The British Liquid Crystal Society Annual Winter Workshop
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Hull
Department Name: Physical Sciences
Abstract
Research and development in liquid crystals has been highly significant over the past 35 years, and a wide range of high technology products has resulted in high quality, flat-panel displays from watches and calculators, mobile telephones, and digital cameras to lap-top computers, desk-top monitors and large-area colour televisions. These products have helped to completely revolutionize the way in which we all live and conduct our day to day activities of business and lesiure.Research in the area of liquid crystals continues to be intense in order to improve the well-known products, and to use the unique nature of liquid crystal materials (materials where the molecules have the mobility of a liquid, yet are not completely disordered, which provides a fluid with the important optical, electronic and visco-eleastic properties of solids) to generate novel applications for high technology products of the future.The training of researchers new to the field of liquid crystals is of paramount importance to maintaining the excellent progress of research, and the delivering of the desired technological achievements in the future. Such training presents particular challenges because the research area of liquid crystals is extremely multidisciplinary and necessarily involves the close collaboration of researchers from areas of chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, computation and biology.The British Liquid Crystal Society Annual Winter Workshop serves to provide the education and training needs for research scientists who are new to the field of liquid crystals research. The Workshop involves experienced scientists who are experts in their various disciplines. The experts deliver lectures to provide the backgound knowledge in the various scientific disciplines, they operate hands-on laboratory sessions to introduce the important practical techniques, and importantly they are available for the entire duration of the Workshop for informal discussions and general networking with the new researchers.Hence, the Annual Workshop is invaluable for the continuous generation of trained scientists in the multi-disciplinary and technologically important area of liquid crystals.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Michael Hird (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | This 'research' grant was concerned with the training of researchers new to the field of liquid crystals, which is very much a multidisciplinary area. The workshops/training schools funded enabled these new researchers to meet those from other scientific areas, and get an academic and practical experience of these various areas. |
| Exploitation Route | Others could use the experiences of these Workshops/Training Schools in their scientific areas, to meet their training needs. |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| URL | http://www.hull.ac.uk/chemistry/BLCS/wwindex.htm |
| Description | The British Liquid Crystal Society Annual Workshop/Training School serves to provide the education and training needs for research scientists who are new to the field of liquid crystals research. Liquid crystals is a multi-disciplinary area of research involving collaboration between chemists, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and engineers, hence training in this type of event is most beneficial. The British Liquid Crystal Society Annual Workshop/Training School is designed to create a strong immediate impact and to facilitate a wide range of future strong impacts. The initial impact is on the people involved in the Workshop/Training School, particularly the delegates attending the event, but also on those delivering the training. The activities of the Workshop/Training School are wide ranging academic disciplines of liquid crystals and related practical laboratory techniques, and these are designed to impart a strong knowledge and skills base to the delegates, with a particular emphasis on nurturing independent thinking, problem solving and practical skills. The Workshop/Training School conveys the existing state of the art knowledge and skills rather than actually being a research programme that will create a new knowledge/skills base and generate a new state of the art directly. However, in the longer term such significant impacts will be most certainly be realised through the efforts of the delegates from the Workshop/Training School, either in their immediate post-graduate research or through later post-doctoral or independent research activities. The knowledge and skills acquired through the Workshop/Training School are most transferable to other disciplines, and hence there is significant scope for strong impact in the wider economic and societal aspects. The examples into the future can be numerous and wide ranging. Delegates may go on to use the knowledge and skills acquired during the Workshop/Training School to generate novel pharmaceuticals of significant health impact or set successful scientific policy or be involved in developing positive health and safety regulations. Delegates may go on to develop more efficient production or form new companies, and create wealth. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2006 |
| Sector | Chemicals,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic |
| Description | The British Liquid Crystal Society Annual Winter Workshop |
| Amount | £42,286 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/H011927/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2010 |
| End | 01/2013 |
| Description | The British Liquid Crystal Society Annual Workshop/Training School - EP/K008374/1 |
| Amount | £49,538 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/K008374/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2012 |
| End | 11/2015 |
| Description | The British Liquid Crystal Society Liquid Crystals Workshop 2013-2014 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The British Liquid Crystals Society Liquid Crystals Workshop for 2013-2014 was held as usual at the University of Hull from lunchtime Monday 6th January 2014 to lunchtime Wednesday 8th January 2014. Areas covered by the Workshop include a general introduction to liquid crystals, the synthesis of liquid crystals, identification of liquid crystal phases by optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray analysis, liquid crystal dendrimers/polymers, the physics of liquid crystals, liquid crystal devices, and modelling of liquid crystals. Theory and practical work is included, and there is ample opportunity for social activities. All participants are provided with notes from each of the topics covered. The total number of delegates at the Workshop is consistent around 35 or so, and the number of speakers/instructors is 12. All sessions, lectures and practical workshops stimulate questions and discussion, and all delegates seemed to enjoy themselves, and I am sure that they all benefited from the wide and varied academic and social programmes. There most certainly many and varied impacts from this training event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
| URL | http://www.hull.ac.uk/chemistry/BLCS/wwindex.htm |