Underpinning Multi-User Equipment At UCL
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Office of Vice Provost Research
Abstract
This is a UCL-wide bid for investment in state-of-the-art underpinning multi-user equipment which will help us to maintain a cutting-edge in internationally leading research. Each piece of equipment included in this proposal contributes to one or more strategic themes, in which UCL, as well as national and international funders, has invested significantly in recent years: materials fabrication and characterisation; healthcare technologies; and imaging, for both medical and heritage science applications. UCL has considerable strengths in these areas, and we have experienced significant growth in terms of staff and student numbers, and breadth and impact of research activity. This additional investment will therefore provide an ideal platform to ensure the sustained growth of the highest quality research, as well as supporting and training early career researchers.
Each piece of equipment underpins a range of research activities, reaching across department and discipline boundaries, which are of strategic importance for UCL and EPSRC. The UCL equipment items were chosen via a competitive internal selection process, led by Deans and Vice-Deans for Research, with evaluation based on scientific excellence, potential for impact, and alignment to UCL and EPSRC strategies. Each piece of equipment has a Lead Investigator(s) who will be responsible for regular reporting to the Vice-Provost for Research on progress against objectives.
The requested UCL equipment items are: (A) a photoelectron spectrometer; (B) surgical X-ray imaging and robotics for a mock interventional suite; (C) a 3D nanoprinting facility; and (D) a 3D hyperspectral imaging facility for science and engineering in heritage.
Each piece of equipment underpins a range of research activities, reaching across department and discipline boundaries, which are of strategic importance for UCL and EPSRC. The UCL equipment items were chosen via a competitive internal selection process, led by Deans and Vice-Deans for Research, with evaluation based on scientific excellence, potential for impact, and alignment to UCL and EPSRC strategies. Each piece of equipment has a Lead Investigator(s) who will be responsible for regular reporting to the Vice-Provost for Research on progress against objectives.
The requested UCL equipment items are: (A) a photoelectron spectrometer; (B) surgical X-ray imaging and robotics for a mock interventional suite; (C) a 3D nanoprinting facility; and (D) a 3D hyperspectral imaging facility for science and engineering in heritage.
Planned Impact
This proposal is for investment in equipment to support research and training in areas where UCL has significant strength and planned growth: materials fabrication and characterisation; healthcare technologies; and imaging, for both medical and heritage science applications. Broadly speaking, therefore, we can divide the impact of this proposal into two types: a "direct" impact (on researchers and students, both at UCL and beyond, and on their research) and an "indirect" impact that will be determined by the research enabled by the equipment.
Impact of the first type will be visible on a shorter time-scale, and can be easily measured in terms of improved research capability and performance. In identifying the items requested in this proposal, priority has been given to items supporting areas of high strategic importance for both EPSRC and UCL, in which there is a high level of internationally leading research activity and where UCL hosts a critical mass of researchers at all stages of their career. One of the most visible and immediate impacts will be on the training and skills upgrade of early career researchers. Training will be provided for all equipment by the UCL units hosting each item, thereby ensuring that all users can benefit fully from their equipment usage. Early career researchers will find this support particularly valuable, and will benefit from the opportunity to develop new skills in the use of novel, state-of-the-art facilities and devices. UCL early career beneficiaries will include around 200 students in three EPSRC CDTs (Molecular Modelling & Materials Science; Science & Engineering in Arts, Heritage & Archaeology; Medical Imaging) with strong alignment to the requested equipment. Other visible benefits to researchers will be development of independent research careers, and enhanced capability for world-leading, transformative research programmes.
The requested equipment will benefit a wide range of UCL's industrial and other partners as well as encouraging new collaborations. Many of the research projects underpinned by the new equipment are collaborations with partners from the UK and abroad, whose R&D activity will thereby benefit from the new techniques and abilities available at UCL. This proposal will therefore enable our research activity to have an impact on UK R&D activity beyond the academic environment.
UCL's research and enterprise strategies both put great emphasis on the importance of ensuring that our research and innovations reach beyond academia and bring benefit to the UK economy and society at large. This type of impact will be longer-term, but given the timeliness and importance of the challenges that will be addressed through usage of the equipment, we are confident that there will be a significant benefit to UK society and economy including (but not limited to) the following:
Research into material characterisation (A) has the potential to impact a wide range of sectors including catalysis and the manufacture of a range of new materials for industry;
Developments in healthcare technology and medical procedures (B) have the potential to improve the health of UK society and benefit the economy (and are in line with the priorities outlined in the EPSRC Healthcare Technologies theme);
3D-nanoprinting (C) is an exciting area of research which will likely have impacts on a diverse range of fields, including, but not limited to, Healthcare, Energy, ICT, Advanced Manufacturing and Physics;
The hyperspectral imaging facility (D) has the potential to benefit cultural heritage institutions in the UK and worldwide, and is expected to lead to impact upon conservation techniques and cultural understanding.
Impact of the first type will be visible on a shorter time-scale, and can be easily measured in terms of improved research capability and performance. In identifying the items requested in this proposal, priority has been given to items supporting areas of high strategic importance for both EPSRC and UCL, in which there is a high level of internationally leading research activity and where UCL hosts a critical mass of researchers at all stages of their career. One of the most visible and immediate impacts will be on the training and skills upgrade of early career researchers. Training will be provided for all equipment by the UCL units hosting each item, thereby ensuring that all users can benefit fully from their equipment usage. Early career researchers will find this support particularly valuable, and will benefit from the opportunity to develop new skills in the use of novel, state-of-the-art facilities and devices. UCL early career beneficiaries will include around 200 students in three EPSRC CDTs (Molecular Modelling & Materials Science; Science & Engineering in Arts, Heritage & Archaeology; Medical Imaging) with strong alignment to the requested equipment. Other visible benefits to researchers will be development of independent research careers, and enhanced capability for world-leading, transformative research programmes.
The requested equipment will benefit a wide range of UCL's industrial and other partners as well as encouraging new collaborations. Many of the research projects underpinned by the new equipment are collaborations with partners from the UK and abroad, whose R&D activity will thereby benefit from the new techniques and abilities available at UCL. This proposal will therefore enable our research activity to have an impact on UK R&D activity beyond the academic environment.
UCL's research and enterprise strategies both put great emphasis on the importance of ensuring that our research and innovations reach beyond academia and bring benefit to the UK economy and society at large. This type of impact will be longer-term, but given the timeliness and importance of the challenges that will be addressed through usage of the equipment, we are confident that there will be a significant benefit to UK society and economy including (but not limited to) the following:
Research into material characterisation (A) has the potential to impact a wide range of sectors including catalysis and the manufacture of a range of new materials for industry;
Developments in healthcare technology and medical procedures (B) have the potential to improve the health of UK society and benefit the economy (and are in line with the priorities outlined in the EPSRC Healthcare Technologies theme);
3D-nanoprinting (C) is an exciting area of research which will likely have impacts on a diverse range of fields, including, but not limited to, Healthcare, Energy, ICT, Advanced Manufacturing and Physics;
The hyperspectral imaging facility (D) has the potential to benefit cultural heritage institutions in the UK and worldwide, and is expected to lead to impact upon conservation techniques and cultural understanding.
Organisations
- University College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- University of Manchester (Collaboration)
- Smithsonian Institution (Collaboration)
- German Aerospace Centre (DLR) (Collaboration)
- Slovene Ethnographic Museum (Collaboration)
- National Research Council (Collaboration)
- Medtronic (Collaboration)
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Collaboration)
- Cardiff University (Collaboration)
- University of Ljubljana (Collaboration)
- Clyde Hyperspectral Imaging and Technology Limited (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- Odin Vision (Collaboration)
- University of Toronto (Collaboration)
- Intuitive Surgical Inc (Collaboration)
Publications
Pachtrachai K
(2018)
CHESS-Calibrating the Hand-Eye Matrix With Screw Constraints and Synchronization
in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
D'Ettorre C
(2018)
Automated Pick-Up of Suturing Needles for Robotic Surgical Assistance
Penza V
(2018)
Long Term Safety Area Tracking (LT-SAT) with online failure detection and recovery for robotic minimally invasive surgery.
in Medical image analysis
Vasconcelos F
(2018)
Towards computer-assisted TTTS: Laser ablation detection for workflow segmentation from fetoscopic video.
in International journal of computer assisted radiology and surgery
Vasconcelos F
(2018)
Relative Pose Estimation From Image Correspondences Under a Remote Center of Motion Constraint
in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
Little CD
(2019)
Micron resolution, high-fidelity three-dimensional vascular optical imaging phantoms.
in Journal of biomedical optics
Lacher RM
(2019)
Nonrigid reconstruction of 3D breast surfaces with a low-cost RGBD camera for surgical planning and aesthetic evaluation.
in Medical image analysis
Mitchell C
(2019)
Liquid phase hydrogenation of CO 2 to formate using palladium and ruthenium nanoparticles supported on molybdenum carbide
in New Journal of Chemistry
| Title | "Aquaphile", Gravity Related Image, 26th ELGRA & 14th ITTW conference in Granada, Spain |
| Description | The image "Aquaphile" was displayed during the "26th European Low Gravity Association (ELGRA) & 14th International Two-Phase Systems For Space and Ground Applications (ITTW)" Conference in Granada, Spain in September 2019. |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | During the display at the conference, a competition took place, where the image achieved an award (2nd place). |
| URL | https://en.elgra2019.com/image_contest |
| Title | "Bio-Integrated Design", Biodesign Here Now, Open Cell in London, UK |
| Description | "Bio-Integrated Design" was displayed during the Biodesign Here Now exhibition at the Open Cell in London, UK, in September 2018. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The exhibition was seen by visitors at the Open Cell in London, UK. |
| URL | https://www.opencell.bio/biodesignherenow/2018 |
| Title | "BioTA Lab", Collapse: Climate, Cities & Cultures, New York University in NYC, US |
| Description | The image was displayed during the "Collapse: Climate, Cities & Cultures" exhibition at New York University in New York City, US in June 2018. |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The exhibition was seen by visitors of the exhibition at the New York University in New York City, US. |
| Title | "Bio_inspired Engineering, Bio-Integrated Design", La Fabrique Du Vivant, Mutations / creations 3, Centre Pompidou in Paris, France |
| Description | The video was displayed during the "La Fabrique Du Vivant, Mutations / creations 3" exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France from February to April 2019. The video part presented related to this research was on the nature-inspired, micro-printed surface consisting of nature inspired microstructures for humidity control. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The video was seen by visitors of the exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. |
| URL | https://www.centrepompidou.fr/cpv/agenda/event.action?param.id=FR_R-0e1ca28a3e1128d624b2d8375beead0&... |
| Title | "Elixir of Life", Research Images as Art / Art Images as Research at UCL in London, UK |
| Description | The image "Elixir of Life" was displayed during the "Research Images as Art / Art Images as Research" exhibition at UCL in London, UK in May 2019. |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | This image won the People's Choice Award and was shown multiple times, for example as the front cover of the centre's leaflet, at the departmental Instagram account etc. |
| URL | https://www.grad.ucl.ac.uk/comp/2018-2019/research-images-competition/ |
| Title | CityX Venice - Marcos Cruz, Brenda Parker: BIO-ID, CITYX Venice Italian Virtual Pavilion, 17th Biennale Architettura 2021 |
| Description | Video displayed at the Italian Virtual Pavilion during the Biennale Architettura 2021. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The video, which so far received around 1.500 views, is visible on youtube. It has increased the awareness of the project, involving bio-integrated (UCL BioID) and nature-inspired engineering (UCL CNIE) for applications in the built environment, on earth and in space. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF_C5rmaItM&t=10s |
| Title | Malica Schmidt wins 'Research Images as Art / Art Images as Research' competition |
| Description | From over 305 images, PhD candidate Malica Schmidt from the Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering (CNIE) and the Department of Chemical Engineering won the 'Research Images as Art / Art Images as Research' competition 2020 organised by the UCL Doctoral School. Her winning image "Sustainable Life Support" shows a water droplet on a nature-inspired multi-functional surface. Malica created these 3D micro-printed surface structures, which absorb excess atmospheric moisture from the air and transport it passively by capillary action, to tackle issues of water recycling in extreme environments on Earth and in space. The aim of her research is to leverage passive hydrodynamic processes, often utilised in nature, and hereby achieve a reduction in energy consumption for sustainable water reuse to support life on Earth and under conditions present on the International Space Station (ISS), as well as future space missions to Moon, Mars, and beyond. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Prestige for CNIE and Malica Schmidt for winning the award. |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/nature-inspired-engineering/news/2021/feb/malica-schmidt-wins-research-images-... |
| Description | 1) As multi user equipment the XPS has been used for a wide variety of research questions such as analysis of historical paintings, photovoltaic materials, polymer films, medical devices, nanoparticles, electrodes, and many other applications. The XPS equipment has supported a wide range of research from developing new battery materials and photovoltaics to characterising ionic liquids, providing novel insights on the understanding of catalyst nanoparticles and the structure of minerals. The instrument contributes to the national XPS facility and their publications can be found here: http://subsite.harwellxps.uk/publications/. A new XPS online community has been established with the following website https://www.harwellxps.guru/ 2) The O-Arm and surgical table have allowed for high-fidelity pre-clinical simulated surgery to evaluate devices under development at the Centre. In a recent example we evaluated a prototype intra-operative ultrasound probe for use in transsphenoidal surgery; we used the O-arm to perform a CT scan on the pre-clinical model allowing for image-guidance, and then used the head clamp and surgical table when carrying out the simulated surgery. This is a general purpose equipment that generates multiple outputs. The Key findings of collaboration 1 was novel structures with superhydrophobic and optical properties that fit in architecture. The Key findings of collaborations 2 and 3 so, far are associated with better method to characterise the performance of optical coherence tomography systems and novel physiological parameter miniature sensors for minimally invasive operations. The grant enabled the fabrication of the devices/structures. Multi-functional, nature-inspired structures were created that have combined hydrophobic and light-focusing properties, which would be of interest for applications in the built environment. 3) The Hyperspectral Imaging System is being used to visualise the distribution of paint, consolidants, conservation treatments and other optically active materials on the surfaces of painted artefacts. This enables the development of conservation treatments, reveals painting techniques or hitherto invisible paint layers. The Hyperspectral Imaging System also provides images of surfaces at diverse wavelengths, some of which are invisible to the naked eye. Through this, we can visualise surface properties that are otherwise invisible, which helps us to better understand surfaces of heritage and art objects, their degradation and how they were made. |
| Exploitation Route | 2) Concerning the X-Ray Imaging and robotics equipment for a mock interventional suite, we are also designing prototypes for use in the built environment (multi-functional wall panels) for applications on earth and in space. 3) Concerning the Hyperspectral Imaging System, we are already engaging through the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science, whish we are developing in collaboration with UK partners and EU partners. We have successfully bid with AHRC to improve the technical capabilities of the imaging system and are in the process of doing so. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Chemicals,Construction,Electronics,Energy,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| URL | http://subsite.harwellxps.uk/publications/ |
| Description | 1) Photoelectron spectrometer; More than 50 students have been trained on XPS usage. 2) X-Ray Imaging and robotics equipment for a mock interventional suite; X-Ray Imaging and robotics equipment for a mock interventional suite: The mock interventional suite and equipment have been used by a wide range of stakeholders and projects. They have attracted industry PhD funding for students from Medtronic plc, Odin Vision ltd, and DeepMind Technologies. The X-Ray equipment has been used to create a proof of concept on a new imaging capability for a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies. Three open access dataset repositories have been created within the capital environment. Over 20 MSc thesis projects have utilized the facility. 3) 3D hyperspectral imaging facility; The ISH Hyperspectral Imaging system is being used to image painted art and heritage surfaces and we are actively engaging with world leading institutions, such as the Smithsonian Institution, to develop case studies that evidence how the approach could be useful to end-users such as conservators and curators |
| Sector | Chemicals,Electronics,Energy,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic |
| Description | (IPERION HS) - Integrating Platforms for the European Research Infrastructure ON Heritage Science |
| Amount | € 6,516,248 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 871034 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 04/2020 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Actuated Robotic Imaging Skins |
| Amount | £2,780,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Royal Academy of Engineering |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| End | 09/2029 |
| Description | EPSRC Early Career Fellowship |
| Amount | £1,239,250 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P012841/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2017 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | Early Career Fellowship |
| Amount | £1,239,250 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P012841/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2017 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | EndoMapper: Real-time mapping from endoscopic video |
| Amount | € 3,697,227 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 12/2019 |
| End | 11/2023 |
| Description | Innovative Training Networks |
| Amount | € 3,938,655 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Horizon 2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Description | NIHR i4i - Image-Guided Micro-Precise Flexible Robotic Tools for Retinal Therapeutics Delivery |
| Amount | £1,017,363 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | II-LB-0716-20002 |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Department | NIHR i4i Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2017 |
| End | 08/2020 |
| Description | NIHR i4i Programme - A multi-modality, surgical planning and guidance system to improve the up-take of laparoscopic liver resection |
| Amount | £1,300,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | II-LA-1116-20005 |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Department | NIHR i4i Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 01/2021 |
| Description | UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in Foundational Artificial Intelligence |
| Amount | £6,443,206 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/S021566/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 09/2027 |
| Description | Wellcome EPSRC Centre for Surgical and Interventional Sciences |
| Amount | £6,565,142 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NS/A000050/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2017 |
| End | 04/2022 |
| Description | i4i |
| Amount | £1,444,811 (GBP) |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | p-Tentacle: Pneumatically Attachable Flexible Rails For Surgical Applications |
| Amount | £99,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R511638/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2019 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Title | 3D nano-printed scaffolds to study the impact of the micro-environment on cells - Matthew Chin |
| Description | Matthew Chin used the Nanoscribe 3D printing instrument.to produce 3D nano-printed scaffolds to study the impact of the micro-environment on cells (the latter hasn't been done at time of submission, but the scaffolds have been printed, based on model outcomes). He used Graph Theory to understand structural networks found in nature, and used that information to generate 3D scaffolds both virtually and physically. The 3D models of these scaffolds are generated using a combination of computer-aided design (CAD) and generative design tools. For this work, Matthew has in part been funded by a CNIE Inspiration Grant, in collaboration with Sophie Acton. There has been follow-up funding partly triggered by use of this instrument, such as an EPSRC DTP for Julia Linke, and philanthropic funds funding Matthew for 6 months |
| Type Of Material | Model of mechanisms or symptoms - non-mammalian in vivo |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Continuing work from Matthew Chin at UCL CNIE. |
| Title | Deep Placental Vessel Segmentation for Fetoscopic Mosaicking |
| Description | During fetoscopic laser photocoagulation, a treatment for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), the clinician first identifies abnormal placental vascular connections and laser ablates them to regulate blood flow in both fetuses. The procedure is challenging due to the mobility of the environment, poor visibility in amniotic fluid, occasional bleeding, and limitations in the fetoscopic field-of-view and image quality. Ideally, anastomotic placental vessels would be automatically identified, segmented and registered to create expanded vessel maps to guide laser ablation, however, such methods have yet to be clinically adopted. We propose a solution utilising the U-Net architecture for performing placental vessel segmentation in fetoscopic videos. The obtained vessel probability maps provide sufficient cues for mosaicking alignment by registering consecutive vessel maps using the direct intensity-based technique. Experiments on 6 different in vivo fetoscopic videos demonstrate that the vessel intensity-based registration outperformed image intensity-based registration approaches showing better robustness in qualitative and quantitative comparison. We additionally reduce drift accumulation to negligible even for sequences with up to 400 frames and we incorporate a scheme for quantifying drift error in the absence of the ground-truth. Our paper provides a benchmark for fetoscopy placental vessel segmentation and registration by contributing the first in vivo vessel segmentation and fetoscopic videos dataset. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | First fetoscopic dataset to be released for open research. Led to the development of the enhanced FetReg dataset released in 2021. |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.04349 |
| Title | Depth from Endoscopy |
| Description | The database containts a set of paired images from a colonoscopy/endoscopy simulator that generates RGB images and also depth images. The data can be used to train models to infer depth from RGB and extended to infer the motion of the camera and the map of the endoluminal environment. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | We are seeing groups world wide beginnging to use the dataset both in academie and in industry (recent Google Health publication). |
| URL | http://cmic.cs.ucl.ac.uk/ColonoscopyDepth/ |
| Title | FetReg: Placental Vessel Segmentation and Registration in Fetoscopy Challenge Dataset |
| Description | Fetoscopy laser photocoagulation is a widely used procedure for the treatment of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), that occur in mono-chorionic multiple pregnancies due to placental vascular anastomoses. This procedure is particularly challenging due to limited field of view, poor manoeuvrability of the fetoscope, poor visibility due to fluid turbidity, variability in light source, and unusual position of the placenta. This may lead to increased procedural time and incomplete ablation, resulting in persistent TTTS. Computer-assisted intervention may help overcome these challenges by expanding the fetoscopic field of view through video mosaicking and providing better visualization of the vessel network. However, the research and development in this domain remain limited due to unavailability of high-quality data to encode the intra- and inter-procedure variability. Through the \textit{Fetoscopic Placental Vessel Segmentation and Registration (FetReg)} challenge, we present a large-scale multi-centre dataset for the development of generalized and robust semantic segmentation and video mosaicking algorithms for the fetal environment with a focus on creating drift-free mosaics from long duration fetoscopy videos. In this paper, we provide an overview of the FetReg dataset, challenge tasks, evaluation metrics and baseline methods for both segmentation and registration. Baseline methods results on the FetReg dataset shows that our dataset poses interesting challenges, offering large opportunity for the creation of novel methods and models through a community effort initiative guided by the FetReg challenge. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This is the first such dataset to be made available for research. It is a multi-centre resource. It is supporting AI model development for fetoscopic applications. |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.05923 |
| Description | Beehive panel research |
| Organisation | Clyde Hyperspectral Imaging and Technology Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Using the hyperspectral scanning system at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, we carried out hyperspectral imaging of painted beehive panels for the first time. This contributed to the understanding of pigment distribution, as well as disctribution and composition of consolidation treatments. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Conservation Centre, Research Institute; Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana; Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution; Slovene Ethnographic Museum; and the Clyde Hyperspectral Imaging & Technology Limited, Clydebank, UK contributed by supplying the object of research as well as assisting with data analysis. |
| Impact | This was an interdisciplinary piece of research, with conservation, art history, chemistry and physics involved. A scientific paper was published (DOI 10.1186/s40494-020-00468-y). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Beehive panel research |
| Organisation | Slovene Ethnographic Museum |
| Country | Slovenia |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Using the hyperspectral scanning system at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, we carried out hyperspectral imaging of painted beehive panels for the first time. This contributed to the understanding of pigment distribution, as well as disctribution and composition of consolidation treatments. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Conservation Centre, Research Institute; Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana; Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution; Slovene Ethnographic Museum; and the Clyde Hyperspectral Imaging & Technology Limited, Clydebank, UK contributed by supplying the object of research as well as assisting with data analysis. |
| Impact | This was an interdisciplinary piece of research, with conservation, art history, chemistry and physics involved. A scientific paper was published (DOI 10.1186/s40494-020-00468-y). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Beehive panel research |
| Organisation | Smithsonian Institution |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Using the hyperspectral scanning system at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, we carried out hyperspectral imaging of painted beehive panels for the first time. This contributed to the understanding of pigment distribution, as well as disctribution and composition of consolidation treatments. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Conservation Centre, Research Institute; Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana; Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution; Slovene Ethnographic Museum; and the Clyde Hyperspectral Imaging & Technology Limited, Clydebank, UK contributed by supplying the object of research as well as assisting with data analysis. |
| Impact | This was an interdisciplinary piece of research, with conservation, art history, chemistry and physics involved. A scientific paper was published (DOI 10.1186/s40494-020-00468-y). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Beehive panel research |
| Organisation | University of Ljubljana |
| Country | Slovenia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Using the hyperspectral scanning system at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, we carried out hyperspectral imaging of painted beehive panels for the first time. This contributed to the understanding of pigment distribution, as well as disctribution and composition of consolidation treatments. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Conservation Centre, Research Institute; Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana; Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution; Slovene Ethnographic Museum; and the Clyde Hyperspectral Imaging & Technology Limited, Clydebank, UK contributed by supplying the object of research as well as assisting with data analysis. |
| Impact | This was an interdisciplinary piece of research, with conservation, art history, chemistry and physics involved. A scientific paper was published (DOI 10.1186/s40494-020-00468-y). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Collaboration with Cardiff University and University of Manchester |
| Organisation | Cardiff University |
| Department | School of Chemistry |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This equipment was used to build a collaboration with Cardiff University and University of Manchester to successfully bid to run the EPSRC National XPS Service, now branded HarwellXPS, a £3.1m investment. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This equipment was used to build a collaboration with Cardiff University and University of Manchester to successfully bid to run the EPSRC National XPS Service, now branded HarwellXPS, a £3.1m investment. |
| Impact | This equipment was used to build a collaboration with Cardiff University and University of Manchester to successfully bid to run the EPSRC National XPS Service, now branded HarwellXPS, a £3.1m investment. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Collaboration with Cardiff University and University of Manchester |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This equipment was used to build a collaboration with Cardiff University (Prof Phil Davies) and University of Manchester (Prof. Wendy Flavell) to successfully bid to run the EPSRC National XPS Service, now branded HarwellXPS, a £3.1m investment. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This equipment was used to build a collaboration with Cardiff University (Prof Phil Davies) and University of Manchester (Prof. Wendy Flavell) to successfully bid to run the EPSRC National XPS Service, now branded HarwellXPS, a £3.1m investment. |
| Impact | This equipment was used to build a collaboration with Cardiff University (Prof Phil Davies) and University of Manchester (Prof. Wendy Flavell) to successfully bid to run the EPSRC National XPS Service, now branded HarwellXPS, a £3.1m investment. The collaboration is multi-disciplinary, between UCL Chemistry and University of Manchester Physics & Astronomy |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Collaboration with Clyde Hyperspectral Ltd |
| Organisation | Clyde Hyperspectral Imaging and Technology Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Having built the HSI system, we hav been developing joint research with the company, as well as an industrially co-funded studentship. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The company contribute to software development and image analysis. |
| Impact | Interdisciplonary collaboration: imaging, optics, material science, chemistry, data analysis. Outputs: scientific papers and further collaborations with end-user institutions. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT) |
| Organisation | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The collaboration with the Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT) was established to support the parabolic flight. This included the following: Malica Schmidt, PhD student in the EPSRC "Frontier Engineering" Centre for Nature-Inspired Engineering (CNIE), led a successful research project on nature-inspired multifunctional surfaces that was conducted as part of the 35th DLR parabolic flight campaign in September 2020. This included formulating the research, the design of the rack, the procedures, the analysis, and the administrative and technical documentation required by Novespace. She was also the active participant during the parabolic flight. |
| Collaborator Contribution | KIT was responsible for the manufacturing of half of the nature-inspired multifunctional surfaces (15 surfaces). |
| Impact | - Successful parabolic flight, which led to a new proposal for scaling up as well as the continuation of collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with Medtronic plc - Surgical Activity Recognition PhD Project - Matt Lee |
| Organisation | Medtronic |
| Department | Medtronic Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Development of AI algorithms to understand surgical process. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Development of data structures and pipelines for underpinning AI algorithms to understand surgical process. |
| Impact | Too early. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with Odin Vision Ltd |
| Organisation | Odin Vision |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Research and supervision of PhD students to develop novel AI technologies for endoscopy. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of infrastructure for video data processing, storage and labelling to develop AI models. Funding for PhD studentships. |
| Impact | No outputs yet as the collaboration has just begun. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of Ljubljana |
| Organisation | University of Ljubljana |
| Department | Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology |
| Country | Slovenia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have offered the hyperspectral imaging system for research on various materials, including beehive panels. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partner researchers offered material science expertise and chemical analyses. In addition, a research proposal was submitted to EU for funding, under coordination of University of Ljubljana. |
| Impact | One paper was so far published: K. Retko, M. Kavcic, L. Legan, P. Ropret, B. Rogelj Škafar, Y. Gao, J. Gilchrist, M. Strlic, I. Kralj Cigic: "Material characterisation of a painted beehive panel by hyperspectral imaging in combination with advanced spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques", Her. Sci., 8 (2020) #120. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Collaboration with University of Toronto - Funded by ESRC "Self-guided Microrobotics for Automated Brain Dissection" |
| Organisation | University of Toronto |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We are developing AI systems to study microscopic images and drive micro-scale robot control for cell harvesting |
| Collaborator Contribution | UoT develop the optical system and the harvesting robot capabilities. They are also leading the clinical data management and translational pathway. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary between computer science, engineering, chemisty and neuroscience. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Department | European Astronaut Centre (EAC) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) was established to validate microgravity aspects. It included the following: - Malica Schmidt was the PI for a successful research project that was conducted as part of the 35th DLR parabolic flight campaign in September 2020. She ran the project, this included the fabrication of the research, the design of the rack, the procedures, the analysis, and the administrative and technical documentation required by Novespace. She was also the active participant during the parabolic flight. |
| Collaborator Contribution | It included the following from ESA's side: - ESA was responsible for providing technical expertise for this project. |
| Impact | - Successful parabolic flight. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science |
| Organisation | National Research Council |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We have initiated the development of E-RIHS in the UK and formally contributed to the development of the infrastructure in Europe. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EU partners, specifically CNR, are leading the efforts on the continent. |
| Impact | The investment into the Hyperspectral Imaging equipment has significantly improved the position and enable the involvement of UCL in the ESFRI European Infrastructre for Heritage Science, in which UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage coordinates UK efforts in collaboration with AHRC. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Guest Research Role and Collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) |
| Organisation | German Aerospace Centre (DLR) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The guest research role and collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) was established to validate microgravity and microbial research aspects. It included the following: - Malica Schmidt was the PI for a successful research project that was conducted as part of the 35th DLR parabolic flight campaign in September 2020. She ran the project, this included the fabrication of the research, the design of the rack, the procedures, the analysis, and the administrative and technical documentation required by Novespace. She was also the active participant during the parabolic flight. - Malica was the Co-I for the successful research project "Touching Surfaces" that was implemented on the International Space Station (ISS) during the Alpha and Cosmic Kiss Missions. She was responsible for the manufacturing of the research, attachment to the hardware, technical documentation, and logistic support. - She is the Co-I for the upcoming project "Contamination Tracking and Antimicrobial Testing Surfaces (ConTACTS)" that will be implemented on Concordia Research Station in Antarctica for winter-over 2022/2023. - She also has conducted initial microbial experimentation at the DLR facilities for one week. |
| Collaborator Contribution | It included the following from DLR side: - The DLR was responsible for funding the parabolic flight project, providing medical testing, and building the rack as well as providing professional and logistical support. - The DLR is PI of the "Touching Surfaces" project on the ISS. - The DLR is PI of the "ConTACTS" project that will be on Concordia Research Station in Antarctica. |
| Impact | - Successful parabolic flight - Successful ISS flight - Successful proposal for Concordia Research Station |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Integrated Platform for European Research Infrastructure - Heritage Science |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In collaboration with 24 partners from 23 countries, we have developed an infrastructure project in order to offer access to research facilities to users across Europe. Our team is involved in the imaging of plastics following irradiation with various types of radiation. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The project as a whole is complex and involves new research as well as funding for access to infrastructure. UCL is involved at the level of the Steering Committee, and managed the Training and engagement Workpackage. |
| Impact | This was an interdisciplinary project, with conservation, art history, chemistry and physics involved. No specific output yet. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Nature inspired microstructures with hydrophobic and optical properties fabricated by two-photon-polymerisation and direct ink writing |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have developed and printed complex microstructures that draw inspiration from cicada wings, human and moth eyes to combine into a unique, multi-functional structures that have versatile optical properties and are hydrophobic. The structures form a prototype for multi-functional wall panels that would work as passive surfaces inside a building, or for possible use where water reclamation is essential, unaided by gravity in, e.g. space applications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a collaboration within the EPSRC "Frontier Engineering" Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering, involving researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering (lead: Professor Marc-Olivier Coppens) and the Bartlett School of Architecture (lead: Professor Marcos Cruz). The multi-disciplinary expertise, augmented by that from Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Professor Ioannis Papakonstantinou) leads to the creation of unique nature-inspired functional materials. |
| Impact | Work is highly multidisciplinary, from chemical engineering to architecture. It has led to interest from several companies, and most notably the architectural firm Foster+Partners. An MPhil transfer thesis has been submitted by Malica Schmidt (PhD student in chemical engineering, with first degree in Architecture from the Bauhaus University, Germany). A first publication is in preparation. There have been several displays, including videos featuring structures made with the Nanoscribe as part of exhibitions at NYU (New York, USA) and in the Centre Pompidou (Paris, France). Work has also been part of a BRE Lunch Briefing by Marc-Olivier Coppens (MOC). There have been several presentations by MOC, including IChemE London & SE Young Chemical Engineers Xmas Lecture 2018; invited presentations in Materials Science & Engineering at Beihang University, at ECUST Shanghai and Zhejiang University (China); plenary presentation at the 8th World Congress for Particle Technology (Florida, USA); Jubilee Lecture for the 50th Anniversary of the Biochemical and Chemical Engineering Department at TU Dortmund (Germany), and many more. Malica Schmidt won the 3-minute thesis presentation at UCL Chemical Engineering, and the Alumni Poster Prize at the Industrial Advisory Board meeting. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | UCL Bartlett - 3D Printing Collaboration with Matthew Chin |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Bartlett School of Architecture |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Dr Matthew Chin from the EPSRC "Frontier Engineering" Centre for Nature-Inspired Engineering (CNIE) has recently started engaging with Martyn Carter (B-made, The Bartlett) to discuss 3D printing of the scaffolds for biomedical engineering and life science applications printed using the Nanoscribe instrument also on the macro-scale, rather than only the microscale. This is to demonstrate the applicability of the structures on different length scales. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Martyn Carter (UCL Bartlett) has already provided Matthew with technical advice, including 3D model refinement, and the potential use of UCL Bartlett's selective laser sintering (SLS) machine. |
| Impact | No outputs on this collaboration as yet, work ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | da Vinci Research Kit Consortium partnership |
| Organisation | Intuitive Surgical Inc |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have contributed in the development of computer vision software and algorithms for stereoscopic endoscope video. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Donation of equipment and exchange of knowledge and access to data. |
| Impact | The partnership and consortium have resulted in funding from NIH, multiple papers, knowledge exchange and student engagement as well as dissemination activities. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Title | CADDIE - Computer Aided Detection and Diagnosis for Intelligent Endoscopy |
| Description | CADDIE - Computer Aided Detection and Diagnosis for Intelligent Endoscopy - is an Innovate UK funded project to put Odin Vision Ltd (spin out from UCL) technology into a clinical trial at UCLH. The company's first product utilises AI to assist the detection and characterisation of polyps during video colonoscopy. |
| Type | Support Tool - For Medical Intervention |
| Current Stage Of Development | Early clinical assessment |
| Year Development Stage Completed | 2019 |
| Development Status | Under active development/distribution |
| Impact | Similar technology is being developed to support interventions in upper GI endoscopy. |
| Description | 1st International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM22) for Air, Space and Land Transportation, ESA and NASA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The aim of the 1st International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM22) for Air, Space and Land Transportation organised by ESA and NASA was to promote and facilitate discussion and exchange of experience among members of the various engineering disciplines concerned with air, space and land transportation. This will cover design, development, assembly, integration and verification aspects. Bringing together the space, aeronautics and land transportation engineering manufacturing community, will maximise the cross-fertilisation opportunities, promoting an inter-sectorial technical and commercial exchange worldwide. Malica Schmidt presented her research, which increased the awareness of the research, especially in the additive manufacturing community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://atpi.eventsair.com/icam22/ |
| Description | Bio+Climate+Space, Women in 3D printing, Immersive Kind, Crowdcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | "Bio+Climate+Space" was an outreach event hosted by Women in 3D printing and Immersive Kind that involved multidisciplinary researchers talking about their 3D printing projects. Malica Schmidt was part of this panel, which sparked another outreach activity - a school interview about the career as a researcher. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.crowdcast.io/e/immersivekind_1 |
| Description | CNIE Advisory Board, Conference and Workshop, London, UK |
| 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 | The CNIE Advisory Board, Conference and Workshop was held in UCL to foster industrial collaboration and brought together practitioners and researchers from academia, national laboratories and industry, with interest in nature-inspired solutions for engineering. Malica Schmidt gave a presentation, which increased the awareness of the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | DLR 35th Parabolic Flight Campaign |
| 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 | Malica Schmidt, a PhD candidate in UCL's Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering, undertook over 30 minutes of microgravity research relating to the recycling of water in space aboard a parabolic flight in September 2020. During the flights Malica tested novel Nature-Inspired, Multi-Functional Surfaces (NIMFS) she produced using the new 3D nanoprinting facility. The event got attention from various news outlets and Malica was interviewed by the Frankfurter Rundschau (article behind paywall). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/chemical-engineering/news/2020/oct/ucl-cnie-student-undertakes-microgravity-te... |
| Description | Exhibitor at RSc Summer Science Exhibition 2019, in collaboration with HarwellXPS the national XPS facility |
| 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 | Participated in a major annual public science event (RSc Summer Exhibition) which attracts a large number of people over 1 week duration. Involved a team of >15 academics and students, mostly from UCL with others from Cardiff University. https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2019/summer-science-exhibition/exhibits/#all-exhibits |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Institute for Research in Schools co-event |
| 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 XPS facility was used to support school research projects run by IRIS in collaboration with UCL. School students visit the facility to collect data on their samples of ionic liquids that they have produced in an after school club. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.researchinschools.org/projects/ionic_liquids.html |
| Description | Interview at the Burgate School and 6th Form, Fordingbridge, UK |
| 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 Burgate School and 6th Form in Fordingbridge invited Malica Schmidt for an outreach interview to school students and teachers about her career path into academia and support in STEM outreach. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Interview for Korean national newspaper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr. Danail Stoyanov was interviewed by one of the largest Korean newspapers on the role of robotics in surgery and healthcare. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://mnews.joins.com/article/2200741 |
| Description | Micron resolution, high-fidelity three-dimensional vascular optical imaging phantoms - talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | International conference in the space of medical devices. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Nature inspired microstructures - talks |
| 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 | International conferences in chemical engineering and general engineering disciplines. Outreach activities attended by the wider public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
| Description | New Scientist Live (27/09/2017-01/10-2017) |
| 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 | Double arm lightweight robot (Kuka arms) Used in New Scientist Live (27/09/2017-01/10-2017) as non-interactive demo with endoscope attached at end of arm focussed on a model placenta. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | One O'clock Lecture, Space Domain & Environmental Domain, UCL, London, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The UCL Space Domain "One O'clock" lunchtime Webinar series is intended to be an informal platform for sharing on space related topics to a general, non-specialist audience including undergraduate and postgraduate students, staff members, and is open to the general public. Malica Schmidt presented her research, which instigated the role as UCL's Space Ambassador. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/one-oclock-space-webinar-tickets-106227282662 |
| Description | Presentation at the EPSRC "Frontier Engineering" Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering's yearly Workshop and Advisory Board meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Budding engagement activities, including presentation at the EPSRC "Frontier Engineering" Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering's yearly Workshop and Advisory Board meeting, which generated further industrial and academic interest |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at Public 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 | Dual arm 6 DoF haptic device used for demonstration in the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at Public Open Day (22/04/2017) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Space Microbiology Subgroup, Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie (VAAM) 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Association for General and Applied Microbiology (Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie - VAAM) promotes the scientific exchange of information and the cooperation of its members with the aim of implementing research results from microbiology for the benefit of society and the environment. As part of her German Aerospace Center (DLR) guest research role, Malica Schmidt presented her preliminary research on microbial control in space. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.vaam-kongress.de |
| Description | Space Week: Humans in Space and Space Debate "The settlement of Mars is essential for the future of humanity", Space Domain, UCL, London, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The UCL Space Week was a week of events exploring ongoing topics of Space research and studies, delivered through a mixture of face to face and online events. As Space Ambassador, Malica Schmidt was heavily involved in the planning of the Space Week. During the "Humans in Space" panel, she presented her research and during the closing flagship event of the week, the Space Debate, Malica acted as chair. She organised the event and invited six guest speakers who argued for and against the motion that "settling on Mars is essential for the future of humanity". As outcome of the event, one panelist followed up with an invitation to present her work as part of his talk at the British Interplanetary Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of-advanced-studies/events/2021/nov/coss-hybrid-ucl-space-debate-set... |
| Description | Virtual placement programme, In2ScienceUK, UK |
| 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 | In2scienceUK empowers young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their potential through life changing opportunities that give them insights into STEM careers and research and boosts their skills and confidence. Malica Schmidt supported multiple groups of 5 students (aged 16 - 18 years old) in their personal and career pathway over multiple sessions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://in2scienceuk.org/ |
| Description | Visits to the ISH imaging laboratory at HereEast |
| 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 | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Groups of ca. 20 researchers visited at a time, and a demonstration of the equipment was held in order to discuss the capabilities and to discuss any potential applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Webinar for Hypergravity/Microgravity, Access to Space for All - part of the Space4SDGS, United Nations Office of Outer Space (UNOOSA) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | United Nations Office of Outer Space (UNOOSA)'s Access to Space for All - part of Space4SDGS - is a joint initiative of UNOOSA and space agencies, research institutions and industry to offer access to space research facilities, infrastructure and information with the aim of developing technical know-how, engineering processes and infrastructure in the areas of hypergravity and microgravity, satellite development and space exploration and promote international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. Malica Schmidt was invited for this talk, in which she presented her research at the Material Science Subgroup for R&D in Hypergravity/Microgravity, due to her involvement at the ELGRA conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/access2space4all/index.html |