Small items of research equipment at the University of Exeter

The strategic goal of the University of Exeter is to become a top UK research university by 2015, known throughout the world for its research excellence and impact. To achieve this, one of its strategic goals is a new way forward for science. Through its Science Strategy, the University of Exeter is adopting an interdisciplinary approach by breaking down barriers between academic schools and bringing staff together to tackle some of the big issues of our time. The present proposal will contribute to the achievement of this strategic science goal by boosting the small equipment research base used by early carrier researchers working across the following areas:
Graphene Science and Engineering
Research in Functional Materials
Quantum Systems and Nanomaterials
Critical and Green Technology of Metals
The Centre for Systems, Dynamics and Control
The Centre for Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Detecting, Preventing and Mitigating Emerging Diseases
Nano-Bio Science

This proposal allows great scope for boosting the interdisciplinary research carried out by early carrier researchers at the University of Exeter in the fields of life sciences, physics, engineering and applied mathematics and in areas of strategic importance to the EPSRC portfolio. Here we highlight the impact in specific areas of primary interest to this proposal.
Graphene and carbon nanotechnology - The outputs of the research carried using the requested small equipment will be fundamental to the commercial and the economic development of state of the art bio-sensors, smart coatings and novel opto-electro-mechanical devices based on graphene and other nano-scale systems. The topic areas that can be explored will allow great scope for establishing academic and industrial collaborations in the life sciences, physics and engineering and, as a result, open up new funding avenues. Even though only 8 years have passed since graphene has been experimentally accessed, the discovery in 2012 of GraphExeter -i.e. the best known transparent conductor which is also stable in ambient condition [Adv. Mater. 24, 2844 (2012)]- by early career researchers at the University of Exeter clearly shows that the next few years can be regarded as a realistic timescale for many of the aims described above. Furthermore, the large number of PDRAs (6) and PhD students (20) actively involved in projects which require a boost in small equipment will develop skills in electrical and optical measurement techniques, bioscience, low-temperature physics and chemistry, which will provide them with an excellent, broad platform from which to develop their own careers. The research will aim to inspire school children and the general public as it affords scope to demonstrate advanced science at an accessible level.
Critical and Green Technology of Metals - This proposal will significantly aid the deliverables of the Critical Metals Alliance with a fundamental academic and societal impact. Collaborations within the Criticals Metals Alliance are planned to support 2 research grant proposals per year, 2 MSc dissertations per year and 5 conference presentations per annum. It is planned that there will be more than 6 per-reviewed papers in press by 2014 and 6 PhD students, also in place by 2014. Dr K. Moore will be involved with most of the deliverables. The British Geological Survey is supporting the Knowledge Transfer activities of the Critical Metals Alliance for the first three years. The University of Exeter is supporting the Grand Challenges Programme and conference attendance is supported by the usual mechanisms. We will also be able to implement an effective outreach programme for schools and general public. This proposal will allow to develop a spatially resolved geochemical model either for the critical metals used in low-carbon energy technologies for mineral ore deposits in the Caledonides of the UK or the critical metals in an area of SW England. This model aims at overcoming the current limitations in mining critical metals and it will naturally have a fundamental impact on the economy of the UK.
Living with Environmental Change - The resources requested by this proposal will have a fundamental societal impact since it will improve significantly our current ability to model the weather. Indeed, society benefits significantly from the numerical weather forecasts provided by the Met Office. Recently, PA consulting valued the Met Office's public weather service in excess of £600 million. The high-resolution numerical weather forecasts of the Met Office provide information on, for example: surface temperature, low-level cloud and fog, and the onset of thunderstorms. This benefits the public and a wide range of industries including: agriculture, aviation, construction, wind energy, retail and transport. Improving high-resolution numerical weather prediction models will also benefit climate models with a major impact on the socio-economical aspects of UK.