results of the research. recycling. The initial investment was Wales, one of the largest in Europe, followed two years later by further EPSRC On receiving his Engineering Doctorate producing five million tonnes of liquid funding for the COATED 2 initiative, which at Swansea University in 1997, Dr Martin steel per annum, and with a turnover of Brunnock (pictured) joined British Steel, will create 40 research doctorate posts at over £2 billion. the company which sponsored his EngD. Swansea University, focusing on generating The powertrain picture illustrating this A year later he was supervising a new crop energy through new coatings for materials. story is an award-winning photograph by of five research engineers from the EngD In 2013/14, the Swansea Tata plant received former EngD Steel Technology Research scheme. He has since risen through the over 200 major international orders for Engineer Ed Carter, who designed, drew company’s ranks. its lightweight armour steel, Pavise, and rendered up the image himself.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 July 30-31: In the worst power outage in world history, the 2012 India blackouts leave 620 million people without power 66 transfer experts. When a university and an SME identify an opportunity to work together, the IAA’s flexibility enables the university to react very quickly with the company and start the work right away, by drawing on IAA funding dedicated to them. A recent example of impact arising from IAA funding is a research project at the University of Bath. The team used their Impact Acceleration Account to accelerate the development of technology that could help monitor blood glucose control in diabetes patients and an array of age-related conditions, including Alzheimer’s. Working with leading medical device company, glySure Ltd, the Bath research team demonstrated a new technique that could be used in blood tests to detect Accelerating impact levels of ‘glycated proteins’ in blood and tissue samples. In 2012, EPSRC invested £60 million in bridge the gap between the lab and the The team’s method allows scientists to UK universities to help the country’s marketplace and help them become identify signature profiles of glycated most pioneering scientists and engineers better entrepreneurs. proteins linked to particular diabetic create successful businesses from their IAAs replaced EPSRC’s highly successful conditions. In the future the same method research, improve industrial collaboration Knowledge Transfer Account (KTA) and could be applied to new technologies to and foster greater entrepreneurship. Knowledge Transfer Secondment (KTS) screen for diseases like Alzheimer’s. The three-year initiative awarded ‘Impact schemes, which saw a step-change in In 2014, at the end of their first year there Acceleration Accounts’ (IAAs) ranging knowledge exchange and collaboration were 457 IAA projects, 152 secondments, from £600,000 to £6 million to over between universities, business and other 291 new company partners and 38 joint 30 universities across the UK. parties and generated significant material academic publications. The funding helps support the universities’ contributions from business. Contribution from business and other best scientists and engineers to build To exploit EPSRC’s research and training partners was £22 million, in addition to the even stronger collaborations with industry, portfolio, universities employ knowledge £20 million invested by EPSRC.

Clothing cleans High energy investment The additive contains microscopic pollution-eating particles, and clothes In 2012, EPSRC spearheaded a need to be washed in it just once, as the £40 million investment under the nanoparticles of titanium dioxide grip onto RCUK Energy Programme, which is led fabrics very tightly. by EPSRC. The investment included £20 million jointly with the National When the particles come into contact with Natural Science Foundation of China in nitrogen oxides in the air, they react with ‘smart’ power grids, which manage the these pollutants and oxidise them in supply and demand of power through the fabric. the national distribution network. The nitrogen oxides treated in this way EPSRC also led one of the biggest are odourless, colourless, and pose no Research Council low carbon energy pollution hazard. The method removes investments; contributing £26 million 5g of nitrogen oxides every day – equivalent in five new End Use Energy Demand to the daily amount produced by the research centres. The centres are average family car. investigating the complexities of energy In 2012, a collaboration between the Project co-leader, Professor Tony Ryan use across society and explore how University of Sheffield and London College OBE, of the University of Sheffield, says: energy can be both saved and used of Fashion, with initial support from EPSRC, “If thousands of people in a typical town more efficiently. The investment led to a revolutionary liquid laundry additive like Sheffield washed their clothes in included a further £13 million from to help make the clothes we wear purify the the additive, there would be no pollution industrial partners. air as we move around in them. problem caused by nitrogen oxides at all.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 May 5: Japan shuts down its nuclear reactors, leaving the country without nuclear power for the first time since 1970 67 2012 Birth of the cool The initial project, funded under the During discharge, the system can EPSRC-led RCUK Energy Programme, simultaneously convert low grade was an international academic/industry waste heat into power, further collaboration. The Leeds team joined increasing the overall efficiency by forces with commercial partner, Highview producing additional power. Power Storage, the UK-based developer of The system uses established technology, large-scale long duration liquid air energy can be built anywhere, and can easily storage (LAES) systems, and Chinese be scaled up. A pilot facility near Slough colleagues to co-design and lab test a (pictured) began providing electricity to the novel cryogenic energy storage system that National Grid in April 2010, and can meet stores off-peak energy, using liquefied air the power needs of several hundred houses In 2012, energy storage research as the storage medium. for up to eight hours. co-developed by EPSRC-supported Ambient air is drawn from the environment Using pioneering combined heat and power researchers at the University of Leeds, where it is cleaned, compressed and systems such as this, one day homes could led by Professor Yulong Ding, scientists liquefied at sub-zero temperatures; have their own domestic electrical energy at the Chinese Academy of Science, and 700 litres of ambient air become one litre storage system, providing heating, power, commercial partners led to the creation of liquid air. The liquid air can be stored in refrigeration and air conditioning. of a joint EPSRC-supported international an insulated storage tank at low pressure research institute with over 45 researchers for extended periods of time without In 2014, Professor Yulong Ding joined the working on more than 20 projects. significant losses. University of Birmingham as the newly appointed Highview Power Storage/Royal The formation of the institute, which When power is required, liquid air is drawn Academy of Engineering Research Chair focuses on next-generation energy storage from the tanks, pumped to high pressure in Energy Storage. systems, followed the project’s runaway and heated. This process produces a high- success at The Engineer magazine’s 2011 pressure gas, which is then used to spin To support Professor Ding in his work, Technology and Innovation Awards, winning a turbine which drives the generator to Highview is relocating its 350kW/2.5MWh both its category and the grand prize. produce electricity. LAES pilot plant to Birmingham.

Regeneration nation £16 million for robotics such as deep sea installations and nuclear power plants; and aerial vehicles that In 2012, EPSRC co-invested with other In 2012, EPSRC invested £16 million in can monitor national borders or research councils £25 million in the 22 university-based research projects to detect pollution. fast emerging discipline of regenerative develop smart robots and autonomous medicine. A key part of the investment, systems such as unmanned aircraft – which will produce a set of research considered vital to many areas of UK priorities for UK regenerative medicine industry, from oil and gas exploration to research and development, is a new advanced manufacturing. cross-research council UK Regenerative Led by EPSRC, the project involves an Medicine Platform, to work in close eight-strong group of partners, including partnership with the £50 million Innovate BAE Systems, Sellafield Ltd and the UK UK Cell Therapy Catapult Centre. Space Agency, investing over £4 million Co-investors are: the Medical Research in support. Council, Biotechnology and Biological The projects include ‘nursebots’ that Sciences Research Council, Economic and assist patients in hospitals; safe ways of Social Research Council and Innovate UK. monitoring in dangerous environments

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 August 6: Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission’s rover, successfully lands on Mars 68 Picture courtesy Agnese Sanvito The team have since developed 3D concrete Efficiency drive printers fitted to a gantry and a robotic arm. The printer can make things which cannot In 2012, EPSRC-supported scientists be manufactured by conventional processes developed 3D computer software that such as complex structural components, can create and test automation systems curved cladding panels and other before they’re even built, potentially saving architectural features. manufacturers millions of pounds while increasing their competitiveness. The 3D concrete printing research was funded by EPSRC from 2007-12. The software, which builds up a virtual representation of the automated system, Dr Buswell says: “Freeform gives architects allowing engineers to get their fingers dirty 3D concrete printing and builders the creative freedom to design in 3D, was developed by a team at the In 2012, a team of EPSRC-sponsored and build hitherto unfeasible concrete EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing and engineers at Loughborough University, ‘components’, such as curved panels, while Construction Research Centre (IMCRC) co-led by Dr Richard Buswell and Professor reducing the high cost penalties associated at Loughborough University. Simon Austin, developed an innovative 3D with traditional methods.” The tool is aimed at helping manufacturers printing technique to create customised With further funding from EPSRC, the team save money, increase efficiency, improve panels for large-scale buildings. The are collaborating with industry partners to prototype safety and accelerate the process process was developed at the EPSRC commercialise the process, which could of getting their products to market. Innovative Manufacturing and Construction capture a significant share of the US$450 Research Centre (IMCRC) at Loughborough. billion global concrete and cement market. The research focused on applications in automotive engine assembly but can potentially be used across the manufacturing sector. Commercialisation of the software tools and services developed by the project has begun through the licensing of the software by the university to project partner Fully Distributed Systems Ltd. The project, known as Business Driven Automation, was led by Professor Robert Harrison. He says: “Conventional automation systems are slow and complex to service, reconfigure and integrate. The software we’ve developed gives a quick, accurate, virtual 3D prototype view of assembly machine behaviour before the machines are physically built. “We aim to make these tools much easier and faster to develop and use, and we want to see them used throughout the machine lifecycle, not just at initial build.” Wheel deal

In 2012, an EPSRC-sponsored team from The feasibility project showed how the the University of Lincoln, led by Professor energy produced by a plane’s braking Paul Stewart, showed how the aircraft of system during landing – currently wasted tomorrow could self-contribute to their as heat produced by friction in the power needs by harnessing energy from aircraft’s disc brakes – would be captured the wheel rotation of their landing gear on and converted into electricity by motor- the tarmac. generators built into the landing gear.

10 times more sensitive than the current Early detection gold standard methods for measuring In 2012, a team of EPSRC-funded biomarkers, which are used to indicate the scientists at Imperial College London, led onset of diseases such as prostate cancer by Professor Molly Stevens, developed and infection by viruses including HIV. a prototype ultra-sensitive sensor that The sensor could benefit countries where would enable doctors to detect the early sophisticated detection equipment is stages of diseases and viruses with the scarce, enabling cheaper and simpler naked eye. The visual sensor technology is detection and treatments for patients.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 September 12: Apple unveils its iPhone 5 and iOS 6 69 2013 Investing in the future In 2013, EPSRC invested in a host of major projects and centre-based initiatives across its portfolio – including manufacturing, engineering, robotics, advanced materials and information & communications technology (ICT).

£39 MILLION FOR UK ENERGY CENTRES £45 MILLION FOR MANUFACTURING strengthen research in the areas of In 2013, EPSRC co-funded one of the In 2013, EPSRC invested £45 million to Robotics and Autonomous Systems, biggest Research Council investments develop innovative new manufacturing Advanced Materials and Grid-scale to support UK energy efficiency policy, technologies, techniques and systems. Energy Storage. reduce carbon use and cut greenhouse The investment includes: The research, involving 20 UK universities, gas emissions. • £21 million for four new Centres for will underpin key sectors of the Five new End Use Energy Demand Innovative Manufacturing UK economy, including automotive, research centres received a total of manufacturing, aerospace, energy • £12.2 million towards six flexible £39 million from EPSRC, which leads the and healthcare. manufacturing projects Research Councils UK Energy Programme, £39.4 million will be invested in robotics • Six information & communications the Economic and Social Research Council and autonomous systems (£25 million technology (ICT) research projects for (ESRC), and industrial partners, which from EPSRC; £8.4 million from higher UK manufacturing competitiveness contributed £13 million. education institutions; and £6 million from The funding enables the research centres The projects demonstrate the collaborative industrial partners) nature of manufacturing research and to look into the complexities of energy use £47.2 million will be invested in advanced bring together nine universities and over across society and explore how energy can materials (£30 million from EPSRC with 70 manufacturing partners. be both saved and used more efficiently. additional funding of £11.7 million from £32 MILLION FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY £47 MILLION FOR ENGINEERING higher education institutions and RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS In 2013, EPSRC invested £47 million in £5.5 million from industrial partners) In 2013, EPSRC invested £32 million in new engineering projects to tackle global £45.6 million will be invested in grid-scale three major Interdisciplinary Research challenges such as climate change; energy storage (£30 million from EPSRC Collaborations (IRCs) that could help improving healthcare; and meeting basic with additional funding of £9.8 million revolutionise healthcare. The research needs, including access to clean water. from higher education institutions and focuses on developing new information The investment included £25 million in £5.8 million from industrial partners) & communications technology (ICT) five frontier engineering projects in areas £10 MILLION WITH JLR applications and systems to tackle such as nature inspired engineering; In 2013, EPSRC and Jaguar Land Rover increasingly pressing problems, such synthetic biology applications to water; co-invested £10 million in the first phase as an ageing population and severely individualised multi-scale simulation; of a 20-year strategic project led by overstretched hospitals. and simulation of open engineered four leading UK universities to advance The investment, spanning 10 universities biological systems. the UK’s role in developing virtual and 18 industry and academic partners, EPSRC invested a further £20 million simulation technologies. brings together multidisciplinary in large Programme Grants to four UK researchers from areas including pathology The investment will give engineers a universities, focusing on resilience, health and electrical engineering to develop more realistic perception of what a design and technology and growth. technologies such as sensors in patients’ might achieve, as well as access to more clothing that monitor their condition, and ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS powerful computers as part of a package smartphones that can diagnose and track In 2013, EPSRC invested £85 million that could put the UK at the leading edge the spread of infectious disease. in a range of projects to support and of virtual simulation globally.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 January 17: Japan unveils plans to build the world’s largest wind farm near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant 70 funding from EPSRC and The software is controlled from a laptop, Sellafield Ltd. and attachments can be plugged in Tom Scott, project lead and according to the task in hand. Director of the Interface The drone’s rotor arms fold back so that Analysis Centre in the the system can be fitted into a standard University’s School of travel case, making it easy to take on a Physics, says: “By using plane and rapidly deploy. lightweight and low-cost In 2014, the drone was used to map unmanned aerial vehicles, radiation surrounding the Fukushima site we can immediately and to help the clean-up before people can remotely determine the return to their homes. spread and intensity of In April 2014, the AARM team, led by radiation following any Tom Scott, provided Sellafield’s first ever such event. drone survey of any type, demonstrating “The systems have the team’s radiation mapping technology In the zone sufficient inbuilt intelligence for combined with aerial photography. In 2013, an unmanned aerial drone which deployment following an incident and James Moore, who leads on UAV are effectively disposable if they monitors radiation levels after a nuclear technologies at Sellafield, says: “This become contaminated.” incident was developed by an EPSRC- system, to the best of our knowledge, supported University of Bristol team. The drone uses laser distancing to enable represents the current state of the art for safe flight in narrow spaces. It can map the radiation-mapping UAS systems.” The drone was inspired in response to the 3D environment with millimetre precision Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 after In 2014, the Royal Academy of Engineering and also capture high resolution images. awarded James MacFarlane and Oliver helicopter pilots risked radiation exposure The team are also developing thermal Payton the ERA Foundation Entrepreneurs as they mapped the disaster area. imaging, gas and acoustic sensors for Award. The prize is helping them develop Oliver Payton, James MacFarlane and John the drone. the drone commercially for use in Fadoulis, from the University of Bristol’s The on-board microcomputer integrates disasters, routine radiation monitoring at Interface Analysis Centre, developed the multiple sensor streams to provide nuclear sites and mining operations. Spin remote controlled Advanced Airborne radiation mapping with excellent spatial out company Imitec has been set up to take Radiation Monitoring (AARM) system, with resolution and sensitivity. this forward.

walking to school with walking school bus coordinators, Trish one or two adults) during Kiernan (pictured). Head Teacher Sara the school run. Walker says: “Children are motivated to Salford psychologists see the arrival of the walking school bus Dr Sarah Norgate and on the screen, and to join other pupils on Nikki Jones teamed up the school run.” Mark Mountcastle, Head with researchers Chris Teacher at St Hugh of Lincoln RC Primary Winstanley, Mike Harding in Stretford, which also helped to trial the and Professor Nigel app, agrees. He says: “It’s a brilliant way to Davies from Lancaster encourage the children not only to walk to University to develop the school but to use technology in a creative app. Dr Norgate says: and practical way.” “Walking school buses The project is funded by the RCUK Digital are an effective way Economy programme, led by EPSRC, Walk smart to promote children’s and is part of the Sixth Sense Transport independent mobility and road sense. With initiative between the University of Salford, In 2013, the universities of Salford and this new application, parents can track the Lancaster University, the University of Lancaster won a Modeshift national safe arrival of the walking school bus at the Southampton, the University of Edinburgh transport award for a smartphone app school gates.” and Bournemouth University to develop developed for parents to keep track of their Families at Westwood Park Primary School apps that will encourage more sustainable child’s walking bus (a group of children in Eccles trialled the app with one of the travel options.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 February 5: The House of Commons votes in favour of same-sex marriage 71 2013

acoustics to quickly locate blockages and Sweet success structural defects, and to determine the In 2013, a new technique that uses pipe length and the MRI scans to detect cancer by imaging serviceability of the tumours’ consumption of sugar was pipe, won a multitude unveiled by EPSRC-supported scientists of awards. led by Dr Simon Walker-Samuel at University College London. The technology builds on 15 years of The breakthrough could provide a EPSRC-supported safer and simpler alternative to work by Professors standard radioactive techniques and Horoshenkov and enable radiologists to image tumours Tait at the universities in greater detail. of Bradford and The new technique, called ‘glucose Sound affects: SewerBatt™ technology being demonstrated in Singapore for PUB, the Sheffield. chemical exchange saturation transfer’ national water company. Since its launch in (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that 2013, SewerBatt™, tumours consume much more glucose (a Pipeline to success the idea for which was conceived by water type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth. In 2013, Acoustic Sensing Technology Ltd, industry pioneer Richard Long, has received a spin out company from the University of glowing praise from water industry experts, The researchers found that sensitising an Sheffield, was formed to commercialise leading Piers Clarke, Thames Water’s MRI scanner to glucose uptake caused the EPSRC-supported research of Commercial Director, to describe it as “a tumours to appear as bright images on Professors Kirill Horoshenkov and phenomenal technology”. MRI scans of mice. Simon Tait, who previously worked at In 2014, SewerBatts were adopted into In the future, patients could potentially the University of Bradford. Yorkshire Water’s five-year plan, and the be scanned in local hospitals, rather than In less than 12 months, the company’s company began installing them in areas having to be referred to specialist first product, the SewerBatt™, which uses vulnerable to sewer flooding. medical centres. Chicken coup protein and other feeds given to chickens bioethanol produced. bred for meat production. Dr Burton says: In 2013, an academic/industry partnership With project supervisor Dr Emily Burton, of “One concern with supported by EPSRC led to a biofuel Nottingham Trent University, Dr Williams bioethanol is the production process that also yields a viable secured funding for Dawn Scholey, a perception it will poultry feedstuff as a ‘by-product’. doctoral student at Nottingham, to join the compete with team under an EPSRC CASE studentship. With around 80 billion litres of bioethanol food crops fuel produced each year from fermented By examining the composition of the newly for limited cereals, the team’s findings are by no isolated and patented YPC, Dawn showed farmland. means chicken feed. it could be both separated from the cereal Our new matter and was a viable alternative nutrient The project was borne out of the vision of work biofuels pioneer, Dr Pete Williams of AB readily digested by chickens. shows how Agri, the agricultural division of Associated A project at a US bioethanol facility is the two can British Foods. Williams was convinced already demonstrating the performance of live side by side.” valuable material was being overlooked the process at factory scale. when cereals were fermented to The new process separates the dried Dr Pete Williams says: “We couldn’t have make bioethanol. distiller’s grains (DDGs) into three fractions: got this development started without the The team showed that Yeast Protein fibre, a watery syrup and YPC, allowing EPSRC CASE studentship that allowed us Concentrate (YPC) made during the annual global production of almost three to establish the proof of concept, and to fermentation process could be a cost- million tonnes of supplementary high- confirm the value-creation potential of our competitive alternative to soya-based quality protein alongside current levels of innovative separation process.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 March 13: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is elected the 266th Pope, whereupon he takes the name Francis 72 Unlike airport scanners, the device (pictured) does not produce an image of Knight the subject but only analyses radar signals reflected from the person. of the The machines work at a distance of up to 25 metres using low power millimetre- web wave radar signals that reflect off a weapon and back to the scanner, but without compromising people’s privacy or health. In 2013, Nigel Shadbolt, from the University of Southampton, Professor of Artificial The portable, battery-powered devices Intelligence and one of the world’s leading include a handheld system for mobile use experts in web science, was knighted in the in the street and a larger, extended range Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services static version suitable for checkpoints or Hide and seek to science and engineering. vehicle mounting. In 2013, a team of scientists at Manchester Professor Shadbolt’s research has taken The prototypes are currently being turned in a broad range of topics, from natural Metropolitan University unveiled a high- into commercial versions ready for security tech radar scanner which automatically language understanding and robotics services around the world with customers to computational neuroscience and detects hidden bombs and guns on people. already lined up to test the technology. memory through to the Semantic Web The scanner works in real time using radar Project Leader, Professor Nick Bowring, and linked data. waves and complex computer programs, started to develop the system in 2004 after and is destined to revolutionise security Professor Shadbolt, who has held over initial funding from EPSRC, followed by 20 EPSRC grants over more than 25 years, at airports, shopping centres, stadia and the Metropolitan Police and the Home is founding director of the Open Data transport hubs. Office. He says: “The technology is a Institute, with World Wide Web pioneer The technology is designed to rapidly scan combination of a radar system and an Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee. individuals in a crowd as they pass through AI-based computer system. It would have From 2000-2007, Professor Shadbolt areas such as public spaces, gates or been unthinkable to make it just five years led and directed the widely influential entrances and instantly alert officials as ago because the computing power and EPSRC-funded Advanced Knowledge soon as a threat is detected. hardware were just not there.” Technologies Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC). The IRC produced some of the most thumb-type 34 per cent important Semantic Web research of the faster on tablets than when period, such as how diverse information using a QWERTY keyboard. could be harvested and integrated and how Dr Kristensson’s EPSRC- semantics could help computer systems supported research at recommend content. St Andrews includes the In 2009, the Prime Minister appointed development of technology Professors Shadbolt and Berners-Lee as that could lead to much Information Advisers to transform access faster and easier synthetic to Public Sector Information. The work voice systems, such as that arising from this project led to the highly Thumbs up for used by Stephen Hawking. acclaimed data.gov.uk site which now In 2013, Dr Kristensson, who holds an provides a portal to thousands of datasets. new keyboard EPSRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, In 2012, Nigel Shadbolt was awarded a was recognised by the respected MIT £6.2 million, five-year EPSRC Programme In 2013, an international research team Technology Review as one of 35 top Grant to lead the SOCIAM (Social Machines) co-led by Dr Per Ola Kristensson, from the young innovators ‘most likely to change project, which is researching pioneering University of St Andrews, created a new the world’. Previous winners include methods of supporting purposeful human keyboard that enables faster thumb-typing the founders and designers of Google, interaction on the World Wide Web. on touchscreen devices. Facebook, Apple and Tumblr. The aim of the SOCIAM project is to enable The KALQ keyboard minimises thumb In 2014, Dr Kristensson joined the us to build social machines that solve travel distance and maximises alternation Department of Engineering at the the routine tasks of daily life as well as between thumbs, enabling people to University of Cambridge. its emergencies.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 27: Frozen, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, is released 73 2014 Slide rules

In 2014, Lizzy Rachel Blackburn says: “The skills we supporting Amy, Lizzy and their fellow Yarnold sped learned from the Engineering Doctorate athletes in their respective successes. to gold medal programme at Southampton, coupled with “EPSRC funding was the catalyst that success in the ideas and knowledge of the British allowed Rachel and myself to pursue an the skeleton Skeleton and UK Sport support staff, gave academic and latterly engineering career in bobsleigh event us a good grounding for implementing such a unique and challenging field.” at the Sochi Winter Olympics. But her engineering solutions. Working with the achievement was not just a reward for her athletes themselves helped us put our Picture courtesy UK Sport dedication and athleticism, it was also a ideas into practice. triumph for UK engineering design. “The project also allowed us to develop new Yarnold’s achievement at the Sanki Sliding skills – from track testing, data analysis Centre came thanks, in part, to a sled and prototyping through to full roll-out designed by engineers Rachel Blackburn production of the sled.” and James Roche (pictured) who work with Since 2010, James and Rachel have been McLaren Applied Technologies, an offshoot working with McLaren in Woking, Surrey to of the Formula One company. bring further improvements to the design James and Rachel were EPSRC- of the sled, which they now call Mervyn sponsored students studying for Blackroc – after an early sponsor and a Engineering Doctorates at the University of fusion of their surnames. Southampton when they designed ‘Arthur’, James Roche says: “It was a fantastic the sled that carried Amy Williams to gold honour to be able to work with British medal victory in Vancouver in 2010. They Skeleton over the past eight years, were also key members of the British Skeleton support team at Sochi 2014, and were there to witness Lizzy Yarnold’s triumphant gold medal-winning run.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 June 12-July 13: The 2014 FIFA World Cup is held in Brazil, and is won by Germany 74 PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 September 27: The West African death toll from the Ebola virus reaches 3,000 lives 75 2014

contaminated wastes involves the nuclear industry, the UK Government’s cement encapsulation, a process nuclear advisers and the country’s leading which typically increases the academic researchers. overall volume. More than 40 doctoral and postdoctoral The research project found that researchers will work over the next four mixing plutonium-contaminated years on issues including how best to handle waste with blast furnace slag and different types of spent fuel, packaging and turning it into glass reduces its storing waste, and dealing with nuclear volume by 85-95 per cent. It also sludges in ponds and silos at nuclear effectively locks in the radioactive power stations. plutonium, creating a stable Professor Simon Biggs, who leads the end product. initiative, says: “The project is primarily Lead researcher, Professor focused on developing new technologies and Neil Hyatt, a co-investigator at providing confidence in the safe storage and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral disposal of legacy waste. Training in Nuclear Fission at the University of Sheffield, says: “The UK is a technology leader in this “The overall volume of plutonium- field and the core aim of this project is to contaminated wastes from maintain and further develop that skill base. Heart of glass operations and decommissioning is enough “This project will be a truly interdisciplinary In 2014, researchers from the University to fill the clock tower of Big Ben seven times effort. We have civil engineers, chemists, of Sheffield, sponsored by EPSRC over. Our process would reduce this waste chemical engineers, robotics experts, and Sellafield Ltd, developed a way to volume to fit neatly within just one tower.” radiochemists, mechanical engineers and significantly reduce the volume of some Also in 2014, EPSRC invested £4.9 million in material engineers all working together on higher activity nuclear wastes – reducing the a national research programme looking at 30 different projects.” cost of interim storage and final disposal. ways of dealing with Britain’s nuclear waste. In addition to the £4.9 million invested by The UK spends more than £80 million The £8 million project, funded under the EPSRC, funding and support for the project, every year storing plutonium-contaminated RCUK Energy Programme, led by EPSRC, which builds on an earlier EPSRC-funded nuclear waste safely. The current treatment involves 10 UK universities, led by the 2007 research programme, will come from method for non-compactable plutonium- University of Leeds, and brings together the universities and industry partners.

Antibodies exposed In 2014, an internet service which allows that the antibody they’re about to spend scientists to find antibodies for use in their hundreds of pounds on is going to work. research became the largest antibody They can waste time and money buying the search engine in a US$2 billion industry, wrong one, CiteAb solves this problem. and ranked number one by Google. “We rank antibodies by academic citations The CiteAb service was founded in 2013 as these are the best guide to whether an by Dr Andrew Chalmers at the University antibody is likely to work in the laboratory of Bath following funding from an EPSRC – citations are independent and easily Knowledge Transfer Account. verifiable, and no one can pay to be the Antibodies – proteins produced by the top hit.” immune system in response to the The CiteAb team work in collaboration introduction of a foreign body – have a with Bath-based Storm Consultancy and variety of uses in basic research, diagnostic are currently exploring ways to use the tests and therapeutics. data CiteAb generates to ensure the long- Dr Chalmers says: “One of the biggest term success of this research as problems for a researcher is being sure a commercial enterprise.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 October 21: Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp 76 The research team, from the University of East Anglia’s schools of Mathematics and Environmental Sciences, created a computer simulated pattern of ocean circulation on a hypothetical ocean-covered Earth-like planet. Professor David Stevens, from UEA’s School of Mathematics, says: “We found that heat transported by oceans would have a major impact on the temperature distribution across a planet, and would potentially allow a greater area of a planet to be habitable. “Mars, for example, is in the sun’s habitable zone, but it has no oceans – causing air temperatures to swing over a range of 100 degrees Celsius. “Oceans help to make a planet’s climate Cosmic waves more stable so factoring them into climate models is vital for knowing whether the In 2014, EPSRC-funded researchers at Until now, computer simulations of planet could develop and sustain life. the University of East Anglia (UEA) made habitable climates on Earth-like planets “This new model will help us to understand an important step in the race to discover have focused on their atmospheres. But what the climates of other planets might be whether other planets could develop and the presence of oceans is vital for optimal like with more accurate detail than sustain life. climate stability and habitability. ever before.”

Power prosthetics In 2014, EPSRC-supported researchers When walking with a single prosthetic leg, The energy storage and return capabilities at the University of Salford moved a above-knee amputees typically use up to of prosthetic legs are crucial to improving step closer in developing technology 60 per cent more energy than people who an amputee’s gait and mobility, but to enhance the mobility of people with are able-bodied, causing fatigue and a most prostheses only store and return above-knee amputations. 40 per cent slower walking speed. significant energy below the knee and in an Their solution lies in improving the energy These difficulties can hinder an amputee’s uncontrolled way. efficiency of prosthetic legs. mobility and thus affect their quality of life. To overcome these problems the team of engineers and prosthetists, working with leading prosthetics manufacturer Chas A Blatchford, are exploring the potential for using hydraulic technology to harvest and store energy from the parts of the prosthesis that absorb power, and then return that energy to the parts that do useful propulsive work. The results will be used to develop new prosthetic leg designs which have increased functionality and require less energy from the amputee. Project leader, Professor David Howard, says: “This is an opportunity for truly transformative research, leading to more biomechanically-efficient prosthetic legs, enabling amputees to walk faster for longer and therefore lead more active lives.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 12: The Rosetta spacecraft’s Philae probe successfully lands on Comet 67P, the first time in history that a spacecraft has landed on such an object 77 2014

The study shows that NMT is involved in a wide range of essential processes in the parasite cell, including the production of proteins that enable malaria to be transmitted between humans and mosquitoes, and proteins that enable malaria to cause long-term infection. The team are working to design molecules that inhibit NMT’s function, and hope to start clinical trials of potential treatments Malaria demultiplied within four years. The discovery is the culmination of a five- In 2014, a consortium of UK scientists year project by a consortium of researchers made an important step towards new from Imperial College London, the National malaria treatments by identifying a way to Institute for Medical Research, The stop malaria parasites from multiplying. University of Nottingham, the University Light fantastic The research team showed that the activity of York, and Pfizer. It is funded by EPSRC, of an enzyme called NMT is essential the Medical Research Council and the In 2014, the EPSRC-supported for the survival and viability of the most Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at common malaria parasite. Research Council. the University of Southampton celebrated its 25th anniversary. Since 1989, EPSRC has invested over Supporting act £20 million in the ORC, building on research led by its founding director, Professor In 2014, EPSRC-supported researchers at the required amount of the material to meet Sir David Payne. Blue-sky research by the University of Cambridge, led by EPSRC safety standards it would save 1,027 tonnes Professor Payne’s team led to the invention Leadership Fellow Professor Julian Allwood, of steel. of the world’s first telecommunications revealed that the construction industry is When scaled up to apply to the 290 million optical amplifier, a key device for internet using almost double the amount of steel in tonnes of steel used worldwide to construct expansion, and 15 years ahead of its time. buildings than is required by safety codes, buildings each year this would save The ORC is now acknowledged as which is having a dramatic impact on 106 million tonnes of steel annually, averting a world leader in photonics, optical carbon emissions. 214 million tonnes of CO emissions. 2 telecommunication and high-power lasers, The team analysed 10,000 structural steel The research was conducted by the UK and has spawned a cluster of photonics beams in 23 buildings across the UK INdemand Centre, led by Professor Allwood companies to commercialise the research, and found that, on average, they were only and funded under the RCUK Energy generating revenues in excess of £100 carrying half the load they were originally Programme, led by EPSRC. million and creating more than 500 jobs. It designed for. The centre, comprising the University has also produced over 700 doctoral-level Buildings covered by the study were ‘typical’ of Cambridge, the University of Leeds, alumni holding senior positions in industry UK steel-framed buildings constructed Nottingham Trent University and the and academia worldwide. within the last University of Bath, focuses on ways to Ideas generated at the ORC help power the five years, mainly significantly reduce the use of both energy global internet, navigate airliners, cut steel, schools, offices and energy-intensive materials in industry. mark iPads, and manufacture life-saving and residential Professor Allwood is also a co-investigator medical devices. buildings. at the EPSRC-funded Innovation and Professor Sir David Payne, who in 2012 was The study Knowledge Centre for Smart Infrastructure knighted for his services to electronics, estimates that and Construction, based at the University of says: “Thanks to long-term backing from if the design of Cambridge, and is a senior staff member at EPSRC, the University of Southampton has the 23 buildings the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in been a world leader in photonics research were optimised Future Infrastructure and Built Environment for 40 years, enabling the ORC to build to include only at Cambridge. ‘critical mass’ rare in academia.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 8: US President Obama authorises deployment of 1,500 additional troops to help train and advise Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting IS militants 78 Fields medal Genius of invention These implants have restored hearing to more than 300,000 people since their In 2014, Professor Martin In 2014, Chris Toumazou, introduction in 1986, the year Professor Hairer, from the University Regius Professor of Toumazou received his first EPSRC of Warwick, became the Engineering at Imperial research grant – he has since been first UK-based mathematician to win the College London, was awarded over 20 more. prestigious Fields Medal since 1998. named Inventor of the Year At the age of just 33, Chris Toumazou Professor Hairer, who held an EPSRC in the Research category became the youngest professor ever to at the European Patent Advanced Research Fellowship from 2006- teach at Imperial College London – an Office’s awards for his work on a low- 2012, was recognised for his ‘outstanding achievement all the more remarkable power USB stick that decodes a patient’s contributions to the theory of stochastic for someone who left school at 16 with DNA within minutes. partial differential equations, and in no qualifications. particular for the creation of a theory of Thanks to his work, DNA can be analysed At Imperial, he focused on ways of regularity structures for such equations’. outside a lab environment – helping combining electrical engineering and The Fields Medal, internationally regarded medicine take a big step from healing microchip technology with biomedicine. illnesses to preventing them. as the world’s most prestigious award In 2014, Professor Toumazou, who has in mathematics, is awarded every four Invention for Professor Toumazou is in launched several highly successful years and recognises the outstanding his blood. In the 1980s he developed the companies to commercialise his work, achievements of mathematicians aged low-power processor vital to multi-channel co-leads the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral under 40. Previous winners include Sir cochlear implants invented by Erwin and Training in High Performance Embedded Michael Atiyah (see page 13), in 1966. Ingeborg Hochmair. and Distributed Systems at Imperial.

Fat friends Substituting eggs for proteins not only cuts Quantum network fat content, it could also reduce the cost of In 2014, an products and encourage consumers to eat In 2014, EPSRC invested in a new EPSRC-funded more healthily. £120 million national network of Quantum team from Technology Hubs to explore the properties Heriot-Watt The research is being taken forward by of quantum mechanics and how they can University and the project partner Nandi Proteins, which is be harnessed for use in technology. University of using the findings to extend its range of Edinburgh came a step proteins with a view to food manufacturers Quantum technologies offer potentially closer in developing a way to make low-fat incorporating them in new low-fat transformative impacts in key areas such cheeses and cakes as tempting as their products that could start reaching the as quantum metrology and sensors; full-fat equivalents. shops within two years. quantum simulators; quantum computers and quantum secure communications. The team, led by Dr Steve Euston of Lydia Campbell, Chief Technology Officer Heriot-Watt University, produced modified for Nandi Proteins, says: “EPSRC funding The new network will involve 17 universities and 132 companies and proteins that easily break down into allowed the scientific investigation of the will be funded by EPSRC from the £270 micro-particles and therefore closely underlying science of Nandi technology, million investment in the UK National mimic the behaviour of fats during and the outcomes will add significantly Quantum Technologies Programme food manufacture. to the confidence with which the announced by the Chancellor in 2013. The proteins will enable manufacturers technology can be deployed across the The network will consist of four hubs, to remove much of the fat used in their UK and internationally. selected after a competitive peer- products without compromising on “They will also serve to broaden the reviewed process, led by the universities product quality. innovation of our product range, and to of Birmingham, Glasgow, Oxford and York. Protein-for-fat substitution is not a compete with international companies.” Sponsors of the new national network completely new idea, but to date it As part of an Innovate UK-supported include Innovate UK, the Department for has been restricted to products such Knowledge Transfer Partnership, the Business, Innovation and Skills, National as yogurts. research team is now also developing Physical Laboratory, GCHQ, the Defence a computer model to help food The team has achieved particularly Science and Technology Laboratory and manufacturers pinpoint the optimum promising results in using proteins to the Knowledge Transfer Network. replace eggs, an ingredient commonly level of protein-for-fat replacement for used as a gelling agent in bakery items. particular products.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 November 15: World leaders gather in Brisbane for the G20 Summit, focusing on economic growth 79 Digging thinking As EPSRC’s Sandpit workshops celebrate 10 years of thinking differently, Pioneer takes a look at their impact.

According to Einstein, logic will get you basis are locked together for a week – and Lee Cronin, Regius Professor of Chemistry from A to B, but imagination will take no idea is off the table. at the University of Glasgow and you everywhere. This sentiment, of using Through facilitated discussions, creative head of the world-renowned creativity to push science beyond the sessions and site visits, the problem Cronin Lab, is boundaries, is at the core of EPSRC’s is methodically deconstructed and looking for the ‘Sandpit’ initiative – blue-sky thinking preconceptions are dispelled along with origin of life workshops with funded research traditional approaches. itself. programmes the reward for the very The subjects discussed, which have In 2004, best ideas. included everything from locating Cronin, at By compressing a research process that underground utilities without any digging the start of a traditionally takes months or years into one (see pages 16-17) to synthetically building distinguished week, and then sparking intense debate and new life, are then re-mapped and scrutinised career, took part discussion, the Sandpit concept, introduced from every angle. in one of the very first in 2004, has created an explosion of Sandpits. He says: “For Over the course of the Sandpit, new ideas and given rise to entirely new me, Sandpits have had a research groups are formed and ideas are scientific disciplines. profound effect on the way formulated and developed. The very best I think about cross-disciplinary Sandpits work by bringing together diverse ideas then go through rigorous scrutiny and dynamic groups to focus on a real- before funding is awarded based on world problem. Academics from different the excellence of the proposal and the disciplines, industry representatives and resources needed. the people who face the problem on a daily

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 80 research. They rank amongst some of It is an important point. Group dynamics rather than a stretching but fun the most exciting things I have done. The play a vital role in the success of a Sandpit. intellectual exercise. EPSRC Sandpit model is the model of how Organisational psychologist Bharat Maldé “Sandpits thrive on diversity: of expertise, I often try to do innovation in science now.” has been involved in assessing participants’ outlooks, disciplines, approaches and life Cronin has taken part in six Sandpits over Sandpit suitability from the start, drawing experience. If there is a unifying quality, it the past decade and has adapted the early inspiration from tribal behaviour and is the participants’ abiding zest for quest method to spark creativity within his own lab the Apollo space programme. pursued in the company of curiosity-driven at Glasgow. He is not alone. Most Sandpits are hugely oversubscribed, individuals wishing to push the boundaries.” The Sandpit model has been used by and the selection process has evolved, Cronin’s fears of being Billy No-Mates UK universities and by research teams in taking into account a candidate’s expertise proved unfounded. Chemical Craftwork Mexico, New Zealand and Norway. It has and interests alongside their personal connected Cronin with a group of like- also been adopted by the National Science approach or outlook. minded researchers, including computer Foundation, the United States’ main So who are the perfect participants? scientist/synthetic biologist Professor Natalio government funding agency. Even NASA is “Personally and interpersonally, they would Krasnogor, chemical biologist Professor using it to widen its horizons. be inspirational, unselfish individuals with Ben Davis, and chemist Professor Cameron But it was very different when Cronin walked the facility to enthuse others as well as be Alexander – and the CHELL Network in through the door of a Derby conference enthused themselves; to hold their own Chemical Cells was born (see page 41). centre in January 2004 to take part in the without being ‘loud’ or pushy; keen and Work from this project led to an EPSRC Chemical Craftwork Sandpit. curious but in control of their senses or their Leadership Fellowship (2009-2014) for worst urges; and blessed with the freedom The Sandpit method was new, untested Professor Alexander, who leads the EPSRC to engage with intellectual play without fear and a radical departure from the funding Centre for Doctoral Training in Targeted of failure or embarrassment,” says Maldé. mechanisms that academia and research Therapeutics & Formulation Sciences at councils had grown comfortable with. There have been lessons along the way. The University of Nottingham. The project Maldé adds: “In one Sandpit, we did so well also led to enhanced links at Nottingham “It was immensely exciting, with the promise at picking affable, positive individuals that no with leading pharmaceutical companies of money, of new collaborations and a really sparks flew and the event risked becoming AstraZeneca, Boots, GSK and Pfizer. fascinating concept,” says Cronin. “But an extended, happy I was also very tense. I wanted to find social activity (Continued on next page) teams to work with and I was worried I would be Billy No-Mates.”

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 81 (Continued from page 81) Lee Cronin later received an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship, from 2006-2011 and in 2014 holds an EPSRC RISE Leadership Fellowship. Professor Natalio Krasnogor holds an EPSRC Leadership Fellowship at Newcastle University. Lee Cronin says: “Sandpits, for me, have given me exposure to other disciplines and a whole suitcase of problems that I could translate into ideas. I could work with people and develop whole new research fields.” It is a glowing endorsement for a concept whose reason for being was to spark imagination. The Sandpit process was a response to a recognised need to invigorate academic adventure in UK research. At the turn of the millennium, EPSRC faced two parallel challenges that would test its ability to stimulate change within the UK research portfolio. A number of international reviews had noted that UK research was very scholarly but that it lacked adventure. Support for transformative research was highlighted as an issue by a major Government review: Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014: Next Steps, summarised as: ‘How the UK can best support high risk, high impact research in novel fields of scientific enquiry’. The general feeling was that it was not UK scientists and engineers who were uncreative, but more the funding system which had led to a conservative culture. In parallel was the drive to increase the amount of multidisciplinary research teams, to cross-pollinate academic expertise and create brand new ideas and approaches to global challenges such as energy security and climate change. The simple approach – asking research teams to be more adventurous through explicit funding calls – did not inspire change. It became clear that a much more radical intervention was required, and the Sandpit was born. Ten years later, Cronin is in no doubt that EPSRC’s Sandpit concept has addressed the issue. He says: “You need a portfolio of approaches, and Sandpits have enabled us to do things we would not otherwise be doing today. “Sandpits demand true innovation and give people the incentive to rise to this challenge. “For example, my team’s approach to embodied robotics exploring the origin of life

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 82 would not have happened without Sandpits. It is too disruptive. “I enjoy doing research in the UK and this Five days, 30 people, no limits, funded research mechanism has uniquely allowed me to How is it possible that Sandpits are able to future solutions. Result: Problem work in a way that is not possible elsewhere. to create ambitious, adventurous and statement created. There isn’t the mechanism. I recognise innovative science from scratch in less EPSRC’s part in using its initiative to allow Create: The group begins to form ideas than 120 hours? The Devil is in the detail, me to think differently.” in response to the problem. Drawing including expert facilitation and a five- on the discussions, experiences and A decade on, and the concept continues stage process: site visits, smaller groups begin to form to break new ground. In addition to a Interact: Give people time to discuss around emerging ideas, self-selecting the raft of organisations adopting the model, skills, experiences and areas of interest. skills and expertise needed for success. EPSRC continues to use and learn from the Sessions create an atmosphere where Result: Task forces created. approach with great success and has used all feel confident in exploring diverse and it to foster international partnerships – and Develop: The newly-formed research unconventional ideas. Facilitators are to create science with no boundaries at all. groups develop, test and refine ideas. careful to ensure groups and ideas are The proposals are repeatedly put under not formed too early. Result: Mission the microscope by the rest of the group. statement created. At this stage, groups begin to look Clarify: The group focus on the specific at funding issues such as the level of issue of the Sandpit. Issues are debated resources required. Result: A framework with those who have real-life experience for research. of the problem to build a comprehensive Implement: At the final stage, proposals picture of the situation. This can include are short-listed and ranked in priority a site visit. order by the group as a whole before a Sandpits have Mapping the problem begins to highlight final funding decision is made.Result: specific technology, knowledge and New research programmes, new teams, had a profound research gaps that could hold the key new thinking. effect on the way I think about Son(s) of Sandpit cross-disciplinary Since developing the Sandpit workshop The Big Pitch: 18-month grants research. They are concept as part of its Ideas Factory of £250,000 awarded to individual 10 years ago, EPSRC has continued to researchers to encourage bold, some of the most develop new ways of ensuring UK science radical thinking. can push the boundaries on convention; New research directions are expected to exciting things I have this has led to a number of initiatives be pursued which have the potential to inspired by the Sandpit concept. lead to high impact outcomes. done. The EPSRC These include: Dream Fellowships: Awarded to help Creativity@Home: A relatively new Sandpit model is researchers with a creative approach to initiative to generate and nurture creative develop pioneering ideas and ambitious thinking, aimed specifically at those the model of how research directions that enable discovery. leading large programmes of research. They support individuals with the potential Groups can use funding to learn creative I do science now. to profoundly impact or transform an area problem-solving tools and techniques or of research. A high degree of risk in their explore future research vision and cross- approach is expected. disciplinary opportunities.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 83 EPSRC Science Photo Competition 2013-14 EPSRC’s 2013-14 Science Photo Competition, open to all EPSRC- supported researchers and doctoral students, attracted nearly 300 entries, and provided them the opportunity to share their research through pictures. Entrants were asked to submit their images in five different categories: Innovation, Discovery, Equipment, Weird and Wonderful, and People. Not only are the 15 winning images stunning in their own right, they help to reflect the exciting research in physical sciences and engineering going on right now in the UK.

Winter PIONEER 1214 Summer 2014 2014 50 84 1st

Weird and Wonderful

Comedy Lab: Human vs robot A robot walks into a bar: A robot programmed with novel social intelligence algorithms performs a stand-up routine at London’s Barbican Centre. Robothespian, a robot created by specialist robotics company Engineered Arts, was reworked with computer vision and audio processing technology to tailor its repartee to specific individuals in the audience and improve its gag delivery. These live experiments explore what makes a good performance and how technology can help or hinder it. Toby Harris, a doctoral student at Queen Mary University of London’s Cognitive Science Research Group, won the Weird and Wonderful category for this photograph, and also won the grand prize for best in show.

By Toby Harris, Queen Mary University of London

2nd The Gömböc equation Meet the Gömböc, the world’s only artificial self-righting shape. Unlike Weebles and inflatable toys, which use a strategically-placed weight to pull them upright, the Gömböc has no energy source. No matter how it’s placed on a flat surface, the Gömböc, borne out of complex mathematical theory, will right itself. The equation defining the Gömböc appears in the background of the photograph.

Weird and Wonderful By Professor Alain Goriely, University of Oxford

3rd

Surprise! Wrinkles simulated

The modelling and simulation of soft tissue is helping researchers to produce detailed facial animations for computer graphics applications. Such simulations could also be used with, for example, soft-tissue studies in biomechanics and surgical applications.

Weird and Wonderful By Mark Warburton, University of Sheffield

PIONEER 1412 WinterSummer 2014 2014 8551 From nano-molecules to mega-structures

1st

Discovery

Rayleigh-Taylor instability

This image, of salt water accelerating into fresh water, illustrates what is known as Rayleigh-Taylor instability – which mixes two fluids of different densities. During this phenomenon fluids form unpredictable patterns. Mixing is of great interest to oceanographers in their quest to understand the ocean and its effect on climate.

By Megan Davies Wykes, University of Cambridge

2nd Graphene sunrise Among its many unique properties, the electrons in ‘wonder material’ graphene behave as massless relativistic particles. This image, taken jointly by Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov and Dr Daniel Elias, depicts the scientists’ measurements of graphene’s electrical capacitance (its ability to store an electric charge) when subjected to a magnetic field.

By Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov and Dr Daniel Elias, The University of Manchester

Discovery

3rd Subterranean sampling

Fieldworkers from The University of Manchester collect fossil samples in a deep cave system on Cayman Brac in the Caribbean. The researchers collected over 5,000 fossilised bones from rare vertebrate remains found within the newly explored cave systems, in a tropical environment typically not associated with exceptional preservation. Working with the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Diamond Light Source, a kind of giant microscope, the research team are now using the latest non-destructive imaging Discovery techniques, shining light brighter than a million suns to recover the chemical ghosts from these subterranean samples.

By Dr Phil Manning, School of Earth, Environmental & Atmospheric Science, The University of Manchester

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 86 From nano-molecules to mega-structures

1st

Equipment

Microfluidics – huge advances on the microscale A micromixer designed to advance the production of liposomes used in vaccine formulations. The design of the channel has been tailored to improve the mixing speed. So-called lab-on-a-chip based technologies are making important advances in microsystems for chemical, biological and medical applications.

By Elisabeth Kastner, Aston University

2nd From nano-molecules to mega-structures A giant drill emerges from a borehole on a London construction site. While drilling, the borehole was supported by a synthetic polymer solution comprising tiny polymer molecules. The solution changes its viscosity according to how fast it flows: it’s thick when sitting still, liquid when flowing fast. The image highlights the range of scale sizes that engineers and scientists deal with in their work. Equipment By Dr Carlos Lam, The University of Manchester 3rd

3D bronze

This picture shows a complex hollow component being 3D-printed in bronze metal. The component was later fired in a kiln to produce a solid bronze part.

By Esteban Schunemann, Brunel University

Equipment

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 87 1st

Innovation

Lung cancer cells taking up carbon nano-needles Resembling tropical islands seen from space, this electron microscope image depicts a pioneering new drug delivery system. The green islands are lung cancer cells, captured in the process of taking up carbon nanotube nano-needles (coloured gold), which could one day be used to deliver targeted drug therapies exactly where they are needed, minimising harmful side effects.

By Dr Khuloud Al-Jamal and Izzat Suffian, King’s College London

2nd FloorPlay A demo of an interactive floor display in the engineering building at University College London. Each of the lights in the floor can be independently lit in one of millions of different colours, allowing the display to be used as a platform for many different projects.

By Daniel Harrison, University College London Interaction Centre

Innovation

3rd Manufactured with light Using laser colour marking it is possible to create intricate patterns on tiny surfaces. There is growing interest in this process in the creative industries, and for security/identification purposes. This picture, of a delicate pattern ‘laser written’ into a tiny 2x2cm piece of titanium by forming a thin oxide film on the surface, shows why.

By Dr Svetlana Zolotovskaya, Dundee University Materials and Photonics Systems (MAPS) Research Group Innovation

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 88 1st

People

Mathematical analysis can make you fly Mathematics Masters student Joana Grah appears to fly in front of an equation that explains how the trick is done. Digital inpainting (think Photoshop) uses sophisticated mathematical algorithms to retouch digital images. Here it was used to remove the stool on which Joana was sitting originally.

By Dr Carola-Bibiane Schoenlieb, Joana Grah and Kostas Papafitsoros, University of Cambridge

2nd Discovering, designing, developing together Forest-dwelling Mbendjele Pygmies in Republic of the Congo use a picture-based smartphone app to map their local resources and record evidence of illegal logging activity.

By Gill Conquest, Extreme Citizen Science research group, University College London

People

3rd Playing machine learning charades Academics and software engineers take time out to enjoy a machine learning version of charades, as part of the Robozoo project, a week-long retreat to experiment with 3D-printed robots for use in cognitive robotics research.

By Dr Chrisantha Fernando, Queen Mary University of London

People

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 1689 Picture courtesy Markus Unsold, Waldrappteam V-signs In 2014, the mystery of why birds fly in Dr Steve Portugal, lead researcher at the The custom-built technology, developed V-formations was finally solved with the help Royal Veterinary College, University of with funding from EPSRC, captured the of lightweight sensors, fitted to the back of London, says: “The intricate mechanisms movements of every bird within the flock, migrating birds. involved in V-formation flight indicate recording its position, speed, and wing-flap remarkable awareness and ability of birds during 43 minutes of migratory flight. The results from the project will prove to respond to the wingpath of nearby useful in a variety of fields, for example UK scientists worked together with flock-mates. aerodynamics and manufacturing. conservation group Waldrappteam, which “Birds in V-formation seem to have trained zoo-bred birds to follow a microlight A study of 14 Northern Bald Ibises showed developed complex phasing strategies to to teach juvenile birds migration routes. that each bird synchronises its flapping cope with the dynamic wakes produced by The research featured on the front cover of to maximise the aerodynamic benefit of flapping wings.” Nature and appeared in the international upwash from the wings of the bird in front. These aerodynamic accomplishments were print media. Dr Portugal was also The birds’ formation is so precise they are previously not thought possible for birds interviewed for national and local radio also able to avoid downwash from the because of the complex flight dynamics including the Chris Evans Show on birds ahead. and sensory feedback required. BBC Radio 2.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 90

Total value of EPSRC’s research portfolio: £4 billion

Total invested by business and other partners to date: £1.74 billion

Total invested in research and training annually: £800 million

Number of partner organisations: 2,800

Percentage of research portfolio collaborative with business and 45% other partners:

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK’s main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800 million a year in research and postgraduate training to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms

About EPSRC the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone’s health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC is committed to excellence and impact, supporting a research base and skills portfolio that meets key challenges of the 21st century, such as supporting an ageing population and meeting the need for sustainable energy. To this end, EPSRC has pioneered ways to stimulate research and encourage multidisciplinary collaboration. EPSRC works with around 2,800 companies and partner organisations. Forty- five per cent of supported research is collaborative with industry and other research users. By ensuring the early engagement between industry and the research base, the fruits of EPSRC’s investments can be maximised, helping to keep the UK at the forefront of global research and innovation.

You can find out more about EPSRC and how you can work with us by visiting our website: Pioneer is made by: www.epsrc.ac.uk as well as keeping up to date byEPSRC following works alongsideus on Twitter: other Research www.twitter.com/ Councils epsrcEditor: Mark Mallett ([email protected]) which have responsibility in other research areas. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of Design: Rachael Brown ([email protected]) common concern via Research Councils UK. Contributors: Chris Buratta; Grace Palmer; John Yates; To provide feedback on this magazine, and to Matt Shinn; subscribe to print and/or electronic versions of Pioneer, please e-mail [email protected] [email protected] Pictures courtesy of thinkstock.com unless Contact: 01793 444305/442804 otherwise stated.

PIONEER 14 Winter 2014 91 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 09 EngineeringEngineering andand PhysicalPhysical SciencesSciences ResearchResearch CouncilCouncil 10 Leading UK infrastructure edge the next 50 years Spotlight on the research leaders of tomorrow

Smartphones in space The lensless microscope The pulling power of the PhD Peer review – why it works Bug magnets Science minister on engineering the future Alf Adams, godfather of the internet The train that runs on hydrogen

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