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.