Next Generation Multi-Dimensional X-Ray Imaging
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Materials
Abstract
Our previous platform grant (PG) was aimed at developing the residual stress and imaging unit to extend our measurement and imaging capability beyond existing time and length scales and to become a world leading centre. This has now been achieved. The international impact of our research was recognised by the award of the most prestigious prize in the HE sector, the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (2012-2014) for "New Techniques in X-Ray Imaging of Materials Critical for Power, Transport and Other Key Industries." Further we have just been awarded £18m by HEFCE and £4.2m by EPSRC for capital investment to achieve a step jump in our instrumentation.
This PG renewal will enable us to invent new, and develop emerging, techniques to see in 3D events that have never been seen this way before. This will maximise the benefit of the capital investment bringing together X-ray and electron imaging to examine materials behaviour under demanding environments. Many of the instruments will be completely new. The PG will enable us to have a multidisciplinary team of mathematicians, detector experts, instrument developers and applications materials scientists to explore new regimes and undertake new science. For example, normally X-rays pictures are collected in black in white (just like the x-ray radiographs in hospitals). We have developed a detector that can see in 'colour'. This will enable us to 'see' the composition of the objects in our 3D images.
Normally X-ray imaging can see different phases but not the grains making up the materials. Recently together with scientists in Denmark and at the European Synchrotron in Grenoble we have developed a method to see the different grains inside a sample non-destructively. Currently this must be done using synchrotron X-rays at large facilities - we will develop a laboratory system capable of this.
Finally we have recently been awarded an 5 x EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training and we will train these PhD students in the imaging techniques we develop through the PG.
This PG renewal will enable us to invent new, and develop emerging, techniques to see in 3D events that have never been seen this way before. This will maximise the benefit of the capital investment bringing together X-ray and electron imaging to examine materials behaviour under demanding environments. Many of the instruments will be completely new. The PG will enable us to have a multidisciplinary team of mathematicians, detector experts, instrument developers and applications materials scientists to explore new regimes and undertake new science. For example, normally X-rays pictures are collected in black in white (just like the x-ray radiographs in hospitals). We have developed a detector that can see in 'colour'. This will enable us to 'see' the composition of the objects in our 3D images.
Normally X-ray imaging can see different phases but not the grains making up the materials. Recently together with scientists in Denmark and at the European Synchrotron in Grenoble we have developed a method to see the different grains inside a sample non-destructively. Currently this must be done using synchrotron X-rays at large facilities - we will develop a laboratory system capable of this.
Finally we have recently been awarded an 5 x EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training and we will train these PhD students in the imaging techniques we develop through the PG.
Planned Impact
The current Manchester residual stress and imaging facility has achieved a very wide range of impacts beyond the >200 papers that have arisen out of previous platform grant funding as recognised by the Queens Anniversary Award for 'New techniques in x-ray imaging of materials critical for power, transport and other key industries'. We envisage the PG funding will enable us to have even greater impact.
In relation to our impact on knowledge we have been able to work with over 200 researchers at the facility from 26 countries, and scientists from 35 UK higher education institutes. The new PG would enable us to develop techniques on a wide range of new pieces of equipment, many of which are completely unique. This will have a big impact on the way we see the world and our knowledge about it. In particular it will allow us to explore materials behaviour under a range of demanding environments. A unique feature will be our ability to connect many instruments across a range of scales and connect structural information with chemical mapping.
With regard to economic impacts we have worked with 90 companies. The New Characterisation facility has been funded with £99m of complementary industry funding from companies such as BP plc; Rolls-Royce; AMEC; Sellafield; NNL; FEI Company; Xradia; Rapiscan Systems; AREVA; Westinghouse. Many of the methods we have developed have been transferred directly into industry and we have set up a small self-sustaining activity that applies our methods to industrial problems.
The Facility has been an effective incubator for academic leaders with 7 PG researchers going on to lectureships and 2 becoming instrument scientists at international facilities. We believe that with PG funding we can continue to create an environment where young people thrive, undertake experiments at international facilities and continuously refine their skills under active mentoring. The PG will enable us to set up a "mini-sandpit" scheme along with small amounts of proof-of-principle beamtime to develop research collaborations of their own.
We take public communication very seriously; and the PG will enable us to continue this work. We have hosted Nuffield students every year for the past 6 years to work on our data. We train staff in public engagement and exploit the visual nature of much of the data we collect to communicate our fascination with science in the hope that young people will take up STEM subjects. Videos from our imaging have been included in many TV shows particularly natural history and palaeontology. During our current PG we exhibited twice at the Royal Society summer event as well as at Big Bang, Southport Airshow and many Science Festivals. In recognition of his contribution to outreach Prof. Withers has been awarded the 2014 Sir Colin Humphrey's Education Award by IOM3.
In relation to our impact on knowledge we have been able to work with over 200 researchers at the facility from 26 countries, and scientists from 35 UK higher education institutes. The new PG would enable us to develop techniques on a wide range of new pieces of equipment, many of which are completely unique. This will have a big impact on the way we see the world and our knowledge about it. In particular it will allow us to explore materials behaviour under a range of demanding environments. A unique feature will be our ability to connect many instruments across a range of scales and connect structural information with chemical mapping.
With regard to economic impacts we have worked with 90 companies. The New Characterisation facility has been funded with £99m of complementary industry funding from companies such as BP plc; Rolls-Royce; AMEC; Sellafield; NNL; FEI Company; Xradia; Rapiscan Systems; AREVA; Westinghouse. Many of the methods we have developed have been transferred directly into industry and we have set up a small self-sustaining activity that applies our methods to industrial problems.
The Facility has been an effective incubator for academic leaders with 7 PG researchers going on to lectureships and 2 becoming instrument scientists at international facilities. We believe that with PG funding we can continue to create an environment where young people thrive, undertake experiments at international facilities and continuously refine their skills under active mentoring. The PG will enable us to set up a "mini-sandpit" scheme along with small amounts of proof-of-principle beamtime to develop research collaborations of their own.
We take public communication very seriously; and the PG will enable us to continue this work. We have hosted Nuffield students every year for the past 6 years to work on our data. We train staff in public engagement and exploit the visual nature of much of the data we collect to communicate our fascination with science in the hope that young people will take up STEM subjects. Videos from our imaging have been included in many TV shows particularly natural history and palaeontology. During our current PG we exhibited twice at the Royal Society summer event as well as at Big Bang, Southport Airshow and many Science Festivals. In recognition of his contribution to outreach Prof. Withers has been awarded the 2014 Sir Colin Humphrey's Education Award by IOM3.
Publications
Savjani N
(2016)
Synthesis of Lateral Size-Controlled Monolayer 1 H- MoS 2 @Oleylamine as Supercapacitor Electrodes.
in Chemistry of Materials
Hernández-Nava E
(2016)
The effect of defects on the mechanical response of Ti-6Al-4V cubic lattice structures fabricated by electron beam melting
in Acta Materialia
Toth PS
(2016)
Asymmetric MoS2 /Graphene/Metal Sandwiches: Preparation, Characterization, and Application.
in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Slater T
(2016)
European Microscopy Congress 2016: Proceedings
Bradley R
(2016)
Correlative multiscale tomography of biological materials
in MRS Bulletin
Desai N
(2016)
An explicit reconstruction algorithm for the transverse ray transform of a second rank tensor field from three axis data
in Inverse Problems
Tammas-Williams S
(2016)
The Effectiveness of Hot Isostatic Pressing for Closing Porosity in Titanium Parts Manufactured by Selective Electron Beam Melting
in Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A
Daniels MJ
(2016)
Fenamate NSAIDs inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome and protect against Alzheimer's disease in rodent models.
in Nature communications
Patterson B
(2016)
In Situ Laboratory-Based Transmission X-Ray Microscopy and Tomography of Material Deformation at the Nanoscale
in Experimental Mechanics
Yu B
(2016)
A comparison of different approaches for imaging cracks in composites by X-ray microtomography.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Worrall S
(2016)
Metal-organic framework templated electrodeposition of functional gold nanostructures
in Electrochimica Acta
Yankovich AB
(2016)
Non-rigid registration and non-local principle component analysis to improve electron microscopy spectrum images.
in Nanotechnology
Tammas-Williams S
(2016)
Porosity regrowth during heat treatment of hot isostatically pressed additively manufactured titanium components
in Scripta Materialia
Burnett TL
(2016)
Large volume serial section tomography by Xe Plasma FIB dual beam microscopy.
in Ultramicroscopy
Lindsay J
(2017)
Developments in Large Volume 3D Analysis via P-FIB: EBSD & EDS
in Microscopy and Microanalysis
Bergstad M
(2017)
Retracted: The influence of NaCl concentration on salt precipitation in heterogeneous porous media
in Water Resources Research
Hirunpinyopas W
(2017)
Desalination and Nanofiltration through Functionalized Laminar MoS2 Membranes.
in ACS nano
Zeng Y
(2017)
Ablation-resistant carbide Zr0.8Ti0.2C0.74B0.26 for oxidizing environments up to 3,000 °C.
in Nature communications
Pawar S
(2017)
Crystallographic effects on the corrosion of twin roll cast AZ31 Mg alloy sheet
in Acta Materialia
Li S
(2017)
Nanocomposites of graphene nanoplatelets in natural rubber: microstructure and mechanisms of reinforcement
in Journal of Materials Science
Winiarski B
(2017)
Correlative Tomography for Additive Manufacturing of Biomedical Implants
in Microscopy and Microanalysis
Burke MG
(2017)
The application of in situ analytical transmission electron microscopy to the study of preferential intergranular oxidation in Alloy 600.
in Ultramicroscopy
Velický M
(2017)
Exfoliation of natural van der Waals heterostructures to a single unit cell thickness.
in Nature communications
Description | X-ray imaging is a vital tool for the non-destructive evaluation of materials for the manufacturing industry most notably in the aerospace and automotive sectors in which high Z materials dominate. We are looking to improve time resolution for capture of dynamic information (4-D tomography) and provide much better data for engineers to exploit in diagnostics and risk analysis. We have started to improve the tomographic contrast of low Z materials which will benefit the healthcare sector, where X-ray imaging occupies a special position as a workhorse not only for aiding diagnosis, but also for providing the spatial and density metrics needed to target the delivery of X-radiation and increasingly proton beams for therapy. The ability for non-destructive analysis which generates a quantitative digital record of objects is a key attraction for both the heritage sector and forensic science. There has been scope to explore synergies with other techniques, namely synchrotron X-ray imaging. The lab systems have been based around hutch designs similar to the beamlines to enable complete transfer-ability between the synchrotron and lab. X-ray beams. In this way experiments can be planned and their feasibility checked on the lab system, rigs can be tested and developed, and experiments can be transferred from the synchrotron to the lab systems for the long timescale end of the experiment, e.g. studying fatigue or corrosion. We have been able to produce the highest resolution X-ray images with the shortest scan times. With 10 scanners it is the largest in the world and has attracted 350 researchers from 28 countries, 35 UK universities and 90 companies. Multi-scale imaging: a single CT system can cover only a small range of scales. By connecting together a suite of 5 scanners, users will be able to study phenomena from 500 mm down to 50 nm scales in one facility. Time lapse CT: few systems are optimised for time-lapse experiments. We can cover a wide range of temporal studies from years to minutes - complementing the short term-high frame rate studies at synchrotrons. Correlated physical, chemical and X-ray imaging: the MRF would couple X-ray to electron microscopy imaging, extending to the nano-scales and providing different types of information (structural, crystallographic, chemical etc) on the same region of interest. We are working toward combining an X-ray and electron imaging lab so called correlative tomography. Insight into larger/denser samples: there is UK demand to image large/high density materials and components, especially in engineering and geology/palaeontology. 3-D grain mapping: mapping of grains in 2-D by EBSD has revolutionised the study of materials science; it has just become possible to image grains in 3-D non-destructively using a specially adapted lab CT system, shedding light on a range of inter-granular/textural effects in natural and synthetic materials and providing 3-D crystalline micro-structures for 3-D modelling studies. Access to in-situ rigs: groups are currently limited in what they can see by the environments they can replicate within the scanner. We have a range of in-situ rigs for materials engineering, bio-materials and geology. |
Exploitation Route | X-ray imaging is a vital tool for the non-destructive evaluation of materials for the manufacturing industry most notably in the aerospace and automotive sectors in which high Z materials dominate. We are looking to improve time resolution for capture of dynamic information (4-D tomography) and provide much better data for engineers to exploit in diagnostics and risk analysis. We have started to improve the tomographic contrast of low Z materials which will benefit the healthcare sector, where X-ray imaging occupies a special position as a workhorse not only for aiding diagnosis but also for providing the spatial and density metrics needed to target the delivery of X-radiation and increasingly proton beams for therapy. The ability for nondestructive analysis which generates a quantitative digital record of organic and inorganic artefacts is a key attraction for both the heritage sector and forensic science. The Platform grant enabled us to have the key expertise to make the facility available to a very wide range of academic and industrial users from across the UK who have used the unique capabilities of X-ray CT to answer a very wide range of industrial and academic questions. Many of our staff now work for X-ray companies, large sccale facilisties such as Diamond Light Source and Max IV or have lectureship positions all of which are taking the subject forwards. |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Construction Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Electronics Energy Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology Transport |
URL | http://www.mxif.manchester.ac.uk |
Description | The Platform grant has enabled us to offer the capabilities of the Henry Moseley X-ray facilities available to industry. Indeed we have supported over 30 companies who have benefited from the information X-ray imaging can provide. We have continued to ensure our facilities are available to industry through the National X-Ray CT centre. Further, staff trained through this project are now working in industry, for large scale facilities, as lecturers or research organisations. |
First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | EPSRC: Multiscale and In Situ Laboratory X-ray Computed Tomography National Research Facility |
Amount | £10,000,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2020 |
End | 07/2025 |
Description | National Research Facility for Lab X-ray CT |
Amount | £10,097,652 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/T02593X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2020 |
End | 10/2025 |
Title | CSD 2036624: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination |
Description | Related Article: Maxwell Rigby, Varun Natu, Maxim Sokol, Daniel Kelly, David Hopkinson, Yichao Zou, James Bird, Lee Evitts, M Smith, Christopher Race, Philipp Frankel, Sarah Haigh, Michel Barsoum|2020|CSD Communication||| |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/services/structure_request?id=doi:10.5517/ccdc.csd.cc26c8kf&sid=DataCite |
Title | Hyperspectral X-ray CT Voxelized TV reconstruction of a single, iodine-stained lizard head sample |
Description | Dataset description These datasets are voxel based reconstructions of hyperspectral CT data using the Core Imaging Library (CIL). They are stored as NeXus files (derived from hdf5) which can be read in, visualised and manipulated using CIL. - PDHG_TV_1000_Sp_alpha_0.004.nxs Is the solution after 1000 iterations of PDHG with TV applied in the spatial domain. - PDHG_TV_1000_SpCh_alpha_0.003_beta_0.5.nxs Is the solution after 1000 iterations of PDHG with TV applied both in the spatial domain, and in the energy (channel) domain. Dataset intended use These datasets are used in the CIL training notebook: https://github.com/TomographicImaging/CIL-Demos/blob/main/examples/3_Multichannel/03_Hyperspectral_reconstruction.ipynb They can be imported using CIL, with the following code snippet:
|
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/7016573 |
Title | Hyperspectral X-ray CT dataset of a single, iodine-stained lizard head sample |
Description | General Data description: This is a hyperspectral (energy-resolved) X-ray CT projection dataset of a lizard head sample, stained with an iodine contrast agent. It was acquired in a custom-built, laboratory micro-CT scanner with an energy-sensitive HEXITEC detector in the Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility at The University of Manchester. The following data contains all the files necessary for reconstruction, after a hyperspectral scan was taken of a single, iodine-stained lizard head sample. The iodine contrast agent provided a spectral marker, measured by an energy-sensitive detector, which may be used for spatial mapping and segmentation of stained soft tissue regions. File descriptions: Contained are four MATLAB (.mat) data files, as well as a single text (.txt) file. Lizard_head_scan_parameters.txt provides the full sample and detector geometry of the scan acquisition. lizard_180Proj_noSupp_1_180.mat contains the full 4D sinogram constructed following flatfield normalisation of the raw projection data. The 4D array contains the total number of energy channels acquired during scanning, vertical and horizontal pixel number, and total projections angles acquired. The data provided is prior to application of any post-processing filters. The first 180 energy channels are included. lizard_180Proj_Supp_1_180.mat contains the full 4D sinogram constructed following flatfield normalisation of the raw projection data. This dataset is identical to the .mat file above, however here we have also applied a ring-reduction filter, using a wavelet-based Fourier filter which suppresses the presence of ring artefacts in every energy channel. The first 180 energy channels are included. Energy_axis.mat provides a direct conversion between the energy channels, and the energies (in keV) that they correspond to, following a calibration procedure prior to scanning. FF.mat contains the 4D flatfield data acquired when no sample was present. This data was used to normalise the projection datasets, as the sinogram was constructed. The first 180 energy channels are included. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Not yet realised |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4352943 |
Title | Hyperspectral X-ray CT datasets of an aluminium phantom containing three metal-based powders |
Description | General Data description: This is a set of two hyperspectral (energy-resolved) X-ray CT projection datasets of a multi-phase phantom. It was acquired in a custom-built, laboratory micro-CT scanner with an energy-sensitive HEXITEC detector in the Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility at The University of Manchester. The following data contains all the files necessary for reconstruction, following two hyperspectral scans of a metal, multi-phase phantom. The phantom consists of an external aluminium cylinder, with three holes, each filled with a different metal-based powder (CeO2, ZnO, Fe). Each powder provides a unique attenuation signal, with CeO2 in particular producing a distinct spectral marker which can be measured by an energy-sensitive detector. Two identical scans were acquired, with only the exposure time per projection changed. Note: Zenodo Version 2 of this dataset contains the incorrect version of the 180s, 180 projection phantom dataset, if wishing to analyse the dataset used in the associated hyperspectral paper. This version (Version 3) contains the correct dataset from the paper. File descriptions: Contained is an image (.jpg) of the sample, along with five MATLAB (.mat) data files, as well as a single text (.txt) file. Where necessary, the files have been named to match the dataset they belong to, based on the different exposure times used for each dataset. Phantom_design_measurements.jpg contains a photograph of the physical phantom, combined with a diagram showing full sample measurements. Powder_phantom_scan_geometry.txt gives a breakdown of the full sample and detector geometry used when acquiring the raw projections for both scans. Powder_phantom_30s_30Proj_sinogram.mat contains the 4D sinogram constructed following flatfield normalisation of the raw projection data, where an exposure time of 30 s was used for each projection. The 4D array contains the total number of energy channels acquired during scanning, followed by vertical and horizontal pixel number, and finally total projections angles acquired during scanning. The total number of channels in the file is 200. Powder_phantom_180s_180Proj_sinogram.mat is the 4D sinogram for the dataset, when exposure times of 180 s were used for each projection, following flatfield normalisation. A discontinuity occurs at projection 137 due to an interruption in the scan procedure. The total number of channels in the file is 200. Energy_axis.mat provides a direct conversion between the energy channels, and the energies (in keV) that they correspond to, following a calibration procedure prior to scanning. This is the same for both datasets. FF_30s.mat contains the 4D flatfield data acquired when no sample was present, in the case of 30 s exposure times. This data was used to normalise the projection datasets, as the sinogram was constructed. The first 200 channels are included. FF_180s.mat contains the 4D flatfield data for the dataset where 180 s exposure times were used. The first 200 channels are included. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | N/A |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4354815 |
Title | Tomographic image data representing the fracture voids as shown in Figure 8 from On compression and damage evolution in two thermoplastics |
Description | Tomographic image data representing the fracture voids in the PTFE and PEEK samples as shown in Figure 8. These have been binned by a factor of three along each axis to reduce the file size. Files are 8 bit volumes with dimensions specified in the filenames |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Tomographic_image_data_representing_the_fracture_voids_as_s... |
Title | Tomographic image data representing the fracture voids as shown in Figure 8 from On compression and damage evolution in two thermoplastics |
Description | Tomographic image data representing the fracture voids in the PTFE and PEEK samples as shown in Figure 8. These have been binned by a factor of three along each axis to reduce the file size. Files are 8 bit volumes with dimensions specified in the filenames |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://rs.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Tomographic_image_data_representing_the_fracture_voids_as_s... |
Title | Code to reproduce results of "Core Imaging Library Part I: a versatile python framework for tomographic imaging" |
Description | This code reproduces all the results presented in the article Core Imaging Library Part I: a versatile python framework for tomographic imaging by Jakob S. Jørgensen, Evelina Ametova, Genoveva Burca, Gemma Fardell, Evangelos Papoutsellis, Edoardo Pasca, Kris Thielemans, Martin Turner, Ryan Warr, William R. B. Lionheart, and Philip J. Withers which will be available from 5 July 2021 at https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0192 A preprint is available from arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.04560 Instructions are available in the file README.md as well as at the source GitHub repository https://github.com/TomographicImaging/Paper-2021-RSTA-CIL-Part-I |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | This has grown to be used in many institutions across the UK, Europe and the US, many collaborations formed including with the ISIS neutron facility, EPAC laser facility. |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4744394 |
Title | Code to reproduce results of "Core Imaging Library Part II: multichannel reconstruction for dynamic and spectral tomography" |
Description | This code reproduces all the results presented in the article Core Imaging Library Part II: multichannel reconstruction for dynamic and spectral tomography by Evangelos Papoutsellis, Evelina Ametova, Claire Delplancke, Gemma Fardell, Jakob S. Jørgensen, Edoardo Pasca, Martin Turner, Ryan Warr, William R. B. Lionheart, and Philip J. Withers which will be available from 5 July 2021 at https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0193 A preprint is available from arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.06126 Instructions are available in the file README.md as well as at the source GitHub repository https://github.com/TomographicImaging/Paper-2021-RSTA-CIL-Part-II |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2021 |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4744745 |
Description | Advanced Materials Show conference 2022 |
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 | Free-to-attend exhibition and world-class conference dedicated to high-performance materials technology |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Bluedot |
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 | Bluedot is a music and science festival of discovery. Held at Jodrell Bank there are four music stages and a range of tents dedicated to talks on science or science demonstrations and workshops. We contributed by giving a talk and having a presence showing videos of XCT in the Star Pavilion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.discoverthebluedot.com/ |
Description | Cheltenham Science Festival |
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 | We were part of the DinoZone and showed how light based technologies were used to examine fossils.Nearly 14,000 visitors came through and many people stopped and said "wow" as they walked in before getting involved. We made a Lego model of a synchrotron where children (or adults) could insert balls and turn it on so the electron (balls) go round the ring A game where children rolled ball bearings rolled down a ramp and changed their trajectory using magnets. This simulates how electrons are bent round the ring in a synchrotron. They won a sweet if they can control the ball to hit a target. We have a video touchscreen kiosk that will run Dristhi Prayog software. This is a "public space ready" interface that allows users to interface with the 3D data generated by X-ray CT and synchrontrons. It has content showing data from fossils and archaeological human remains which have been scanned by X-ray CT |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science/science-in-the-square/dinozone/ |
Description | ESOF Open labs |
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 | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Tours of the facility linked up with a local radio interview about the facility and other activities taking place across the university to coincide with ESOF |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/manchester/science/open-labs/26-july/imaging/ |
Description | European Science Open Forum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Chaired a session entitled 'A window to the future: imaging materials in action' with Dr. Christian Schlepütz, "Beamline Scientist" Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland and Professor Gladden, Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, University of Cambridge. To present the current state of the art and induce discussion around future directions and applications for this research area. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/the-university-of-manchester-at-esof-monday-25-july/ |
Description | Expanding 3D Nondestructive X-ray Microscopy Through Laboratory Diffraction Contrast Tomography (LabDCT) |
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 | An introductory webinar to LabDCT is and how it works. It was aimed at materials scientists, engineers, and researchers working in either the academic or industrial environments interested in understanding the microstructural and crystallographic information of (single/poly)-crystalline samples. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Gaining inside information on residual stress' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 21st China National conference of Residual Stress (International) - 300 Chinese students and academics interested in making residual stress measurements and 3D imaging. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Invited Talk, The 11th International Conference on Magnesium Alloys and their Applications |
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 | Invited speaker, presented on 'Revealing Zn's Influence on the Solidification Morphology of Mg Alloys via 4D Synchrotron Tomography'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.mg2018.org/ |
Description | Manchester Museum |
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 | A series of secondary schools (6) came to the Manchester Museum to undertake a workshop focusing on scientific study of some of the biological specimens in the museum's collection. We gave a presentation on the application of XCT as an analytical tool and brought three activities one to explain what X-rays are, a second to demonstrate how X-ray computer tomography works and a third for how X-ray diffraction works. The museum staff also found this helpful and enjoyed the activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2015,2016 |
Description | Novel Applications of Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques in Materials Failure Analysis |
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 webinar used case studies to show how scanning electron and focused ion beams can be used to analyze the early stages of initiation and propagation of cracks, both to better understand the safe lifetime of existing materials, and to look toward ways of extending the life of engineering materials and components. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://connect.asminternational.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=2808... |
Description | Pint of Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Pint of Science at Manchester was a series of weekly science talks in one of the local pubs. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://pintofscience.co.uk/ |
Description | Royal Society Satelitte Exhibition |
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 | This exhibit showed how we've used 4D synchrotron X-ray tomography of magma to better understand volcanic eruptions, and of ice crystals, to work out why some ice cream tastes better! This was a repeat of the summer exhibition held outside London as part of Manchester Science Festival, nearly 13, 000 visitors came over the 5 day exhibition |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/science-exhibition-manchester/ |
Description | Royal Society Summer Exhibition |
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 | Entitled "4D Science" this exhibit showed how we've used 4D synchrotron X-ray tomography of magma to better understand volcanic eruptions, and of ice crystals, to work out why some ice cream tastes better. 16,000 visitors came to the week long exhibition. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/summer-science-exhibition/exhibits/4d-science/ |
Description | School Visit (Stockport) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Visited Stockport Grammar School to give a short lunchtime presentation to the Science Club about X-ray CT and the facility. Also brought along an interactive touchscreen display which generated a lot of interest from the students. Sparked discussion about the application of XCT and research and many of the teaching/library staff remembered visiting our 4D Science exhibition at MOSI a few months earlier. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | ScienceX |
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 | A team of five researchers manned a stand in the intu Trafford Centre over the weekend and showed videos of the imaging work we do. They explained how XCT worked and what it was like to work as a researcher. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk/sciencex/ |
Description | UK Research and Innovation Launch Event |
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 | PDL Participated in UK Research and Innovation (implementing policy) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2018/05/uk-research-and-innovation-launched-at-the-british-libr... |
Description | UKRI Research Infrastructure Roadmap Workshop |
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 | PDL Participated in UKRI Research Infrastructure Roadmap Workshop (implementing policy) on 14 June |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | World Cup trophy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | To coincide with the 50th anniversary of England winning the World Cup we linked with the National Football Museum in Manchester to scan the Jules Rimet trophy. The story was picked up by local news, MEN, ITV and Wired UK |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/manchester-scientists-solve-trophy-mystery/ |