EPSRC Star Academic Proposal

To build new research capability in order to address nationally strategic objectives for the support of health of discipline in priority areass such as electrical power engineering and energy. Such new capacity would be intended to undertake research and support the growth of UK industry innovation. This is a project that requires major investments to provide adequate breadth and depth in order to increase prospective research impacts, therefore consortium partners (apart from EPSRC) include Rolls-Royce, ScottishPower, National Grid and Strathclyde University. The proposed investment acknowledges that there has been a serious reduction of academic staff specialising in electrical power engineering in UK-HEIs. It is also recognised that, in order to retain and develop electrical power research capability, there is a need to take a joint HEI, industry & government approach to investment and commitment in this area. The support of research centres with the necessary critical mass to undertake basic, strategic and applied research is seen as a strategic imperative. UK industry and society will benefit greatly from a sustainable, active, internationally leading research base in electrical power engineering and energy systems. In addition to the erosion of the electrical power research base, there is a serious reduction in the undergraduate and postgraduate populations that new, active academic staff could help to address (c.f. recent IEE review and subsequent establishment of the Power Academy). It is important to note that these principles are also entirely consistent with subsequent objectives that have emerged in the EPSRC Science and Innovation Awards scheme. As such, the proposed programme, incorporating major industrial funding, provides additional value and scope to complement the first round EPSRC Science and Innovation Awards. The funding commitment from each of the industrial partners along with direct Strathclyde commitments will provide significant added value to the proposed EPSRC Star investments in terms of research scope, scale and critical mass.