SBRC NOTTINGHAM: Sustainable Routes to Platform Chemicals
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: School of Life Sciences
Abstract
In our search for better medicines to improve healthcare in an ageing population, for safer agrochemicals to aid food production for a growing population, and for advanced materials for new technologies, the global demand for molecules based upon a group of relatively simple carbon based molecules (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene) continues to increase. Sadly current petroleum and natural gas based supply chains simply can't continue to expand to meet this burgeoning need. We can only close this increasing gap between supply and demand by innovating and solving serious scientific challenges.
Funded by the BBSRC and other UK research councils (EPSRC/TSB), the UK Government has initiated the creation of a number of multidisciplinary Synthetic Biology Research Centres (SBRC) charged with the accelerating the realisation of the benefits of the outputs of Synthetic Biology to business and society. Synthetic biology is "the design and engineering of biologically based parts, novel devices and systems as well as the redesign of existing, natural biological systems". It is a newly emerged scientific discipline that has arisen through the merger of several core areas of science, principally biology, engineering, chemistry and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Synthetic Biology has the potential to create new products and processes by engineering biological systems to perform new functions in a modular, reliable and predictable way, allowing modules to be reused in different contexts.
The Nottingham SBRC will use Synthetic Biology to engineer microorganisms that can be used to manufacture the molecules and fuels that modern society needs in a cleaner and greener way. We will harness the ability of organisms, to 'eat' single-carbon containing gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). When these gases are injected into the liquid medium of fermentation vessels they are consumed by the bacterium and converted into more desirable and useful molecules. Fortunately CO, our initial target, is an abundant resource, and a waste product of industries such as steel manufacturing, oil refining and chemical production. Moreover, it can be readily generated in the form of Synthesis Gas ('Syngas'), by the gasification (heating) of forestry and agricultural residues, municipal waste and coal. By allowing the use of all these available low cost, non-food resources, such a process both overcomes concerns over the use of land resources that could be used for food production. Furthermore, capturing the large volume of CO (destined to become CO2 once released into the atmosphere) emitted by industry for fuel and chemical production provides a net reduction in fossil carbon emissions. We will also develop new organisms that can grow on the sugar (glucose and xylose) released from the deconstruction of biomass, derived from municipal waste, agricultural residues and specialist crops grown on land that is unsuitable for food production.
The core scientific aims of the SBRC at Nottingham, therefore, will be to specify, design, test, validate and exploit microbial cell factories needed for the efficient production of the chemical that are essential for a modern industrial society.
Through effective communication and promotion we will showcase new science and demonstrate how organism can make important molecules that will take the place of current fossil fuel based feedstocks. We will improve the current public perception of the scientific community and show how innovation can lead to economic and environmental benefits. We are passionate about sustainability and we believe we can share this vision to the rest of the UKs scientific community and the general public who use our products.
Funded by the BBSRC and other UK research councils (EPSRC/TSB), the UK Government has initiated the creation of a number of multidisciplinary Synthetic Biology Research Centres (SBRC) charged with the accelerating the realisation of the benefits of the outputs of Synthetic Biology to business and society. Synthetic biology is "the design and engineering of biologically based parts, novel devices and systems as well as the redesign of existing, natural biological systems". It is a newly emerged scientific discipline that has arisen through the merger of several core areas of science, principally biology, engineering, chemistry and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Synthetic Biology has the potential to create new products and processes by engineering biological systems to perform new functions in a modular, reliable and predictable way, allowing modules to be reused in different contexts.
The Nottingham SBRC will use Synthetic Biology to engineer microorganisms that can be used to manufacture the molecules and fuels that modern society needs in a cleaner and greener way. We will harness the ability of organisms, to 'eat' single-carbon containing gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). When these gases are injected into the liquid medium of fermentation vessels they are consumed by the bacterium and converted into more desirable and useful molecules. Fortunately CO, our initial target, is an abundant resource, and a waste product of industries such as steel manufacturing, oil refining and chemical production. Moreover, it can be readily generated in the form of Synthesis Gas ('Syngas'), by the gasification (heating) of forestry and agricultural residues, municipal waste and coal. By allowing the use of all these available low cost, non-food resources, such a process both overcomes concerns over the use of land resources that could be used for food production. Furthermore, capturing the large volume of CO (destined to become CO2 once released into the atmosphere) emitted by industry for fuel and chemical production provides a net reduction in fossil carbon emissions. We will also develop new organisms that can grow on the sugar (glucose and xylose) released from the deconstruction of biomass, derived from municipal waste, agricultural residues and specialist crops grown on land that is unsuitable for food production.
The core scientific aims of the SBRC at Nottingham, therefore, will be to specify, design, test, validate and exploit microbial cell factories needed for the efficient production of the chemical that are essential for a modern industrial society.
Through effective communication and promotion we will showcase new science and demonstrate how organism can make important molecules that will take the place of current fossil fuel based feedstocks. We will improve the current public perception of the scientific community and show how innovation can lead to economic and environmental benefits. We are passionate about sustainability and we believe we can share this vision to the rest of the UKs scientific community and the general public who use our products.
Technical Summary
THE AIM:
SBRC Nottingham will focus on the sustainable and economically viable production of platform/speciality chemicals through SynBio-engineered, gas fermenting microbes capable of using single carbon (C1) feedstocks.
THE NEED:
Much current attention is focused on deriving microbial production chassis for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Until now, the emphasis has been on lignocellulosic fermentative processes that use non-food plant biomass. However, developing economic processes that efficiently convert plant material into the necessary sugar feedstock is proving challenging.
THE SOLUTION:
Nottingham's groundbreaking alternative approach is to use gas-fermenting microbes that are able to grow on C1 gases, such as CO and CO2. These may be derived from non-food sources such as waste gases from industry ( e.g., steel manufacturing, oil refining, coal and natural/shale gas) as well as 'synthesis gas' (CO & H2) produced from sustainable resources, such as biomass and domestic/ agricultural wastes. This enables a wide range of valuable advanced fuels and chemicals to be produced in any industrialized geography without consumption of valuable food or land resources.
THE GOALS:
Nottingham is already working on an anaerobic gas fermenting chassis with LanzaTech, Evonik, Lanxess and, through CPI, to a wider network of industrial companies. Building on this activity, the major SBRC thrust will be to develop a chassis for aerobic gas fermentations and to use it to implement pathways for chemicals that are more favourably produced in a respiring organism.
THE OUTPUTS:
Ethylene, propylene, iso-butene, butadiene and isoprene make ideal nodes within the chemical network as their volatile nature simplifies extraction, they have huge industry demand and they provide the basis for a wide range of valuable downstream products such as fuels, tyres, high tech performance polymers/ coatings and personal care products and pharmaceuticals.
SBRC Nottingham will focus on the sustainable and economically viable production of platform/speciality chemicals through SynBio-engineered, gas fermenting microbes capable of using single carbon (C1) feedstocks.
THE NEED:
Much current attention is focused on deriving microbial production chassis for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Until now, the emphasis has been on lignocellulosic fermentative processes that use non-food plant biomass. However, developing economic processes that efficiently convert plant material into the necessary sugar feedstock is proving challenging.
THE SOLUTION:
Nottingham's groundbreaking alternative approach is to use gas-fermenting microbes that are able to grow on C1 gases, such as CO and CO2. These may be derived from non-food sources such as waste gases from industry ( e.g., steel manufacturing, oil refining, coal and natural/shale gas) as well as 'synthesis gas' (CO & H2) produced from sustainable resources, such as biomass and domestic/ agricultural wastes. This enables a wide range of valuable advanced fuels and chemicals to be produced in any industrialized geography without consumption of valuable food or land resources.
THE GOALS:
Nottingham is already working on an anaerobic gas fermenting chassis with LanzaTech, Evonik, Lanxess and, through CPI, to a wider network of industrial companies. Building on this activity, the major SBRC thrust will be to develop a chassis for aerobic gas fermentations and to use it to implement pathways for chemicals that are more favourably produced in a respiring organism.
THE OUTPUTS:
Ethylene, propylene, iso-butene, butadiene and isoprene make ideal nodes within the chemical network as their volatile nature simplifies extraction, they have huge industry demand and they provide the basis for a wide range of valuable downstream products such as fuels, tyres, high tech performance polymers/ coatings and personal care products and pharmaceuticals.
Planned Impact
Trends in capital investment within the chemicals sector suggests that the bulk and speciality chemicals sectors, both of which have traditionally been strengths of the UK production industry, are following the pharmaceuticals sector to SE Asia. If the UK is to remain competitive across the Bulk and Speciality chemicals sectors we must forge a new generation of processes with intrinsic emphasis on efficiency, process integration and resource management. Developing technology platforms with a reduced dependence on traditional petroleum based materials is acknowledged as the only long-term solution to sustainability.
Looking at local market rationale for this SBRC proposition, the chemical-using industries continue to be one of the strongest sectors of the UK economy, employing 230,000 highly skilled people, spending £3.5 billion on R&D and the UK's top manufacturing export earner. Its products are the basis for almost every manufacturing activity. However, it is also energy-intensive and almost totally dependent on imported petroleum as its basic raw material. It is vulnerable to rising global oil prices and disruption to global oil supplies. This SBRC will strategically de-risk this reliance on petroleum, delivering supply chain security and reducing environmental.
Almost every major chemical company has set ambitious targets to lower their carbon footprint, or even to become carbon neutral. To achieve this there must be re-alignment from fossil fuel dependencies and efficient use of carbon in its simplest forms, specifically of C1 gases that may be generated as by-products from other existing processes (CO, CO2 and CH4).
Specifically Nottingham SBRC will deliver impact in the following sectors:
ECONOMY: Sustainability is the major issue facing the global chemical industry. Not only is there concern for our environment, there is also is a strong economic driver. Shareholders place emphasis on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (http://www.sustainability-index.com) that tracks the performance of the chemicals industry and engenders competition. A commitment to responsible innovation, and the application of SynBio as a key platform to products will secure the UK lead in innovation and chemicals production.
PEOPLE: There is a clear and increasing demand for highly qualified technologists that are trained to lead innovation and manage the deployment of SynBio based techniques into industry. SBRC offers a market driven "shared vision" towards products and processes. SBRC will deliver highly skilled individuals via the SBRC linked DTC that will be well placed to influence and manage the required change to sustainable working practices across chemical manufacturing industries.
SOCIETY: The diverse range of products manufactured by the chemical-using industries is vital to maintaining a high quality of life in the UK, SBRC will have a direct impact on this activity by ensuring a supply of people and new knowledge to secure sustainability of the sector for the benefit of all. The "green and sustainable" agenda is now firmly fixed in the public consciousness, SBRC will be an exemplar of how scientists and engineers can provide real solutions to very challenging scientific and technical problems, for the benefit of society
KNOWLEDGE: In addition to increasing the supply of highly trained people, the results of research performed in our SBRC will have a major impact on knowledge. Via synthetic biology SBRC researchers will tackle "big problems" in sustainable chemistry, and via our industrial partners we will ensure that new knowledge is applied in industry. Knowledge based activity will drive innovation and economic activity for UK PLC creating new jobs and securing the future.
Looking at local market rationale for this SBRC proposition, the chemical-using industries continue to be one of the strongest sectors of the UK economy, employing 230,000 highly skilled people, spending £3.5 billion on R&D and the UK's top manufacturing export earner. Its products are the basis for almost every manufacturing activity. However, it is also energy-intensive and almost totally dependent on imported petroleum as its basic raw material. It is vulnerable to rising global oil prices and disruption to global oil supplies. This SBRC will strategically de-risk this reliance on petroleum, delivering supply chain security and reducing environmental.
Almost every major chemical company has set ambitious targets to lower their carbon footprint, or even to become carbon neutral. To achieve this there must be re-alignment from fossil fuel dependencies and efficient use of carbon in its simplest forms, specifically of C1 gases that may be generated as by-products from other existing processes (CO, CO2 and CH4).
Specifically Nottingham SBRC will deliver impact in the following sectors:
ECONOMY: Sustainability is the major issue facing the global chemical industry. Not only is there concern for our environment, there is also is a strong economic driver. Shareholders place emphasis on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (http://www.sustainability-index.com) that tracks the performance of the chemicals industry and engenders competition. A commitment to responsible innovation, and the application of SynBio as a key platform to products will secure the UK lead in innovation and chemicals production.
PEOPLE: There is a clear and increasing demand for highly qualified technologists that are trained to lead innovation and manage the deployment of SynBio based techniques into industry. SBRC offers a market driven "shared vision" towards products and processes. SBRC will deliver highly skilled individuals via the SBRC linked DTC that will be well placed to influence and manage the required change to sustainable working practices across chemical manufacturing industries.
SOCIETY: The diverse range of products manufactured by the chemical-using industries is vital to maintaining a high quality of life in the UK, SBRC will have a direct impact on this activity by ensuring a supply of people and new knowledge to secure sustainability of the sector for the benefit of all. The "green and sustainable" agenda is now firmly fixed in the public consciousness, SBRC will be an exemplar of how scientists and engineers can provide real solutions to very challenging scientific and technical problems, for the benefit of society
KNOWLEDGE: In addition to increasing the supply of highly trained people, the results of research performed in our SBRC will have a major impact on knowledge. Via synthetic biology SBRC researchers will tackle "big problems" in sustainable chemistry, and via our industrial partners we will ensure that new knowledge is applied in industry. Knowledge based activity will drive innovation and economic activity for UK PLC creating new jobs and securing the future.
Publications
Vaud S
(2021)
Engineering improved ethylene production: Leveraging systems biology and adaptive laboratory evolution.
in Metabolic engineering
Viacava K
(2020)
Variability in Arsenic Methylation Efficiency across Aerobic and Anaerobic Microorganisms.
in Environmental science & technology
Wardell K
(2017)
RadB acts in homologous recombination in the archaeon Haloferax volcanii, consistent with a role as recombination mediator.
in DNA repair
Westphal L
(2018)
The Rnf Complex Is an Energy-Coupled Transhydrogenase Essential To Reversibly Link Cellular NADH and Ferredoxin Pools in the Acetogen Acetobacterium woodii.
in Journal of bacteriology
Wickham-Smith C
(2023)
Improving carbon monoxide tolerance of Cupriavidus necator H16 through adaptive laboratory evolution
in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Woods C
(2019)
A novel conjugal donor strain for improved DNA transfer into Clostridium spp.
in Anaerobe
Woods C
(2022)
Required Gene Set for Autotrophic Growth of Clostridium autoethanogenum.
in Applied and environmental microbiology
| Title | Bacteria is Curious, A microbiology performance created by local school this is now a video on YouTube. |
| Description | Louise Dynes (SBRC Outreach officer) has also been working with Ignite, which is a Nottingham charity that works with the local community to promote STEM subjects and Dance Equation ( a leading Dance in Education Company dedicated to providing high quality dance workshops and performances for children). This project included; Microbiology dance, where SBRC scientists ran various microbiology sessions in a local school and the pupils communicated what they learned through performing arts. This included how bacteria move, good and bad bacteria, how phage replicates and the discovery of antibiotics and how vaccinations were invented. This project was funded by the society for applied microbiology The final performance was watched by members of the local community and a YouTube video is now available. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | Many of the pupils did not know much about microbes or bacteria but it was evident that they have learnt alot from the project and communicating through dance aided their leanring greatly, this helped them remember certain facts about bacteria. some of the pupils feedback included: 'I enjoy that the microbiologists come to do some work with us, spare there time for us and teach us some new things. I never knew that there was such thing Lactobacillous, which helps us make cheese and yogurt.' 'I really enjoyed having the microbiologists in to learn about bacteria. I learnt that they are good and bad bacteria for everyone. I also learnt that we need to clean the bookshelf in our class room and we also need to clean the hall floor.' |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bck2rAq8qMc |
| Title | Meet the Microbiologists - YouTube Video Series |
| Description | Over the past couple of months, Microbiologists from the Synthetic Biology Research Centre have been working with film makers Brady Haran and James Hennessey (Creators of educational video series such as; Periodic Table of Videos and Numberphile) to produce a set of Microbiology YouTube films about their research and what it's like working in a laboratory. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | We have x6 different videos and now have a combined number of views of 47,500 so far from around the world. We will be looking into a way of evaluating the impact of these videos. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeaKaAcimVK0dt4TOpcyRc5_GB4txb0vf |
| Description | We have continued to focus on C. necator, but have begun to expand our efforts on acetogens. In C. necator we have:- • expanded our promoter tool set through the investigation of fifteen different inducible promoter systems and identified several that show induction levels that are three orders of magnitude higher than the un-induced state in C. necator • used Transposon Insertion-site Sequencing (TraDIS) to identify those genes essential for consumption of 3-hydrpxyproprionic acid • commissioned our gas fermenters in continuous operation using H2 and CO2 as sole energy and carbon source • increased autotrophic mevalonate titres from 15 to 64mg/L • demonstrated autotrophic isoprene production • demonstrated the self-sufficient production of ß-alanine and its successful conversion to 3HP - currently, constructing strains with various enzyme combinations to determine the enzyme that causes the bottleneck in the 3HP production pathway - most likely PanD • obtained production of ethylene using the bacterial (EFE) and plant (ACO/ACS) pathway genes at rates substantial higher than previously reported in E.coli • used metabolic simulation approaches to successfully model heterologous pathways for the production of 3-HP, ethylene, acetaldehyde and indole-3-acetate • implemented a wide range of automation protocols for the commissioned robotics capability to support ongoing SBRC goals • In our acetogens we have:- • developed basic gene technologies (CRISPR/Cas9, mariner transposon and orthogonal expression system) for the alternative acetogen Eubacterium limosum • derived, tested and exemplified a novel CRISPR/Cas9 'Bookmark' strategy for gold standard complementation of in-frame deletion mutants in C. autoethanogenum • constructed genome integrated metabolic pathways for isopropanol production in both Clostridium autoethanogenum and Eubacterium limosum • explored the benefit of protein scaffolding based on cellulosome, cohesin:dockerin interactions for improved reaction productivity • designed, tested and refined a general strategy for overcoming restriction barriers based on lambda red, methylase gene recombineering and a conjugative R-factor |
| Exploitation Route | We are distributing materials developed under the award through a company: Chain Biotech Ltd. This is ensuring efficient transfer of materials to academic groups worldwide as well as to companies. We continue to invest effort into outreach and public engagement with 132 events delivered within the first three years of the project. Some of these have been at high profile venues such as "New Scientist Live", Excel Centre, London. We are also promoting synthetic biology to undergraduates to encourage them to think about pursuing higher degrees in the discipline. To this end from 2017 onwards we have committed to organising an annual iGEM team and attending the iGEM jamboree in Boston, USA. In 2018 our team won a gold medal. |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| URL | http://www.sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk |
| Description | 19-ERACoBioTech: Sustainable Production of n-Butanol by Artificial Consortia Through Synthetic and Systems Biology Approaches (SynConsor4Butonal) |
| Amount | £386,783 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/T010630/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2020 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | 21EBTA: NO CARBON LOST - ELIMINATING CO2 PRODUCTION FROM FERMENTATION PROCESSES |
| Amount | £1,518,369 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/W01453X/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 01/2024 |
| Description | ATUM |
| Amount | £69,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | DNA2.0 |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 10/2020 |
| Description | BBSRC Brazil Partnership Award |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/M027740/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2015 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | BIOTEC-05-2017 |
| Amount | € 6,986,910 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 760994-2 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Horizon 2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | Chain Biotech Services Rendered |
| Amount | £22,800 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Chain Biotech |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2015 |
| End | 06/2016 |
| Description | Development of a tightly controllable expression system for Clostridium |
| Amount | £661,440 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Allergan |
| Organisation | Allergan |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Global |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | ERA-IB6: C02CHEM: Biological Conversion of CO2 to the Platform Chemical 3-Hydroxypropanoic Acid |
| Amount | € 781,416 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | BB/M025896/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2015 |
| End | 02/2018 |
| Description | ERACOBIOTECH |
| Amount | € 1,823,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 1,823,000 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2018 |
| End | 04/2021 |
| Description | German Fellow |
| Amount | £43,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SCHU 3122/1-1 |
| Organisation | German Research Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 01/2016 |
| End | 06/2017 |
| Description | HORIZON2020 Marie Curie ETN, CLOSPORE |
| Amount | € 3,946,605 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 642068 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Horizon 2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 03/2015 |
| End | 02/2018 |
| Description | Health & Life Sciences Round 1 |
| Amount | £705,345 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 83375-536199 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2017 |
| End | 08/2019 |
| Description | IB Catalyst |
| Amount | £124,471 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/N010701/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2016 |
| End | 03/2017 |
| Description | IB Catalyst Round 4 Early Stage Translation |
| Amount | £514,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/N022718/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2016 |
| End | 04/2021 |
| Description | ISCF TRANSFORMING FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS |
| Amount | £3,000,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 48629 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | Innovate UK Smart Grants: January 2022: Decarbonising Chemicals Through CO2-Biomanufacturing |
| Amount | £500,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | TS/X004686/1 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | Live 3D Confocal Imaging in real time with high throughput, multipoint, targeted acquisition and AI-assisted quantification |
| Amount | £773,682 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/V019414/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2021 |
| End | 05/2022 |
| Description | MEDIEVAL BLUE GENES: Reducing Industrial Indigo Dye Pollution of the Environment |
| Amount | £303,650 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/X01150X/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2023 |
| End | 01/2025 |
| Description | MRC Confidence in Concept |
| Amount | £94,976 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2018 |
| End | 01/2019 |
| Description | Molecular Characterisation of strains of Clostridium botulinum of relevance to botulinum toxin production |
| Amount | £131,355 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Ipsen |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Global |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| End | 09/2020 |
| Company Name | DEEP BRANCH BIOTECHNOLOGY LTD |
| Description | DEEP BRANCH technology takes carbon dioxide directly from industrial emissions and transforms it into single cell protein. This nutritious protein source acts as a more sustainable alternative to soy or fishmeal, the conventional protein sources for livestock and aquaculture feed. The Deep Branch Biotechnology co-founders met whilst at the University of Nottingham's Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC). Whilst working together on ways to utilize gas fermentation for production of chemicals, the team discovered they had a shared desire to make a positive impact of the world. Pete and Bart left the SBRC to pursue new challenges in commercial and academic biotech, whilst Rob remained at to continue the work of his PhD. The team kept in touch and when in the summer of 2018 Bart proposed a new twist on how gas fermentation could be used for clean production of single cell protein, Pete and Rob were sold. They were able to go from idea to raising pre-seed funding within four months, and haven't looked back since. DEEP BRANCH biological carbon recycling solution helps companies who want to reduce their carbon footprint without impacting negatively on operational costs. Unlike traditional carbon storage technology that simply collects carbon dioxide, we use it for something meaningful. Our biological process converts the carbon dioxide into sustainable protein, and unlike conventional biological methods, such as algae cultivation, it requires minimal labour and land, and no sunlight. |
| Year Established | 2018 |
| Impact | n June 2019, Deep Branch Biotechnology and Drax Power Group announced their partnership as part of the BECCUS (BioEnergy Carbon Capture Utilisation & Storage) project. Drax are the UK's largest renewable energy producer and the partnership will see Deep Branch utilising carbon dioxide from Drax's flue gas at their renewable energy plant in Yorkshire (UK). Following full lab-scale validation of the Deep Branch Biotechnology process, this partnership represents the first real-world application of the technology. The partnership with Drax offers an opportunity to validate using carbon dioxide that is already generated in a sustainable fashion. Because Drax's biomass units are carbon neutral at the point of generation, the process creates extremely low-carbon protein. This pilot project represents a major step towards roll-out of a with the potential to generate large quantities of sustainable protein. By using this protein as animal feed, production of animal products becomes less environmentally impactful, whilst arable land conventionally used for soy production will be made available for other uses. |
| Website | https://deepbranchbio.com/ |
| Company Name | PHASE BIOLABS LTD |
| Description | Phase Biolabs Ltd is a biotechnology and carbon recycling start-up launched developing carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology. We are tackling the problem of industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the need for alternative low carbon and sustainable chemical manufacturing routes to traditional petroleum-based routes. Phase Biolabs is working with industrial partners to commercialise their gas fermentation platform to recycle waste carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into sustainable ethanol before expanding into other product markets. |
| Year Established | 2020 |
| Impact | Phase Biolabs is not a spin-out. It is a start-up by an SBRC PhD student |
| Website | https://www.phasebiolabs.com/ |
| Description | 3MT competition - SBRC PhD Student and C1net Member |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PhD Student took part in the international competition, she showcases her PhD work as part of a online video for people to vote worldwide. Her 3 minute thesis is titled 'Better Fuel More Savings' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://universitas21.com/global-opportunities/student-competitions/three-minute-thesis-competition/... |
| Description | Article about iGEM project on Porton Biopharma website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article about the Nottingham iGEM project which was sponsored by Porton Biopharma |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.portonbiopharma.com/pbl-supports-winning-igem-team/ |
| Description | Article in "The Biologist" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 'The Biologist' is a bi-monthly magazine published by the Royal Society of Biology, the magazine is sent by post to its 17,000 strong network of professional and student bioscientists. The iGEM team was asked to write a detailed article discussing how Clostridium botulinum was first discovered, for this more specialised readership. It was printed in their December 2019 issue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://thebiologist.rsb.org.uk/biologist-archive?file=2019_12_12_Vol66_No6_An_Ode_to_Elegans&ext=jp... |
| Description | Article in New Scientist Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | We were invited by New Scientist magazine to write a one page article for publication in their prestigious magazine, which receives nearly 1 Million weekly readers. SBRC and The Carbon Recycling network, put together a one page article for the July 2020 edition of New Scientist. The article focused on the gas fermentation research taking place at the SBRC, and the role of BBSRC NiBB The Carbon Recycling Network in promoting gas fermentation scale-up. The article also show cased our links with industry: LanzaTech and DeepBranch, and an illustration was used to demonstrate gas fermentation. A PDF of the article can be found on our website (see link added below). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://carbonrecycling.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/New-Scientist-Article_Final_Dynes_Minton_26.0... |
| Description | Article in New Scientist Magazine - Better Biotherapeutics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC researchers put together a one page article for the 13 November edition of New Scientist. The article gave a laypersons introduction to Biotherapeutics' and the work being done at the SBRC in Biotherapeutic delivery. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/news/early-career-researchers-feature-in-new-scientist-magazine.aspx |
| Description | Article in New Scientist Magazine - Bioplastics: A sustainable alternative to plastics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC researchers and The Carbon Recycling network, put together a one page article for the 6 November edition of New Scientist. The article gave a laypersons introduction to Bioplastics and the work being done at the SBRC, and the role of BBSRC NiBB The Carbon Recycling Network in promoting gas fermentation scale-up. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://carbonrecycling.net/network-early-career-researchers-write-articles-for-new-scientist-magazi... |
| Description | Article in New Scientist Magazine - Towards sustainable biofuels |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC researchers and The Carbon Recycling network, put together a one page article for the 30 October edition of New Scientist. The article gave a laypersons introduction to Biofuels and the gas fermentation work being done at the SBRC, and the role of BBSRC NiBB The Carbon Recycling Network in promoting gas fermentation scale-up. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://carbonrecycling.net/network-early-career-researchers-write-articles-for-new-scientist-magazi... |
| Description | Article in Nottingham Left Lion Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC researcher and Carbon Recycling Network Member wrote and published an article in a Nottingham Magazine - Leftlion which included a description of his research at the SBRC. LeftLion is a printed and online culture and listings magazine which covers Nottingham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://issuu.com/leftlion/docs/leftlion_february_2022_issue_144 |
| Description | BBC East Midlands TODAY TV Broadcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Prof Nigel Minton interviewed by BBC East Midlands today, to raise public awareness of biofuels and C1Net gas fermentation work and the subsidies issue in the UK. Around 325,000 view East Midlands today. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | BBC World Service Radio Interview on C1 Gas Fermentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | BBC World Service radio 'Science in Action' C1net PI Nigel Minton being interviewed by Roland Pease that his report on the C1Net gas fermentation work and the subsidies issue. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002vsnb |
| Description | BSA Science in the Park |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | March 6th-15th 2020 was British Science Week - a celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths across the UK, organised by the National British Science Association. In long standing tradition, the local branch of the BSA welcomed visitors to "Science in the Park" at Wollaton Park, on Saturday 7th March. This annual event was free to enter and allowed the whole family to enjoy interactive activities and live demonstrations from all branches of Science. It is estimated that about 7000 attended the event, and at least 400 were engaged by the SBRC/CCnet stand manned by SBRC and CCnet members. The younger children enjoyed making model bacteria from plasticine. A model Anaerobic cabinet was on display where children could wear a lab coat and goggles.. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/whats-on/science-in-the-park-p500331 |
| Description | Big Bang @ School - Leciester Grammar School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Big Bang @ School supports schools to deliver an event to excite pupils about STEM subjects and inspire them to consider science or engineering careers. Pupils have fun finding out where their STEM studies can lead them. the SBRC had an activity on the University of Nottingham stand at the event. We have been asked to come back next year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Big Bang Regional Fair 2016 - SBRC And C1net |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Big Bang Near Me is about inspiring young people from all backgrounds to study science, technology, engineering and maths. University of Nottingham combined STEM stand with activities from STEM subjects, SBRC and c1net activity included molymods, DNA extraction and a home made centrifuge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://nearme.thebigbangfair.co.uk/view/?eve_id=2458 |
| Description | Big Biology Day - Secondary School visit to UoN Medical School labs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The aim of the day was to raise attainment and interest in synthetic biology; the day's activities were linked to different areas of the AQA GCSE specification. There was a question and discussion session after the activity about the options available to them at university, so the pupils can make informed choices for their post-16 studies. Many pupils indicated that they were considering degrees in the biology/life sciences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Biochemistry Focus webinar series - Developments in industrial biotechnology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Webinar organised by The Biochemical Society featuring a SBRC Researcher and Network Member as a speaker. The talk was titled: Metabolic engineering of the chemolithoautotrophic bacteria Cupriavidus necator H16 for the sustainable production of monomers and biopolymers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://biochemistry.org/past-webinars/ |
| Description | Biochemistry Focus webinar series - Digital Biology: Advanced computational approaches to biological design and engineering |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Webinar organised by The Biochemical Society featuring a SBRC- Nottingham Post Doctoral Researcher and The Carbon Recycling Network Member as a speaker: The speaker gave a talk on developing genome scale metabolic models of industrial chassis engineered for the sustainable production of platform chemicals and biofuels. These models are invaluable tools for simulating a bacterium's metabolic behaviour at the systems level. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://biochemistry.org/past-webinars/ |
| Description | Blog posts about genetics, genomics, gene editing and synthetic biology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Making Science Public blog (funded by the Leverhulme Trust), Brigitte Nerlich has written numerous blog posts on synthetic biology, genetics, genomics, and gene editing. This has led to international collaborations, contributions to a conference and special issues on synthetic biology, metaphors and responsibility and invitations to give talks, for example Pint of Science (2017, 2018) and Wellcome Trust Genome Campus (2018). The blog posts are also read by synbio staff and students at the SBRC Nottingham and beyond, contributing to interdisciplinary conversations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| URL | http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/category/synthetic-biology/ |
| Description | Bluecoat Academy STEM Festival 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The main activity we conducted were demonstrations of DNA extraction from strawberries, members of the audience were asked to participate, this experiment allowed them to learn about the location of DNA in cells and the steps required to extract the DNA from those cells. Another activity conducted included creating their own DNA bracelets, this activity involved converting their names to equivalent codons and added coloured beads that represent adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. The last activity we carried out involved the children creating their own personalised bacteria using plasticine on petri dishes which they then could take home. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Brasil-UK Workshop Sustainable Chemicals and fuels through synthetic biology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SBRC and CCnet had an information stand on the centre and the NIBB. We showcased the animation. We promoted the work of the centre and oining CCnet network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://ccnet-nibb.co.uk/ |
| Description | British Science Association's Science in the Park, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science in the Park is a local event ran by the Nottinghamshire Branch of the British Science Association for members of the public. The SBRC hosted a stand on bacteria: the Helpful and the harmful highlighted the research at the SBRC and researchers engaged with familes about the bacteria we work on in the SBRC and synthetic biology. The visitors were very interested in the science and asked lots of questions about synthetic biology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | C1net Conference 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The C1net conference gave us the opportunity to showcase the new 'Game of Fuels' which both the SBRC and C1net have developed as well as other demonstrations which we use for outreach. Gave the opportunity for external academics and industry to find outreach what outreach we do. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | C1net Conference 3 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | We had an SBRC/C1net outreach stand explaining the types of outreach we do for academics and industry at the conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.c1net.co.uk/Events-conf-3.html |
| Description | C1net Conference 4 - 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | January 20th 2019 marked the start of a 3 day conference on "Gas Fermentation". Hosted by The University of Nottingham's based BBSRC-NIBB "C1net" and organised by network manager Jacque Minton, the event was held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham . Delegates were mainly from the UK, with 31 from Europe, 6 from the USA, 5 from Korea and one from Pakistan. A total of 35 talks were presented, 8 of which were invited, the rest were selected from abstracts, or were Proof of Concept (POC) reports. Eminent scientist Rolf Thauer opened proceedings as chairman and there followed high calibre key note presentations from: Volker Müller (Goethe-University, Frankfurt), Sean Simpson (LanzaTech, USA), Arren Bar-Even (Max Planck Institute, Germany), Wolfgang Buckel (Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany), Byung-Kwan Cho (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea), Lori Giver (Calysta, USA), E.Terry Papoutsakis (University of Delaware, USA), and Bryan Tracy (White Dog Labs, USA) . Amid this star cast, 3 PhD students also gained valuable oral presenting experience with Marie Schoelmerich (Oxford Brookes University) carrying away a certificate of excellence and a C1net mug and hat. A total of 44 posters were presented with a staggering 31 from PhD students. Carrying away prizes for the best posters were Callum McGregor (University of Nottingham, UK), Florian Oswald (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany) and Federico Turco (University of Nottingham, UK). Delegates gave good feedback for the conference with 68 Reponses in all. Responders were 71% from academia and 19% from industry. 98% of responders said it was a good use of their time and that it was a very good/extremely good programme. As a reason for attending, 50% stated programme content, 42% said networking and 8% said organisation representation. They appreciated the high quality and variety in the programme. They also praised the opportunities for good discussion and networking. Many new relationships were forged which we are hopeful will initiate new collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://c1net.co.uk/event/fourth-annual-conference-nottingham/ |
| Description | CCnet Responsible Research and Innovation Workshop - August 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop organised by CCnet To explore the viewpoints of 16 non-scientists/members of the public on the use of genetic engineering (synthetic biology) to make chemicals or fuels, using waste gases as a feedstock for the bacteria. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://ccnet-nibb.co.uk/ccnet-responsible-research-and-innovation-workshop/ |
| Description | COP26 Blog post |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We were invited by University of Nottingham to write a blog about our research to be published inline with COP26: COP26: microbial gas fermentation: a carbon-negative, sustainable route to biofuels, bioplastics and industrial chemicals at scale |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vision/cop26-microbial-gas-fermentation-a-carbon-negative-sustainable-r... |
| Description | Café Scientific 2014 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked stimulating discussion over a pint Raised awareness of research at University of Nottingham into biofuels. This also included a 30 minute Q&A session from the audience. Promotion of C1Net BBSRC-funded network was also included. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Carbon Recycling Animation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The animation has proved to be a big success, to date it has been used to acclaim at home and abroad. It premiered at the 2019 Brasil-UK workshop "Sustainable Chemicals and Fuels through Synthetic Biology" in CNPEM, Campinas, Brazil, 28-30 May 2019; featured at "Wonder" at University of Nottingham, 15 June 2019 and was aired at SynbioTech 2019, QEII Centre, London, 24-25 June 2019 https://www.synbitech.com/ . Future touring is planned e.g. it will take pride of place at New Scientist Live, Excel Centre London, https://live.newscientist.com 10-13 October 2019. Online views currently number 75, with viewings not only in the UK, but also in Europe (Denmark, Belgium and Slovenia) and the rest of the world (India, Brazil and Australia) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://ccnet-nibb.co.uk/ |
| Description | Carbon Recycling at The Synthetic Biology Research Centre Nottingham Video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A YouTube video has been created highlighting the research being undertaken at The Synthetic Biology research Centre Nottingham and its associated NIBB - The Carbon Recycling Network. The video can be used a future virtual events and also as part of presentations. To date - FEB 2021, there have been over 218 views of the video. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5HEbXWQczs |
| Description | Careers talk at a School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | English Martyrs' Catholic School, Leicester online by SBRC Post Doctoral Research Fellows: The talk was broadly split into two parts; part 1 was a summary of my career trajectory so far - from finishing my A levels to PhD/Postdoc at the SBRC and notable events in between, choices good and bad. Part 2 focused on what we do at the SBRC - how do we study bacterial genetics and why. Applications in health (why do bacteria make us sick, treating infection and the microbiome) and industrial biotechnology (biofuels, useful chemicals and carbon recycling). As the audience were Year 9, I gave a brief overview of prokaryote and eukaryotic organisms, DNA, mutants and wildtypes and how we can manipulate bacterial DNA to study function or add function by making mutants. I gave a visual example of a flagella mutant which is no longer motile in comparison to the wildtype strain by showing a diagram of a bacterial cell with and without the flagella and photographs of agar plates with and without swarming motility. I also showed some videos of microbiological techniques such as; anaerobic cabinet work, streaking out, pipetting, and membrane filtration. Questions from the class were relayed to me via the teacher. Questions included how PCR works (especially in relation to my time volunteering at the covid testing labs), how does the anaerobic cabinet work and why we use them and some questions about my choice to study microbiology. Feedback was good and I'm told that the children were engaged and enthused, asking more questions once the session was over. Several other science teachers were also attending the talk and gave good feedback. A brief summary of the talk was posted on the school website (https://www.englishmartyrs.org/post/inspiring-year-9-stem-talk) and tweeted by the assistant head of science and the school twitter accounts. I also received a letter of thanks from the headteacher of the school. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Case study on PHB BIOPLASTIC PRODUCTION FROM WASTE METHANE for Microbiology Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An SBRC PhD Student and Carbon Recycling Network member wrote a 500 word account of making PHB plastics form waste methane as one of 20 case studies in a special feature on the circular economy. https://microbiologysociety.org/our-work/75th-anniversary-a-sustainable-future/circular-economy/circular-economy-case-studies/phb-bioplastic-production-from-waste-methane.html |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://microbiologysociety.org/our-work/75th-anniversary-a-sustainable-future/circular-economy/circ... |
| Description | DNA Day - School visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and demonstration about DNA, the students also explained how and why they use DNA in their research. 30 pupils attended this event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Discovery Day - School visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The discovery day expecting families - both adults and children - from 10 primary schools from across Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. To demonstrate different activities taking place at the university. We asked visitors if they knew that bacteria can also be very helpful and had a fermenter on display to demonstrate what helpful bacteria can do. Feedback from the event: 97% of participants agreed or strongly agreed they enjoyed the event. 73% of visitors who responded to the question; 'did you learn something new', said yes. "[I learnt] that that there is some good bacteria and bad bacteria." (Pupil, Woodbridge Junior School). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | ESRC's Festival of Social Science 2015: Public Debate: Synthetic biology: Great Expectations, great responsibilities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public debate about synthetic biology and Responsible Research and Innovation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://exchange.nottingham.ac.uk/events/synthetic-biology-great-expectations-and-great-responsibilit... |
| Description | Engagement with industry - Trip to Calysta tour of facilities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Trip to Calysta in Teeside with 2 PhD students and a Post Doc researcher to view the facilities, discuss potential PhD and grant collaborations and also the potential for a joint outreach activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | European Science Open Forum Manchester - SBRC & C1net |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) is a biennial, pan-European, general science conference dedicated to scientific research and innovation. Each conference aims to deliver stimulating content and lively debate around the latest advancements and discoveries in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. Early Career Researchers perspectives' on Synthetic Biology. Wednesday 27th July (8.30-11.00). Hosted by the MIB this session aimed to promote, inspire and engage researchers from across the disciplines to explore the potential of SynBio through interactive stands, lab tours and short talks/open discussion The SBRC had a exhibition stand alongside SYNBIOCHEM (Manchester SBRC). The SBRC- Nottingham had a table top display with bioreactor and information about SBRC and c1net. Pawel Piatek and Erik Hanko also had posters about their research project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://manchester2016.esof.eu/en/about/introduction-to-esof.html |
| Description | Family Discovery Day - Science Fair at University of Nottingham, SBRC and C1net outreach activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We provided a stand with hands on activities for the visitors, which were families from Widening Participation schools around the East Midlands. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | From recombinant DNA to gene editing: A history of responsible innovation (blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Ojne of the very first blog posts to engage with gene editing and responsible research and innovation or RRI |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/03/24/from-recombinant-dna-to-genome-editing... |
| Description | Game of Fuels Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The pupils played our game - Game of fuels as part of a series of renewable energy workshop as well as hearing about the research we are doing at the SBRC. The pupils (aged 14-15) also asked many questions about working in research as well as going to university. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Higher Education Getaways - School visits to the University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | the event organised by the University of Nottingham is to help year 10 and 11 pupils to gain an insight into aspects of STEM degree courses and professions through interactive masterclasses and workshop sessions. We can obtain whether there was an increased interest in science from the schools which took part. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | I'm a Scientist - get me out of here |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I'm a scientist - get me out of here is a monthly online event that brings together scientists based in the UK with students aged 10 - 16. In a competition-style format, students ask questions in live chat sessions and on-forum and get to vote who their favourite scientist is |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://imascientist.org.uk/ |
| Description | IBB NIBB Careers Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A stand with information about C1net and the other BBSRC NiBBS to encourage new members both industry, researchers and academics to sign up to them. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Interactive Lab session - School visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The session allowed the team to engage with 40 A level students, aged 17 and 18, who were attending a summer school. The students as they performed a gram stain test with several different samples of Clostridia. These stained samples were then viewed down microscopes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | IntoUniversity School visit to University of Nottingham SBRC & C1net activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The University of Nottingham's Widening Participation team, run a Family Learning Programme with the Educational Charity IntoUniversity (IU) http://intouniversity.org/ to work in three local communities in Nottingham. IU has provision called Academic Support which young people attend after school. Parents are invited to attend three sessions with their children, across the year and the third session is a graduation event at the University of Nottingham. We launched our Game of Fuels" which is the brain child of C1net members Louise Dynes and Jacque Minton and is an interactive board game targeted at secondary school pupils, years 7 & 8.The game sparked questions and discussion afterwards the pupils said they had leanrt something new about renewable energy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | IntroUniversity DNA day - School Visits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | IntoUniversity provides local learning centres where young people are inspiredto achieve. At each local centre IntoUniversity offers an innovative programme that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration. In communities across the UK there are students who can benefit from additional support in order to achieve their ambitions. We provide academic support, mentoring and programmes that promote young people's aspirations. The SBRC provided a workshop for this activity for secondary school pupils, researchers gave a talk about how and why they got into science research to raise aspirations and a presentation about synthetic biology and DNA and how they use DNA extraction in their research we also did some Simple DNA extraction and DNA helix experiments. Feedback from the teachers was excellent. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Launch of the Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology center - symposium and Industrial Showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Held over two days, and featuring a total of twenty-five presentations from internationally renowned experts from industry and academia, the WISB Launch event showcased ground-breaking synthetic biology research.Members of the SBRC attended the event to network |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.wisb-uow.co.uk/launchevent/ |
| Description | Lego League Science Fair at the University of Nottingham SBRC & C1net outreach |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | members of the SBRC helped out at the FIRST® LEGO® League outreach event which took place at the University of Nottingham. FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) is a global science and technology competition with over 250,000 young people aged from 9 to 18 taking part each year. This is a global science and technology challenge for teams of students, to encourage an interest in real world issues and develop key skills that are crucial for their future careers. The students work together to explore a given topic and to design, build and program an autonomous LEGO robot to solve a series of missions. Schools from around the East Midlands attended the event and as well as designing and building their project, there was an exhibition area for pupils to have a go at some table top outreach activities. The SBRC hosted some LEGO related activities including; building a bacterium from LEGO for the younger pupils and the older pupils had a go at designing plasmids using LEGO. Louise Dynes, SBRC Outreach Officer who organised the SBRC stand said 'LEGO is a great way of teaching microbiology to pupils, particularly building plasmids! I would like to thank everyone who helped out and made this day a success!' some of the older pupils who took part in the plasmid building were interested in doing more work around plasmids and would like more information and or us to come into their school/college. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Lego Serious Play Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Carmen McLeod and Dr Stevienna de Saille (Sheffield) organised SBRC workshops to explore perceptions of risk amongst SBRC members using Lego Serious Play in November 2016. An article based on these workshops has been submitted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Making synthetic biology public: The case of XNAS and Xnazymes (Blog post on advances in synthetic biology) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | New Scientist Live 2017 Exhibition Stand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | New Scientist Live is a major science public engagement event at the Excel centre in London, which showcased a wide range of UK science innovations, with examples ranging from astronomy to microbiology. The SBRC Nottingham and associated NIBB - C1net hosted a stand with hands on activities showcasing the various stages involved in our research to go from concept to finished product. We started with an interactive computer model of a biochemical pathway, developed by members of the SBRC computational team - which allowed people to decide how they would alter a pathway to produce the required end product. Next was a Don Whitley anaerobic cabinet that people could try, to give them an idea of what working in these cabinets was really like with kids queuing up for this exhibit on the weekend, it was certainly a major draw to the stand. Then there was a microscope showing what these bacteria actually look like, followed by a mini bioreactor to help explain how this process could be scaled up. Finally we had some examples of potential products, such as a model tyre and fuel tank, to demonstrate where the C1 compounds could end up after the bacteria had converted them into useful chemicals. At the event itself we were helped by many wonderful volunteers, who all demonstrated their enthusiasm and passion for science in their conversations, convincing possible sceptics about the benefits of our research. With over 30,000 visitors attending over the 4 day event, there was certainly plenty of opportunity to reach lots of people. We had interest from a diverse range of backgrounds including; current scientists, potential future Nottingham students, children who we helped inspire with future possibilities and even artists and the media, who could help spread our research message even further. Volunteers included Louise Dynes, Jacque Minton Michelle Kelly Pippa Strong Ruth Cornock Gareth Little James Winter Beth Redfern Rubab Syeda Martina Pasini Loretta Waddon (double) Christian Arenas Alan Burbidge Jess Locker Alex Grosse-Honebrink Muhammad Ehsaan Vanisha Patel |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://live.newscientist.com/new-scientist-live-2017 |
| Description | New Scientist Live 2018 London exhibition stand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For the second year in a row, the SBRC and its associated BBSRC NIBB - C1net hosted an exhibition stand which highlighted the great research we do here at the centre. This year we collaborated with a ARUP who designed a virtual lab as part of the exhibition stand. Don Whitley also donated an anaerobic cabinet for people to use. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/news/news.aspx |
| Description | New Scientist Live 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For the third year in a row, the SBRC and its associated BBSRC NIBB - CCnet hosted an exhibition stand which highlighted the great research we do here at the centre. This year we collaborated with DeepBranch who demonstarted how C1 gasses can be turned into Animal Feed. Don Whitley also donated an anaerobic cabinet for people to use. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://live.newscientist.com/2019-show-highlights#/ |
| Description | Newark Academy STEM Fair - School Visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A PhD Studentattended Newark Academy for their STEM fair and had a stand for synthetic biology. The STEM fair was across lunchtime for years 7-11 and was fairly well attended. Approximately 100-150 pupils visited the stand to chat or do the activities: There was some general synthetic biology information printed out on slides eg what it is, everyday examples of products made with synthetic biology. A pipetting station with coloured water was set up which had 48 well plates to give an example of day to day work in the lab, and taught them in pairs how to use the pipettes. The SBRC/Carbon Recycling crossword on biofuels was also used and proved very popular. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Newsletter - Issue 10 - December 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Newsletter reporting centre updates, celebrating achievements and notifying of upcoming events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/news/news.aspx |
| Description | Newsletter - Issue 9 - May 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Newsletter reporting centre updates, celebrating achievements and notifying of upcoming events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/news/news.aspx |
| Description | Newsletter Issue 11 - October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Newsletter reporting centre updates, celebrating achievements and notifying of upcoming events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/news/news.aspx |
| Description | Nottingham Engaged: Rebooting the expert. The University of Nottingham's Policy and public engagement conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A one-day conference that seeks to bring together University of Nottingham researchers and academics with an interest in or experience of working in the public engagement/policy impact space. The conference features masterclasses, debates and pecha kucha showcases of best practice in research impact on policy and public engagement, delivered by experts from Government, Research Funders and NGOs including the Wellcome Trust, RCUK, ESRC and the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology. Organised by the newly-formed Nottingham Public Engagement Network, this event will explore the University's refreshed approach to engaging the public, policymakers and global communities of practice with our research, teaching and everything in between. The SBRC outreach officer showcased some of the outreach/Public Enagagement work she has been doing on the SBRC and shared best practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/home/featureevents/2017/nottingham-engaged-rebooting-the-expert.aspx |
| Description | Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Festival of Science and Curiosity, celebrates Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and runs from 8 - 17 February 2021, The Carbon Recycling Network and SBRC-Nottingham regularly contributed to the festival. This year we have produced an article for their Magazine called: "The Good, the Bad and the Useful" which accompanies a week of Science activities, the magazine can be viewed here:https://carbonrecycling.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/festival-2021-magazine.pdf We also created a YouTube video for school pupils to watch and try the experiment at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9RaguGP1SA&t=2s |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://nottsfosac.co.uk/ |
| Description | Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Strawberry DNA extraction workshop at the Festival of Sciences and Curiosity ran by SBRC researchers and members of the Carbon Recycling Network: Guiding members of the public through a protocol to extract DNA from whole strawberries using common household items (acetone/nail polish remover, salt, detergent). This raised many questions about the nature of DNA, evolution, genetic engineering, and cell biology, which were dutifully and dynamically answered. Featured in the festival guide: https://nottsfosac.co.uk/w/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/festival-2022-magazine.pdf |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://nottsfosac.co.uk/w/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/festival-2022-magazine.pdf |
| Description | Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity SBRC 7 C1net outreach |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Festival of Science and Curiosity in Nottingham is a week long festival about inviting the people of Nottingham to share not only what they know, but also what they would like to know about science and creative arts. The children played our game - Game of fuels (Created by SBRC and C1net) as part of the activity and learned about fossil fuels and biofuels as well as what we are doing in the SBRC. The parents were informed about the SBRC and gas fermentation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, Bulwell Library - Game of Fuels |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For one week every February, the festival brings creative and inspiring science, technology, engineering and maths based events and activities to the heart of Nottingham. As part of Curious Communities - From Monday 19th to Wednesday 21st Feb, we'll be taking our city centre hits on a tour of some local libraries and community centres. Sneinton, Bilborough and Bulwell. The SBRC hosted Game of Fuels for families to compete against each other and learn more about biofuels and the research at the SBRC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.nottsfosac.co.uk/events/ |
| Description | Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, Nottingham Central Library - Game of Fuels |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For one week every February, the festival brings creative and inspiring science, technology, engineering and maths based events and activities to the heart of Nottingham. The SBRC hosted Game of Fuels for groups of families to play against each other to learn more about biofuels and the research taking place at the SBRC. Feedback was excellent, with 99% of people saying they learnt something new and also included a parent wanting to buy a copy of the game. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.nottsfosac.co.uk/about-the-festival/ |
| Description | On the metaphorical origin of gene drives (blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post discussing the etymology of the metaphor 'gene drives' - linked to discussions on responsible language use |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/12/24/59551/ |
| Description | Open Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Information stand at a University of Nottingham Open day about synthetic biology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Outreach Microbiology Dance - x4 school visits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The outreach officer created a microbiology dance project with Ignite, which is a charity that works with the local community to promote STEM subjects.We received funding from Society for Applied Microbiology, for the project. SBRC scientists ran various science sessions in a local school and the pupils communicated what they learned through performing arts. This performance was watched by members of the local community and a YouTube video is now available. A full report about the project will be published in the next couple of months. 35 pupils at the local school took part in the project, it was noted that they learned aspects of microbiology through dance and role play. Pupils were also asked at the start of the project if they wanted to be a scientist less than 1/4 of the group wanted to be one, they were then asked at the end of the project and nearly 3/4s were interested in becoming a scientist. We would like to create a lesson plan/guide for future use so other students can run the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| URL | https://www.ignitefutures.org.uk/single-post/2017/02/24/Bacteria-is-Curious |
| Description | Outreach sessions with Calysta |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Outreach workshops with Calysta at school in Teeside, to raise aspirations and awareness of synthetic biology and biofuels. These sessions sparked questions and discussion afterwards particularly on biofuels and careers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Pathways in Science and Society (blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post first posted on the Making Science Public blog then reposted on the Plos Synbio community blog |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://blogs.plos.org/synbio/2016/01/30/from-the-community-pathways-in-science-and-society-making-sc... |
| Description | Pathways to STEM - Year 10 Science Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Organised as part of The British Science Festivals' National Science and Engineering week. The theme was where can science take me. A programme of activities showcasing STEM subjects. Infection Inspection activity tand for Year 10 science pupils. A display on hospital bugs and how we can try to contain them. Also awarenss of how important it is to wash your hands. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | People Like Me - STEM Day School Visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The SBRC outreach officer ran a session on studying science at Nottingham for secondary school female pupils aged 14-16 and also provided a hands on activity for girls interested in sciences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | PhD Student and C1net member talk at University of the Third Age |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | C1net member Francois gave a 20 minute talk about the SBRC and his PhD on gene tool editing to a group from University of the Third age |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Pint of Science 2018 activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Plasmid building with LEGO hands on activity for members of the public at pint of science, it also gave the pubic an opportunity to speak to Christian about his research and at the SBRC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Pint of Science Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public talk as part of the Pint of Science, Nottingham Programme. PhD student gave a talk on ' Gas Eating Microbes to the Rescue!' work on microbes that eat carbon monoxide to provide energy and carbon. This not only reflects the biochemistry of how life has started 4 billion years ago but is used to make biofuel from industrial waste gas, turning waste into valuable products. As microbes they are very much hidden to our eyes and due to their special energy needs, were for a very long time hidden to us scientist and have only fairly recently been discovered |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://pintofscience.co.uk/events/nottingham |
| Description | Pint of Science Talks - Florence Annan and Prof Nerlich |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation that brings scientists to the local pub to discuss their latest research and findings. Social Scientist - Prof Nerlich gave a talk on 'Who framed synthetic biology? Some reflections on science, language and culture' and SBRC PhD student Florence Annan gave a talk on 'Using bacteria to make jet fuel out of greenhouse gasses. Both talks sparked questions and discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://pintofscience.co.uk/events/nottingham |
| Description | Pint of science talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BBSRC Synbio DTProg student and C1net member Paul Henry gave a public talk about Understanding Biotechnology with Rapid Analysis. The talk revealed how the fast analytical techniques have been used to understand the secrets of fermentation bio-processes, giving insight into the behaviour of modified micro-organisms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Post Doctoral Researcher and C1net member SciBar talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Arenas gave a talk on 'Gas Eating Bacteria to the rescue' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Press Release - Robots reinvent the wheel by turning waste material into fuel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press Release by BBSRC to highlight the new robotic suite at the SBRC Nottingham - A state-of-the-art robotics suite, worth over £1 million, will enable scientists at the Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC) - Nottingham to engineer a number of bacterial strains and turbo charge the creation of valuable and novel chemicals and fuels from waste materials. Researchers working with the robots were interviewed by the BBSRC media team and subsequently a press release was issued and promoted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/research-technologies/2017/170629-pr-robots-turning-waste-material-into... |
| Description | Press Release - Scientist calls for industrial scale-up of greenhouse gas-eating microbe technology in UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A press release to highlight the recent reportt, commissioned by Professor Minton's BBSRC-funded network of gas fermentation specialists C1net, and to emphasize that the UK should do more to increase the production of this new technology which could capture a large percentage of industrial waste gas from our factories and landfill. The full report can be found here: http://www.c1net.co.uk/documentation/Opportunities%20for%20gas%20fermentation%20in%20the%20UK%20-%20Final%20Report%20-%20July%202016.pdf |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2017/february/scientist-calls-for-industrial-scale-u... |
| Description | Press Release - Scientists use microbes and methane to create sustainable omega 3 - with chainbiotech and calysta |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The intended purpose was to raise the profile of the collaboration between the SBRC, Calysta and CHAINBiotech as well as to raise awareness of the research taking place here at the University of Nottingham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/News/pressreleases/2016/may/scientists-to-use-microbes-and-methane-to-cr... |
| Description | Press Release on Scientists and industrialists share their vision for UK's circular economy in a post-Brexit world |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The BBC's science presenter Tom Heap will be asking the experts vital questions about the future of the 'green' or 'circular' economy in a post-Brexit UK at a conference at the Royal Society in London this week. Key players from academia, industry and government will be presenting and discussing their visions for the opportunities and new technologies that will accelerate the regenerative economy that is needed to replace the 'make, use and dispose' manufacturing systems of the past. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2018/july/scientists-and-industrialists-share-their-... |
| Description | Press Release on Synthetic Biology Research Centre creating new jobs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | To encourage scientists to apply for the job positions available and raising the profile of the Synthetic Biology Research Centre - Nottingham raised the profile of the new Centre and encouraged people to apply for positions of employment at the University. The SBRC Communications and Outreach Officer has been contacted by other journalists regarding the new Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2014/october/synthetic-biology-research-centre-create... |
| Description | Pub PhD - Public Talk Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 10 minute talk and 20 minutes Q&A session, included questions about first and second generation biofuels, genetic modification, how deleting genes can improve an bacterium, economy of the biofuel problems, Lanzatech and other companies, the genetics of the organism and other questions about the bacteria and research undertaken at UoN. Some of the audience were enthusiastically discussing it afterwards and are likely to discuss this with friends and family. The speaker received very positive thank you messages from the organisers and people attending. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://pubhd.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Pub PhD - Public engagement talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC and GASCHEM PhD Student Florence Annan gave a talk on 'Her PhD involves trying to trick bacteria into making as much jet fuel as possible out of some greenhouse gases and feeding them as little as she can. She does this by messing around with their genetics.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | RRI Metaphor Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A series of talks and workshops were part of the symposium some of the speakers included: Jon Turnye, Hub Zwart amd Erika Szymanski. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Radio show - "Women in STEM" as part of a Cafe Scientific contribution to Bradford Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The researcher gave a 10 minute radio interview with Helen Seymour about getting women into STEM. In the final episode of this 2 part series, Helen Seymour discovers more job roles you wouldn't expect to find in the world of STEM, as well as talking about some of the amazing opportunities a STEM career can offer. How they got into science what advice they have for girls interested in science, and that all important question; what is their favourite biscuit? Interspersed with your favourite BCB Radio tunes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Responsible innovation: industrial biotechnology and engineering biology Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On 25 January the SBRC-Nottingham and Carbon Recycling Network (with the ENGICOIN project and the Institute for Science and Society) hosted an open, online event that brought together the BBSRC NIBBs, the wider synthetic biology, industrial biotechnology and responsible innovation communities, and 17 eminent speakers from across disciplines and sectors, to explore responsible innovation in industrial biotechnology and engineering biology. 315 people from 27 countries across six continents registered for the event (receiving the recording). On the day, 225 participants from 19 countries across five continents joined live. Sectors represented included research/higher education; business/industry; policy/government/regulation; research funding; RTOs; civil society. All (n=67) poll respondents reported that they found the whole event or part(s) of the event interesting and/or useful, and the Bassetti Foundation posted a very positive review: 'This was an extremely well run and interesting event with an ambitious agenda.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://carbonrecycling.net/event/responsible-innovation-industrial-biotechnology-and-engineering-bi... |
| Description | SBRC & C1net - Promotion at the Synbiochem Manchester Launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Nigel Minton (SBRC-Nottingham Director), Dr Alan Burbidge (SBRC-Nottingham Centre Manager) and Mrs Jacque Minton (C1net NIBB Manager) attended the Manchester SynBioChem kick-off event on 11th and 12th June. It was a well-attended launch event with most of the other BBSRC/EPSRC SBRCs represented. Although synthetic biology research has been evolving for some time, the establishment of six Synthetic Biology Research Centres in the UK along with Foundries and the Innovation and Knowledge Centre mean that there is now a formalised research strength in this emerging area. It was evident at the meeting that there is a strong UK synthetic biology research community spirit forming with both academic and industry interest, which is really positive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net - Outreach Activity - Student Placement, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Student Placement aged 16 from a local school has spent one week working with PhD students in the GasChem Lab. The Student was given an insight into Mathematical Modelling as well as the opportunity to work in the lab. Feedback from the student was excellent. He would like to come back again next year for another placement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach - DNA Discovery Day at University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A DNA discovery day for a group of year 6 Pupils from a local school to give them an sight into what we do and University and science. Presentation and hands on activity on DNA extraction from Strawberries and making DNA helix from sweets. Our DNA helix made from sweets was publicized on the UoN news storify page. Teacher feedback from the session was excellent. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity - Bioreactor Demonstration, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Faculty of Engineering Christmas Lecture and Demonstrations, Dr Bommareddy explained how a bioreactor works and we had a bioreactor on show for attendees to have a look at and how we use synthetic biology techniques in the lab. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity - Cambridge HE Getaways, Visit to The University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Outreach event organised by UoN Widening Participation group for Yr 10s within the Cambridge area to enhance their choice on coming to study at University. DNA extraction from strawberries PhD students explained how and why they got into science. Another PhD student gave a presentation on his PhD work and how and why he got into science also ran a practical called 'design your own plasmid'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity - Mayfest 2015, Community Open Day, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Mayfest is UoN community open day, activities are to raise public awareness as well as helping to get children involved in science. SBRC & C1net stand with activities including making bacteria from plasticene, make your own bioreactor, molymods and an anaerobic cabinet to demonstrate what its like working in a lab. This was highlighted at the School of Life Sciences all staff meeting. Feedback about the session was excellent. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity - Midlands Big Bang Fair, Derby |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Big Bang Near Me is about inspiring young people from all backgrounds to study science, technology, engineering and maths. SBRC activity included molymods and an anaerobic cabinet to demonstrate what its like working in a lab. Some of the feedback included: Question: Before today, were you interested in a career in Stem? less than 40% said yes. Question: As a result of the event, are you now interested in a career in Stem? Over 60% said yes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/ |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity - Sutton Trust Summer School, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Prof Brigitte Nerlich gave a Lecture on 'In Frankenstein's Footsteps' Nanoscience, Synthetic biology and Popular Culture. This sparked questions and discussions afterwards. They also had to write a controversial media story about synthetic biology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity at British Science Association's Science in the Park, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science in the Park is a local event ran by the Nottinghamshire Branch of the British Science Association for members of the public. Activities on Making bacteria from Plasticine, make your own bioreactor and c1 gases using molymods. Raise awareness of the SBRC and public engagement. Over ~500 attendees from families, schools, public other academics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://nottsbsa.org/science-in-the-park-2015/ |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity at The Secret Science Show, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | "European Researchers' Night" celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Led by an EU initiative, and taking place simultaneously in 280 cities across Europe on 25 September, this event gave anybody and everybody the opportunity to become a scientist for a day. Nottingham's contribution was the much anticipated "Secret Science Show" at Wollaton Hall, and taking part were C1net members Louise Dynes and Dr Vinod Kumar. Together they gave a presentation and interactive demonstration on 'the power of microbes' explaining how microbes can turn unwanted substances into useful ones such as plastics and fuels. Dr Kumar also explained and demonstrated how a bioreactor worked. The audience of 86, with an ages range from 6 to 60 participated enthusiastically in the Q&A session and left with the message that only a very small percentage of bacteria are bad and that many are useful . . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://englandevents.co.uk/nottingham-the-secret-science-show/407457 |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity, European Student Parliament, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This Europe wide project is coordinated by Wissenschaft im Dialog and funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation and Bayer Science & Education Foundation with aim of promoting scientific exchange between young people. It involves 17 local parliaments across the breadth of Europe from Cork to Jerusalem, with one at Nottingham!! In these parliaments, students between the ages of 16 to 19 will have the chance to discuss issues and questions on the overall topic "The Future of the Human Being". SBRC and C1net members Klaus Winzer, Bart Pander and Brigitte Nerlich became "expert witnesses" Nottingham's local "European Student Parliament" answering questions on synbio so the pupils could build their arguments ready for the final event in Manchester in July 2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.student-parliaments.eu/ |
| Description | SBRC & C1net Outreach Activity, Festival of Science and Curiosity, Nottingham 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Festival of Science and Curiosity is being run by Nottingham Stemworks - a partnership of education, industry, government and citizen representatives working together to increase the culture of science and technology learning in the city. The event is being supported by the city's partnership board One Nottingham. The SBRC and C1net had a hands on stand making DNA bracelets and raising awareness about DNA to members of the public. Attendees to the stand were also asked if they have heard of synthetic biology by completing a questionnaire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.nottinghamstemworks.co.uk/festival.html |
| Description | SBRC - Outreach Activity Press Release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Responsible Research and Innovation press release about an event: Synthetic biology: great expectations and great responsibilities November 9 2015, Lakeside Arts Centre, University of Nottingham Both synthetic biology as an emerging bioscience and 'Responsible Research and Innovation' as a new approach to science governance are controversial. Bringing them together is even more controversial. Can it be done? This event will bring together natural scientists and a member of a non-governmental organisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2015/october/discover-how-social-scientists-are-shapi... |
| Description | SBRC Internal Bulletin - Issue 1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Bulletin is an internal newsletter which is distributed to everyone in the SBRC-Nottingham. The bulletin will be for internal members of the SBRC, this will be fairly informal and will include things like; new members, recent research updates, attendance at conferences/workshops, outreach, social events etc or just anything exciting would like to share with the group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Internal Bulletin - Issue 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Bulletin is an internal newsletter which is distributed to everyone in the SBRC-Nottingham. The bulletin will be for internal members of the SBRC, this will be fairly informal and will include things like; new members, recent research updates, attendance at conferences/workshops, outreach, social events etc or just anything exciting would like to share with the group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Internal Bulletin - Issue 3 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Bulletin is an internal newsletter which is distributed to everyone in the SBRC-Nottingham. The bulletin will be for internal members of the SBRC, this will be fairly informal and will include things like; new members, recent research updates, attendance at conferences/workshops, outreach, social events etc or just anything exciting would like to share with the group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | SBRC Media Article on the Official SBRC Launch Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The University of Nottingham is officially marking the opening of its Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), which will provide sustainable routes to important chemicals for researchers and industry using ground-breaking science.The Centre, which has been made possible thanks to £14.3m worth of funding from the Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will be marked with an official opening on Wednesday 14 January 2015. During the event there will be speakers including Dr Celia Caulcott, Executive Director for Innovation and Skills from the BBSRC, Professor Nigel Minton, SBRC Director and Professor Sir David Greenaway, the University's Vice-Chancellor. This was a press release written by the University of Nottingham Press Team. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2015/january/synthetic-biology-research-centre-launch... |
| Description | SBRC Meeting with UCB Cell Tech, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with Luis Castro, Vice president, Global Chemistry for UCB Cell Tech to discuss SBRC outreach and RRI activities and whether they would be interested in doing a combined activity in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Microbes Learning Journey Year 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This was the first of three visits to the school. Each reseacher spent the whole afternoon with a class, introducing themselves and the subject of microbiology. The pupils each had a petri dish containing agar and swabbed a part of their classroom. Pupils decided what to swab, choosing books, doors, light switches, and many other things! Scientists then took away the Petri dishes to incubate them and note microbial growth. The pupils were asked to research a famous scientist and present this to the group during the next visit. The take home message was not all bacteria are bad, but its always very important to wash your hands and cook meat properly. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | SBRC Microbes Learning Journey Year 2 Visit 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Each reseacher spent the whole afternoon with a class and looked at the photographs of microbial growth from where they had swabbed in the previous week. The pupils also made graphs of the number of colonies seen from the photographs, This session also included some mathematics as well as science and the pupils also spoke about why colonies were found in some places but not in others which sparked questions and discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2017 |
| Description | SBRC Microbes Learning Journey Year 2 Visit 3 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The researchers visited the school for the third and final time, which an activity called make a microbe. The researchers explained how we use and remove genes from bacteria and the pupils had a go at making their own bacteria using craft materials as 'parts' . Following on from the visit the following feedback from the teachers was noted: Increased awareness of higher education- 100%, Raising aspirations and motivation - 100%. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Newsletter reporting updates at SBRC-Nottingham. Distributed by email to SBRC-staff and students and available to the public at the SBRC website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/documents/sbrc-newsletter-issue-9.pdf |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter August 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Newsletter which gets distributed to other SBRC members, academics in this field, industry, funding bodies and other audiences to highlight recent events/workshops/activities. Over 350 people receive the newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/perch/resources/sbrc-nottingham-newsletter-issue-3.pdf |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter February 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Newsletter which gets distributed to other SBRC members, academics in this field, industry, funding bodies and other audiences to highlight recent events/workshops/activities. Over 350 people receive the newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/perch/resources/sbrc-newsletter-issue-2-february-2015.pdf |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter Issue 4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Newsletter which gets distributed to other SBRC members, academics in this field, industry, funding bodies and other audiences to highlight recent events/workshops/activities. Over 350 people receive the newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/perch/resources/sbrc-newsletter-issue-4.pdf |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter Issue 5 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Newsletter Issue 5 - to highlight significant progress in the SBRC - Nottingham and also to show any engagement, changes in staff etc |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter Issue 6 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SBRC newsletter Issue 6 for subscribers to read about our research grant success, conferences, visitors and much more. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/documents/sbrc-nottingham-newsletter-issue-6.pdf |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter Issue 7 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Newsletter about the latest research and events within the SBRC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | SBRC Newsletter October 2014 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Newsletter which gets distributed to other SBRC members, academics in this field, industry, funding bodies and other audiences to highlight recent events/workshops/activities. Over 350 people receive the newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://sbrc-nottingham.ac.uk/perch/resources/synthetic-biology-research-centre-nottingham-newsletter... |
| Description | SBRC Outreach - Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Festival of 'Science and Curiosity', was a 2 week event to share science to the people of Nottingham and the East Midlands. Hands on activity - Making DNA Bracelets. Public awareness of DNA and the work happening at the SBRC- Nottingham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach - Notts TV Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Sarah Kuehne gave a TV interview with local TV station - Notts TV. Sarah gave an interview about C. dIff infection in Hospitals, how we can combat the superbug and her research at the SBRC and the importance of washing our hands properly. Raising awareness to a wide audience. Over ~ 20,0000 people tune in to watch Notts TV. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://nottstv.com/five-deaths-linked-to-super-bug-at-nottingham-hospitals/ |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Cells Day at The University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The NUSA (Nottingham University Sandworth Academy) Transition Day for Year 6 who are joining NUSA in September to introduce the pupils to some of the concepts that they'll meet in Year 7 Science. SBRC provided an activity of making 'Bacterial Cells' from craft materials as well as providing background information on cells. The pupils could take their Cells back to school to give a 'show and tell session'. We have been invited to run the session again next year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - DNA Day, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and demonstration about DNA, the students also explained how and why they use DNA in their research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Presentation to the BBSRC, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Outreach Presentation at the BBSRC excellence with impact competition. Q and A afterwards. Presented information about the POOG and IBBE outreach taken place plus plans for the future. Invited back to the prize giving on the 18th May 2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - School of Life Sciences Summer School, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Members of the SOLS Summer School (Aged 15/16) will have a poster session where they can ask questions about the SBRC/Outreach. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Sci Bar, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Organised as part of The British Science Association, monthly talk series in The Vat & Fiddle Pub Nottingham, to inform the public about current research topics. Prof Brigitte Nerlich gave a talk on 'how synthetic is synthetic biology and why should we worry?'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Student Placement, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A local post 16 student visit for one week, they worked with PhD Student Oliver Severn with a combination of theoretical and experimental work the work was GasChem related. The student is hoping to study biochemistry at University of Nottingham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Synthetic Biology Discovery Day, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Synthetic biology discovery day as part of Biology Week. Activities included make your own microbe and DNA extraction. Also explained what synthetic biology is and what we do in the lab. We have been asked to run another day next year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Synthetic Biology Public Debate, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The University of Nottingham hosted four free public events about its research as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's 13th annual Festival of Social Science. On of them SBRC organised: Synthetic biology: great expectations and great responsibilities November 9 2015, Lakeside Arts Centre, University of Nottingham Both synthetic biology as an emerging bioscience and 'Responsible Research and Innovation' as a new approach to science governance are controversial. Bringing them together is even more controversial. Can it be done? This event will bring together natural scientists and a member of a non-governmental organisation. The panel will be chaired by scientist and broadcaster Adam Rutherford. This sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2015/october/discover-how-social-scientists-are-shapi... |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Teachers Meeting, University of Notttingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Information provided to teachers taking part in the 'synthetic biology learning journey'. Information about, microbes, swabbing techniques and microscopy. It was confirmed that following the meeting the teachers would like to take part in the 'learning journey' in 2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - University of Nottingham's Research Showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | this was an opportunity for researchers to share their passion for their work, practice their presentation skills and engage with the wider public. Visitors to the Showcase have the opportunity to meet with world-leading researchers of the future, hear about their research and question them about what it means for society. A PhD student from the SBRC won 3rd Prize in the poster competition with her poster titled: Using Jumping Genes to Understand Bacterial Genetics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/graduateschool/events/researchshowcase/2015-winners.aspx |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Where can science take me? Science Fair - Mansfield, Nottinghamshire |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Organised as part of The British Science Festivals' National Science and Engineering week. The theme was where can science take me. A programme of activities showcasing STEM subjects. SBRC PhD students gave a presentation about how and why they got into science and hands on activity on DNA extraction from Strawberries. We have been invited to provide another session next year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity - Young Carers Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Outreach event organised by UoN Widening Participation group for young carers within the Nottingham area to enhance their choice on coming to study at University. Gave a presentation and hands on activity on DNA extraction from Strawberries. Feedback from the session was excellent had a comment from a young carer saying 'DNA extraction was the best session ever'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity, Birmingham Young Carers Visit to the University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Practical activity on bacteria to 15 carers who are looking to attend university. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Outreach Activity, Bishop Grosseteste University Exchange Visit, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on DNA and how we use it the Synthetic Biology Research Centre. Raise aspirations and influence pupils to think about studying biology at university. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC Public Lecture - London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | George Hay Lecture at the British Science Fiction Association's annual conference (Eastercon). The lecture looked at how recent advances in green chemistry and engineering - including the increasing use of industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology and new solvents - are both satisfying our demand for new and exciting products and materials, as well as bringing us closer to a full renewable and recyclable future. This sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/engineering/newsevents/newslist/anna-croft-gives-george-hay-lecture.aspx |
| Description | SBRC Public Lecture, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A Responsible Research and Innovation Public Lecture given by Professor Paul Martin, University of Sheffield. The talk was on 'Synthetic Biology, engineering life for a better work' Hosted by the SBRC-Nottingham. following the talk was a Q and A which sparked questions and a discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/home/events/synthetic-biology-engineering-life-for-a-better-world.aspx |
| Description | SBRC at Net Zero Live 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | November 10-12, 2020 saw The SBRC-Nottingham and Carbon Recycling Network attend Net-Zero Live 2020" - "the biggest virtual event of its kind connecting thousands of energy, sustainability and resource efficiency professionals around a common purpose: to accelerate climate action and drive a green recovery." The centre hosted a virtual booth, visitors could watch a video we had produced about the gas fermentation as well as talk to our experts. Around 300-400 visitors attended the event each of the 3 days. We had 23 visitors to our booth. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://netzerolive.com/ |
| Description | SBRC at Nottingham STEM Ambassadors Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and Networking with STEM ambassadors in industry. Informing industry on how we can outreach together at certain events and the benefits. Made a contact with GE Power and water potential to do an outreach activity together. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC attendance at the Mammalian Synthetic Biology Centre Launch, Edingburgh |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Networking and met with other SBRC centre managers to discuss a combined outreach activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC attendance at the Synthetic Biology Leadership Council - open Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Organised by the SBLC to engage with various stakeholders and the public, though the principal audience was composed of scientists, civil servants and government representatives. Formal presentations were given. Awareness in several communities of the SBRC's planned activities and the impacts the SBRC intends to have. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | SBRC visit to Huntingdon Academy, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Organised as part of the BBSRC's Great British Bioscience Festival, primary school pupils listened to a short presentation on bacteria. Then they got the chance to design their own bacteria and show and tell to their class. Raise aspirations, teaching children about bacteria and what we use bacteria for in our research. Feedback form was excellent they would like us to come back and give another session and/or come into the University to visit a lab. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | SBRC&C1net Nottingham University Academy of Science & Technology Open Evening |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology, open events for September 2015 recruitment. Microscope with slides of bacteria, Molymods to make molecules of C1 gas, Biofuel crossword and glow sticks to show how plasmids are used in synthetic biology. Raise aspirations of potential pupils and give them an insight into University life. Network with teachers for future events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | SBRC&C1net Nottingham University Academy of Science & Technology Open Evening |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology, open events for September 2015 recruitment. Microscope with slides of bacteria, Molymods to make molecules of C1 gas, Biofuel crossword and glow sticks to show how plasmids are used in synthetic biology. Raise aspirations of potential pupils and give them an insight into University life. Network with teachers for future events. Around 90 pupils attended. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | SBRC&C1net Nottingham University Academy of Science & Technology Open Evening |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology, open events for September 2015 recruitment. Microscope with slides of bacteria, Molymods to make molecules of C1 gas, Biofuel crossword and glow sticks to show how plasmids are used in synthetic biology. Hoping to raise aspirations and recruit year 12s into science. Networking with teachers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC&C1net Public Lecture, University of Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC and C1net PhD students gave a public lecture on 'How to make Jet Fuel (and other useful things) from Greenhouse Gases'. This also involved informing the public about the research taking place in the SBRC. There was a Q&A following the talk which sparked questions and discussion. Around 70 people attended. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SBRC-Nottingham Launch Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Nottingham Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC) Launch Event on Wednesday 14th January 2015 2-6pm, followed by Launch Dinner. Attended by senior representatives from research councils, leading scientists from the international community in the field of synthetic biology as well as senior figures from the University. Over 150 invited delegates and this provided delegates with the opportunity to meet the SBRC team, tour facilities and network with the wider academic community in this field as well as industrial partners from the UK and overseas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | STEM fair at Nottingham Bluecoat Academy - SBRC & C1net activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The STEM Fair at Bluecoat academy was a open day for families from the local primary feeder schools to learn about various STEM activites. Stand with DNA extraction activity and information onhow and why we use DNA extraction both in the SBRC and in other areas of science. We explained to the children where DNA is located in cells and it makes everyone is unique. Parents were informed about the research going on at the SBRC and this sparked questions and discussion with the scientists helping out. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | School Visit - Secondary School - NUAST, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The workshop programme into 3 parts: 1) A presentation, 2) DNA extraction from fruit and 3) Research and presentations by the students. We organised it in such a way that it was representative of a typical university course. The presentation represented lectures, the extraction represented laboratory practicals and the research and presentation represented seminars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | School Visit - Secondary School - The Beckett School, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The workshop programme into 3 parts: 1) A presentation, 2) DNA extraction from fruit and 3) Research and presentations by the students. We organised it in such a way that it was representative of a typical university course. The presentation represented lectures, the extraction represented laboratory practicals and the research and presentation represented seminars. At the end of the session, the students completed a feedback questionnaire which yielded useful information about how much students already know about synthetic biology. Most students enjoyed the workshop and said that they learnt about new subject topics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | School Visit - Secondary School - The Bluecoat School, Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The workshop programme into 3 parts: 1) A presentation, 2) DNA extraction from fruit and 3) Research and presentations by the students. We organised it in such a way that it was representative of a typical university course. The presentation represented lectures, the extraction represented laboratory practicals and the research and presentation represented seminars. At the end of the session, the students completed a feedback questionnaire which yielded useful information about how much students already know about synthetic biology. Most students enjoyed the workshop and said that they learnt about new subject topics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | School Visits x3 - SBRC Microbes Learning Journey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The SBRC Outreach Officer organized a microbes learning journey with help from the University of Nottingham's Widening Participation team, for years 5 & 6 pupils at a local Primary School in Nottingham. The learning journey took place over a month with 3 visits to the school by PhD students from the SBRC. The activities carried out during the visits were agreed between teachers and PhD students beforehand in order to support the schools' curriculum and showcase the expertise of the scientists, as well as excite pupils about the topic of microbiology and raising awareness of higher educational routes. Aims of the project: • To build confidence and self-esteem through individual achievement and collaborating with a group • To enable pupils to meet and work with real research scientists • To give pupils a contextualised visit to the University of Nottingham • To apply and improve their working scientifically skills (upper Key Stage Two National Curriculum) • To excite pupils about the topic of microbiology Over 60 pupils were involved in the learning journey During each school visit the pupils had around 10-15 minutes to ask the PhD students questions and each filled this time with a range of questions. Pupils appeared engaged throughout. Questions were recorded in order to infer apparent areas of engagement. • Over half of the questions asked were about the subject of microbiology • Almost a quarter of the questions asked were about how and why the PhD students got into science • Just less than a quarter were about how to get to university and what it's like being at University When asked at the end of the learning journey over 3 quarters of the pupils wanted to go to University and over half wanted to study a science subject. Summary: The project was very successful mainly in increasing pupils' interest in the subject of microbiology, and their understanding of the links between the subject and 'real life'. In addition, the project engaged pupils with the broader concept of advanced learning and future career opportunities. This initial learning journey is a model which hopefully will be rolled out each year to the same/different schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | School visit to the University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This was the final session of the SBRC microbes learning journey. All pupils from the school that had taken part in the sessions earlier in the year came into the University of Nottingham and did some further experiments in the STEM lab. After the experiments the pupils presented what they had learnt over the whole learning journey to the group they also explained which bits they enjoyed most. Finally there was a short graduation ceremony in one of the lecture theatres and each pupils received a certificate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2017 |
| Description | School visits to University of Nottingham SBRC & C1net outreach |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A manned an animated stall to extoll the virtues of gas fermentation. Fluffy microbes, molemods and a working fermenter were all employed to engage the motivated audience. It was a very busy occasion and we spoke to at least 100 pupils and teachers, at length. Most of the pupils were currently studying science at GCSE or A level so were well informed about global warming and engaged fully with the new ideas in our presentation of gas fermentation as part of a solution to the energy trilemma. Over 300 pupils were engaged. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Schools Visit with a scientist from DUPONT (Yorkshire) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Yorkshire STEM week the SBRC was invited to run sessions with DUPONT at local schools in the Beverley area. sessions included microbes, DNA, biofuels and fermentation. the pupils asked lots of questions about going to University and what it was like working in industry. Feedback from the school was excellent and they would like us to run more session in their STEM week next year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Schools science fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Working collaboratively with the School of life sciences the activity consisted of a series of hands on activities showcasing DNA and details on where science can take you |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | SciBar talk on synthetic biology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Scibar talk on synthetic biology in a Nottingham pub |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/Event/whats-synthetic |
| Description | Science at home - Yeast Sugar experiment - YouTube video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | YouTube video with an experiment and demonstration on gas fermentation. We hope school pupils can do this experiment at home. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9RaguGP1SA&t=2s |
| Description | Science career day at Newark Academy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This was a science careers day aimed at an 11-18 audience. There was an assembly for year 11's (about 120 students) in which 5 different scientists including myself gave a short introduction to our academic backgrounds and what we do as a scientist, covering a range of disciplines. They were trying to dispel common misconceptions about science, for example that science is not for women. There was also a question and answer session from the students. I took part in and had a stand at the careers fair which took place over two hours and was open to the whole school. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Science communication |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Brigitte Nerlich gave a Pint of Science talk in May 2017 and collaborated with a local artist as part of 'Creative Reactions'; the artwork was part of an exhibition in the Nottingham Contemporary |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2017/05/20/science-art-pints/ |
| Description | Science in the Park 2016 - Science Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science in the Park is a local event ran by the Nottinghamshire Branch of the British Science Association for members of the public. The SBRC and C1net had a activity stand with the following activities: Making bacteria from plasticene, make your own bioreactor and molymods. The scientists helping out also explained to older children and adults the research taking place at the SBRC and what they are trying to achieve. Over 7000 people from the regional area attended this science fair. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://nottsbsa.org/science-in-the-park-2016/ |
| Description | Science in the Park 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science in the Park is a free family aimed science event held every year. Its run by the Nottingham BSA, a volunteer-led branch of the British Science Association The SBRC- Nottingham had a stand called bacteria: helpful v harmful, with hands on activities ran by PhD students, Post docs and Technicians. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Science in the Park 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science in the park 2022 at Wollaton Hall Nottingham is a annual regional science festival for the local community to find out about research taking place at University of Nottingham and other Nottingham Universities. The SBRC- Nottingham and Carbon Recycling Network had an exhibition stand for delegates to find out more on helpful microbes and gas fermentation. On Saturday the 5th of March, we attended the annual Science in the Park event held at Wollaton Hall. Here we discussed bacteria, focusing on the harmful and useful bacteria around us, we also discussed the different attributes bacteria have to allow them to survive in different environments. The children (and adults) were then given the opportunity to design their own bacteria which they could build out of plasticine and take away with them. There were over 800 visitors who attended the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://wollatonhall.org.uk/science-in-the-park-2022/ |
| Description | Science in the Park Local Community Science Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science in the Park is a local event ran by the Nottingham shire Branch of the British Science Association for members of the public. We had a stand we various hands on activities to raise awareness of the centre and our research. Over 400 people were engaged. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Science, hype and fun (blog post contributing to debate about CRISPR hype) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Contribution to an online discussion on hype surrounding gene editing and CRISPR |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/07/26/science-hype-and-fun/ |
| Description | Stand at SynbiTECH2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The SBRC and NIBB CCnet - Carbon ReCycling, hosted an exhibition stand at the event to inform delegates about the new network and how to join. The exhibition stand also included a bubbling, colour changing bioreactor and our recently commissioned gas fermentation animation both were great conversation starters |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.synbicite.com/news-events/SynbiTECH-2019/ |
| Description | Stands at SynBio UK 2019 Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SBRC and CCnet had an information stand on the centre and the NIBB. We had the animation and fermenter on display. We promoted joining CCnet network and advertised the CCnet conference. Students attending the event were interested in PhD & Post Doc opportunities at the SBRC Nottingham and around 20 people showed a positive interest in attemnding the CCnet conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Student Placement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Work experience for A level student, The school pupil shadowed PhD students got to watch difference technical procedures and protocols being performed and acquired some of her own experience in performing some basic lab techniques. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Student Placement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 10 week placement for a-level student, feedback below: During my time thus far at the SBRC I have had the opportunity to work closely with many amazing scientists who had made my placement here a wonderful, cheerful experience. I feel that my understanding of the researcher life has deepend considerably since coming into this friendly environment and that will reflect well on my future choices. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | SynBio UK 2017 Conference Exhibition Stand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | SBRC and C1net had an information stand on the centre and the NIBB we also advertised jobs and how to collaborate with us. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.biochemistry.org/Events/tabid/379/MeetingNo/SA207/view/Conference/Default.aspx |
| Description | Synthetic Biology UK 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | SBRC- Nottingham hosted the SBUK21: -Included talks from researchers on synthetic biology -Hybrid & in-person (EMCC) and online through the Biochemical Society. -The audience type was academic, postgraduate and industry with 6 industry sponsors; Bioscience Reports, New England BioLabs, Integrated DNA Technologies, Codex DNA, Twist Bioscience and QIAGEN. 139 delegates attended A URL link to the programme can be found here: https://www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/frontend/reg/thome.csp?pageID=53019&eventID=108&traceRedir=2 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/frontend/reg/tAgendaWebsite.csp?pageID=53504&ef_sel_menu=849&... |
| Description | Synthetic biology comes to Nottingham (Blog post announcing a public debate) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post announcing an ESRC Festival of Social Science debate |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/11/04/synthetic-biology-comes-to-nottingham-... |
| Description | Synthetic biology markets: Opportunities and obstacles (blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Contribution to debate around synthetic biology and the bioeconomy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2014/12/31/synthetic-biology-markets-opportunitie... |
| Description | Synthetic biology or the modern Prometheus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post about old and new narratives surrounding synthetic biology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/09/12/synthetic-biology-or-the-modern-promet... |
| Description | Ta(l)king responsibility (blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post tackling the difficult issue of responsible research and innovation as a social science aspiration and a scientific reality |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/05/28/talking-responsibility/ |
| Description | The Circular Economy Symposium at The Royal Society London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The event organised by the University of Nottingham-led C1net - a BBSRC-NIBB (Network in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy), took place at The Royal Society, London on 11 July 2018. Moderated by BBC Journalist - Tom Heap. SBRC/C1net had a information stand |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://c1net.co.uk/event/special-conference-circular-economy-now-royal-society-london/ |
| Description | The bioeconomy in the news - or not (blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Critical look at media coverage of bioeconomy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/04/30/the-bioeconomy-in-the-news-or-not/ |
| Description | The book of life: Reading, writing, editing (Blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post alerting people to issues around responsible language use |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/11/22/the-book-of-life-reading-writing-and-e... |
| Description | The colours of biotechnology (blog post) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Fun blog post but raising some serious questions about the visualisation of emerging technologies such as synthetic biology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2015/10/25/the-colours-of-biotechnology/ |
| Description | UK-China Workshop "Carbon Recycling", Beijing, China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Blazing summer in Beijing proved the perfect melting pot for the best in the West and Eastern experts to mull over "Carbon recycling: converting waste derived GHG into chemicals, fuels and animal feed". The workshop, held at the Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS), Beijing, was organised by SBRC-Nottingham and IMCAS and was jointly funded by C1net, ADnet and SBRC-Nottingham thanks to BBSRC grants. The workshop enabled 21 delegates from industry and academia in the UK, France, USA and New Zealand to meet with their counterparts from all over China; 48 delegates overall to cover all aspects of C1 utilisation. Industrial presentations from Calysta, LanzaTech, Johnson Matthey and CPI were interspersed with cutting-edge science from academic experts |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://c1net.co.uk/event/china-workshop/ |
| Description | University of Nottingham - Biodiscovery Institute launch event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On Monday 6 September scientists, government officials and senior leaders in research and healthcare from across the UK, turned out in force to mark the official opening of the university's world leading Biodiscovery Institute (BDI). Over one hundred guests attended the in-person event, which saw the facility opened by Professor Fiona Watt, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, and the University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West. SBRC & Carbon Recyling Network had its banner on display alongwith pull-up banners from DeepBranch PhaseBioLabs and Phenotypeca. We did short presentations to small groups of VIPs on the BDI tour including to BBSRC's CEO Melanie Welham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/research-areas/biodiscovery-institute/outreach-and-public-enga... |
| Description | University of Nottingham - Diversity Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | From Monday 8 to Friday 19 March 2021, the University of Nottingham is holding its first ever virtual diversity festival. The festival focuses on 'embracing and celebrating difference' with more than 30 virtual events open to staff, students and alumni, which aim to promote understanding and awareness of diversity and inclusion in our community. As part of the festival, on Friday 12 March, SBRC-Nottingham presents a 90 minute 'fire-side chat' to celebrate diversity in the SBRC and to open up a conversation about equality and inclusiveness by exploring the journeys which have drawn individuals to (and beyond) the SBRC and identifying the challenges they have faced along the way. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/diversityfestival/diversity-festival.aspx |
| Description | University of Nottingham Discovery Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | over 372 pupils from the regional area attended the event. Plans have already been made to attend the event next year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | University of Nottingham Environment and Social Justice Network - Student Union Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A SBRC researcher and Carbon Recycling Network member gave a 40 minute talk about the SBRC, Carbon Recycling Network, and gas fermentaion to a group of undergraduates |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | University of the Third Age - Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC PhD Student & Carbon Recycling Network Member gave a talk to members of the Nottingham University of the Third Age: On the 16th of June I had the pleasure to introduce the topics of Bioenergy, biofuels and Carbon Capture and Storage to an avid audience from the University of the Third Age (U3A) of Edwalton and Gamston. Speaking at an U3A is always an extremely rewarding and inspiring experience: it is rare to find a public more invested and more curious than senior citizens brought together by their desire to learn. I was happily surprised that they specifically requested talk on Bioenergy, as it is a concept of capital importance which is often used in the context of sustainability and Net-zero emissions targets, but very rarely explained properly. Improving the literacy of the U3A group of Edwalton and Gamston in these very important topics felt like a privilege. Indeed, I hope that my explanations will help them feel more confident in their consumption choices and their voting preferences. Preparing this talk gave me the opportunity to update my knowledge of global and national energy consumption patterns, and of the UK strategy to reach net-zero CO2 emissions. Even though it was done by videoconference, it also constituted a welcome human interaction in these times of social distancing, as well as a convenient break from writing up my thesis. All in all: amazing experience, 10/10 would do again. £50 donated to Woodland Trust as a thank you from U3A. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Video made with Don Whitley |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Researcher took part in a video organised by the leading manufacturer of Anaerobic Cabinets, Don Whitley. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Video made with Qiagen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Researchers took part in a video produce by Qiagen about the Alltaq equipment |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Virtual Reality Demonstration with ARUP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Insights into Digital Careers' event for Midlands schools interaction and early careers engagement to get kids interested in Digital careers. SBRC and ARUP hosted a virtual reality demonstration, which included a synthetic biology experiment using VR. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Visit to the Synthetic Biology Research Centre Nottingham from Lord Henley |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On Friday 1st March, SBRC-Nottingham was on its best behaviour as host to VIP visitor Lord Henley. Oliver Michael Robert Eden, or Lord Henley, is a British hereditary peer and politician, who is a Conservative member of the House of Lords. He serves as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and as such is our ministerial champion for synthetic biology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | WONDER - University of Nottingham community open day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC Nottingham and C1net presented "Bugs, Biofuel and the Biosphere" where various fun activities were used to show that not all microbes are bad and how some turn unwanted waste gases into fuels and chemicals. There was something for everyone: younger children had fun making placticine microbes inside an "anaerobic cabinet", older ones raced against the clock to build bioethanol from molymods and parents were engaged by the biology of the bubbling bioreactor. The public asked many questions about the research in the SBRC and younger children agreed that some bacteria can be very useful rather than just harmful. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/wonder/index.aspx |
| Description | WONDER 2019 - University Open Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SBRC/CCnet's contribution to day focused on "Carbon" with our own original board game "Game of Fuels". Thanks to the help of our lab coat-clad volunteers, approximately 224 toddlers, teens and townspeople enjoyed learning about fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, global warming and research into biofuels and low carbon fuels. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Waste Gas Fermentation at The Synthetic Biology Research Centre-Nottingham - Animation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We created an animation about Waste Gas Fermentation at The Synthetic Biology Research Centre-Nottingham and the facilities we have available, the animation also highlights The Carbon Recycling Network and examples 2 of the companies we work with. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvFE5vZNWuY |
| Description | Widening participation lecture on biotech and nanotech |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Widening participation lecture as part of Sutton Trust Summer School, Nottingham - under Theology and Ethics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Women's Institute Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A SBRC post doctoral researcher gave a 45 minutes talk to over 50 people at the Nottingham Kimberley Women Institute. The talk sparked lots of questions and a discussion after. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Work Experience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Between July 8-12 a Year 12 pupil shadowed the work of one of our research scientists to learn about synthetic biology and bacterial cell-cell communication. "I was lucky enough to be able to shadow some research concerning my interest in quorum sensing in Dr Winzer's group at the Synthetic Biology Research Centre Nottingham. I feel that not only was this a greatly enjoyable experience but that it was also an equally helpful one. The student whom I shadowed was kind and patient enough to explain the details which I didn't understand. Through her explanations and demonstrations, I learnt of protocols and equipment which I had never even heard of before. I believe that having the opportunity to discuss questions with the people there, who have years more of experience and knowledge than me, has been incredibly helpful. Having observed some research, I realized that I had many misconceptions concerning this field. However, looking back on my week at Nottingham, this experience has helped me realize and reconfirm that science is the field for me." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Work Experience Placement student from George Spencer Academy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The pupil helped Dr Sam Bryan with samples and in the fermentation suite for two weeks over the summer holidays. The pupils was due to start their A-Levels in the September and following on from the placement the pupil considered studying biotechnology at university after completing their A-Levels. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Work Experience Placement student from Trent College |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | the student shadowed some of the post docs and was shown how to do simple lab techniques such as streaking bacteria onto agar and observing fermentation processes as part of their placement. the students placement was 3 months over the summer period while they wanted for their A-Level results. the student is now studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Nottingham and we believe this choice of subject/institution was due to the placement experience. The student is also considering a PhD after undergraduate course in biotechnology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Work Experience Placement student from West Bridgford School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The student spent x2 weeks shadowing a post doc and learning different microbiology techniques. The student concluded they would either like to study medicine or microbiology at university. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Year 8 DNA Day - outreach activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We gave a presentation on DNA, what it is and what it doe how we use it in synthetic biology and why other areas of science use it, such as forensic science. We also ran an experiment on extracting DNA from fruit and gave the pupils the option to answer questions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | article in local newspaper Nottingham Post 16th November 2012 " Nottingham professor in search to make low carbon fuel" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | article in local press http://archive.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Nottingham-professor-search-make-low-carbon-fuel/story-17337947-detail/story.html#ixzz2sH3B3JJY promotion of research and public awareness |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://archive.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Nottingham-professor-search-make-low-carbon-fuel/story-1733794... |
| Description | iGEM 2017 Team participation and presentation at the Jamboree in Boston, USA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | iGEM, or the international Genetically Engineered Machine, is a student synthetic biology competition which aims to bring together young scientists from around the world, addressing global challenges through the engineering of biological parts.This is the first year the University of Nottingham has taken part in the iGEM competition, the team is very interdisciplinary comprising of biologists, engineers and computational scientists from around the University. The team will be undertaking a project aimed to look at how biological systems can be used to overcome the limitations of current passwords. One of the Undergraduates who took part in the competition is now doing their final year project at the SBRC with Dr Ying Zhang. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://2017.igem.org/Team:UNOTT/Description |
| Description | iGEM Gold Medal Press Release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Press Release from our iGEM 2018 Gold medal success. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2018/november/students-design-award-winning-superbug... |
| Description | iGEM Participation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | PRESS RELEASE "Students scoop gold in international competition" A group of students from the University of Nottingham has won an international prize for creating an innovative method for preventing a deadly type of food poisoning. The team of 10 undergraduate students from the Schools of Life Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science has won Gold at the internationally renowned iGEM competition (International Genetically Engineered Machine). The Nottingham team's winning project "Notox" aims to provide a cheaper and faster alternative to current food testing methods for preventing botulism, a deadly type of food poisoning, caused by Clostridium botulinum. Outbreaks of botulism are rare but can result in high morbidity and mortality rates. Team Nottingham designed a 'proof of concept' project by engineering a safe strain of bacteria which could be injected into the packaged food to be tested. This safe strain produces volatile acetone rather than toxin if the food packaging methods fail. The acetone gas can then be simply and quickly detected using an electronic nose also designed and made by the team. Saniya Crouch, Team Leader Nottingham iGEM 2019, said: "iGEM has given our team the opportunity to contribute to the rapidly developing synthetic biology field at such a young age, by developing a project which is able to tackle real-world issues. It has given me a realistic insight into the 'life of a scientist' and has inspired me to pursue a career in the lab. However, the real benefits to my career are all of the skills I gained along the way such as lab work, problem-solving, presentation, and many other skills which will benefit any career I choose, whether it is inside or out of the lab." The iGEM foundation which began at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Boston, USA, is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education and competition, and the development of an open community and collaboration. The annual competition, held in Boston, began in 2004 with just five teams but this year brought together nearly 6,000 students in over 400 interdisciplinary teams from 45 different countries. Teams use the principles of synthetic biology, the "Engineering of Biology" to design parts, devices or systems to solve real-world problems, such as antibiotic resistance and climate change Team Nottingham 2019 travelled to Boston, USA to present their work at the iGEM jamboree and can now proudly boast a Gold Medal along with nominations for 'Best Food and Nutrition project' and 'Best Human Practices'. Team Nottingham 2019 can now add its gold success to the medals of previous teams Team 2017 (Bronze) and Team 2018 (Gold). Nottingham's iGEM team was supported by the University of Nottingham's Research Priority Area in Industrial Biotechnology; through grant funding from the Wellcome Trust, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) via the Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre. It was also given generous cash donations from Porton Bipharma Ltd and Don Whitley Scientific Ltd and through in-kind support from Qiagen, Promega, The Twinkle Factory, New England Biolabs, Labfolder and Snapgene. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://2019.igem.org/Team:Nottingham |
| Description | iGEM Press Release - University of Nottingham website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Press rease about the iGEWM project on the University of Nottingham website |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news |
| Description | iGEM article in "Nottingham in Focus" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The iGEM project was published in 'Nottingham Local News' and 'Notts in Focus' (Issue 337, Page 4), which are both printed journals with local demographics in the Nottinghamshire area. Together, they impressively distribute over 50,000 copies monthly. We contacted these regional papers with the aim to educate and enlighten a diverse range of people who might not necessarily come from a science background with our project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://2019.igem.org/Team:Nottingham/Public_Engagement |
| Description | iGEM article in IMPACT magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The iGEM project was published in the University of Nottingham's student paper - the 'Impact Magazine'. This paper is printed in its thousands every month and is written by Nottingham students with the articles being aimed at fellow university students. After a successful response to the first article, they are also interested in a follow-up article discussing our adventure to Boston for the Jamboree. A publication in the "Impact Magazine" allowed us to reach and inform students from not only the Nottingham campus with the physical copy, but also the University of Nottingham students at the Chinese and Malaysian campuses as it was also featured on the "Impact Magazine" online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://impactnottingham.com/2019/09/university-of-nottingham-students-sniffing-for-success/ |