The First 10 Years

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 12 EPSRC the first 10 years 20th anniversary special 4-9 1994: EPSRC comes into being; Peter Denyer starts a camera phone revolution; Stephen Salter trailblazes CONTENTS modern wave energy research 10-13 1995: From microwave ovens to biomedical engineering, Professor Lionel Tarassenko’s remarkable career; Professor EPSRC: the Peter Bruce – batteries for tomorrow 14-19 1996: Professor Alf Adams, godfather of the internet; Professor Dame first 10 years Wendy Hall – web science pioneer 20-23 1997: The crucial science behind 20th anniversary special the world’s first supersonic car; Professor Malcolm Greaves – oil magnate 24-27 1998: Professor Kevin Shakesheff – regeneration man; Professor Ed Hinds – order from quantum chaos 4 28-31 1999: Professor Sir Mike Brady – medical imaging innovator; Unlocking the Basic Technologies programme 14 32-35 2000: Plastic electronics: Professor Sir Richard Friend and colleagues invent a new research discipline; Strategic Partnerships: forging ever-stronger links with industry and key collaborators 36-41 2001: Makers in momentum – the Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre programme; Professor Eric Yeatman, microelectronics maestro 42-45 2002: Professor Dave Hawkes – 3D medical imaging for safer surgery; Professor Sam Kingman – using microwaves to crush rocks 46-49 2003: The future is fusion: a step closer to limitless, clean and safe energy; The SUPERGEN sustainable power generation and supply programme 50-53 All RISE: Introducing the 20 Recognising Inspirational Scientists and Engineers (RISE) Leaders and their nominated rising stars 54-59 Linking thinking: Building a UK network for computational science 60-66 High and mighty: 20 years of EPSRC investment in high performance computing 67 Sticky science: Inspired by geckos, André Geim and Konstantin Novoselov 40 48 invent a new kind of super sticky adhesive PIONEER 12 Summer 2014 2 Big numbers Chief Executive Professor Philip Nelson on EPSRC’s 20th anniversary – and two decades of research excellence Twenty years Since 1994, EPSRC has invested around economy and society, and for a healthier isn’t very long £11 billion in research and doctoral and more sustainable world. in the world of training. By any measure, this is £11 billion Returning to those 28,555 research research, when well spent. proposals, every one of these will have a discovery or From Peter Denyer’s development of the undergone a rigorous process of peer breakthrough can CMOS technology integral to most modern review, facilitated by dedicated EPSRC staff. take decades to camera phones (pages 6-7) to Alf Adams’ This would not have been possible were it reach its destiny. pioneering innovations in quantum well not for major initiatives begun in 1994 to But in the 20 lasers – which are fundamental to sustaining develop a robust yet flexible process driven years since EPSRC was formed, the roll- the internet as we know it (pages 18-19) by research excellence and developed call of inspirational leaders, world-leading – the underpinning support provided by through close engagement with the research and ground-breaking initiatives has EPSRC and its predecessors has helped research community. been such that we are devoting two editions shape the modern world. And, as we move As EPSRC enters its third decade, we of Pioneer to tell the story – and then only further into the 21st century, we’re investing will continue to work with the research scratching its surface. in the future, too, such as through Professor community to develop processes and As an engineer, I am wary of superlatives, Ed Hinds’ research into cold atom physics, initiatives that stay true to our Royal Charter but it’s hard not to be impressed by the fact which could lead to a completely new of 1994, and ensure that the resources that in 20 years we have awarded research technology, as significant as electronics or we invest keep the UK at the cutting grants to 28,555 applicants. optics (page 32). edge of international research excellence Add to this the number of grants on which Now here’s something that may surprise while developing the research leaders more than one researcher is named as a you. In addition to the £11 billion invested of tomorrow. co-investigator; factor in the research teams by EPSRC, a further £1.7 billion has been Such is the breadth and scale of our and doctoral students taking part in the contributed by research partners from research and training portfolio, this project – and then add the myriad industrial business, the charitable sector and other magazine can but provide a snapshot of and other partners who collaborated – and investors. This is a powerful endorsement the people, projects and achievements from you get a picture of the sheer numbers of of EPSRC’s founding commitments to both the past 20 years, and the influence many people who have benefited from EPSRC research excellence and to strengthening of them are now having on the world. If the support, and who have used it to further the pathways between fundamental past two decades are anything to go by, research in engineering and the physical research and its translation into products however, the 40th anniversary edition of sciences, often spectacularly so. and services for the good of the UK Pioneer will be very special indeed. PIONEER 12 Summer 2014 3 1994 GENESIS On April 1 1994, the With an average of 5,000 submissions per “Our task is to judge the work we Engineering and year, at a stroke efficiency was dramatically support not only on the excellence of its Physical Sciences improved, costs came down and staff had research, but also on its relevance to Research Council came more time to support and engage with the the requirements of users in industry, into existence. research community. commerce and elsewhere. At first glance, the Interviewed in1994, Chairman, Dr Alan “The most important form of technology main difference from Rudge (pictured), explained EPSRC’s transfer from the science base is the EPSRC’s previous incarnation, the Science founding priorities: flow of people out of the universities into and Engineering Research Council (SERC), “EPSRC has an exciting and challenging industry, commerce and government. was its remit – which no longer included mission to support high-quality research “If we only supported long-term curiosity- astronomy; biotechnology and biological in the UK, and to make significant driven research, we would have a badly sciences; space research and particle contributions to national competitiveness balanced portfolio. On the other hand, if we physics. In fact, from its inception, EPSRC and to the quality of life. only supported short-term research, driven was a very different beast from SERC “There are three main objectives: by immediate and obvious relevance, there (1981-1994) and its predecessor, the would be something seriously amiss. Science Research Council (1965-81). • Developing and sustaining a national core competence in engineering and “The object is to maintain a well-balanced In addition to a more focused remit, from the physical sciences portfolio – and this is what EPSRC will Day One EPSRC set about streamlining its seek to achieve.” core activities, and its staff adopted a more • Maintaining a world-class teaching focused approach to everything they did. capability in terms of both technical Over two decades, EPSRC has stayed true An example is the early transition to solely content and techniques to these principles, which are enshrined in electronic research grant applications. • Advancing scientific knowledge its Royal Charter of 1994. PIONEER 12 Summer 2014 March 29: Serbs and Croats sign a cease-fire to end the war in Croatia 4 Olympiadane is a chain of rings and Magnetic attraction was something of In 1994, Professor a record in the field Lynn Gladden, from of supramolecular the University of chemistry. Cambridge, was To get the rings awarded £360,000 by together, the EPSRC to establish Birmingham team, led a centre of expertise by Dr Fraser Stoddart, in the application used supramolecular of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemistry – where spectroscopy for use by the UK academic simple pieces are process engineering community. joined to make more NMR spectroscopy is a quality control Ring cycle complex supermolecules. technique used in analytical chemistry to The techniques devised to create the determine a sample’s content, purity and In the summer of 1994, capping a decade molecular structure. of intense research, a team of British molecule may shed light on the process The grant consolidated Professor Gladden’s chemists from the University of Birmingham by which life arose from relatively reputation as a pioneer in the development and Imperial College London worked out simple chemicals. of NMR techniques, including translating the exact structure of a billionth-scale Research such as this could also lead to them from the laboratory into industrial molecular version of the Olympic emblem, new smart polymers that respond to their practice. She has since received over called olympiadane, consisting of five tiny environment, and superfast, nanoscale 30 research grants from EPSRC. interlocking rings of atoms. devices for the computers of the future. In 2001, Professor Gladden (pictured) was awarded the OBE for her services to chemistry and elected a Fellow of the Royal Independent First funding Society in 2004. In 2006, she was appointed to EPSRC’s advice In 1994, EPSRC was allocated Council, its senior decision-making body. £364 million by the government for In 1994, in a move that set the In 2009, she was awarded the CBE for her its first year in existence. It went on blueprint for EPSRC’s commitment services to science. to invest £212 million in academic to wider engagement with the In 2013, Professor Gladden was named as research grants; £72 million in the academic, business and stakeholder a co-leader of the new UK Catalysis Hub, a training of postgraduate students and communities, EPSRC set up two £12.9 million EPSRC investment in catalytic £52 million in support of the Daresbury independent advisory panels to advise science.

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