Small items of research equipment at the University of Nottingham
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Research & Graduate Services
Abstract
This proposal aims to fund small equipment (<£10k) for the benefit of ECRs across the EPSRC research themes of Energy, Healthcare Technologies, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Digital Economy, Manufacturing, Mathematical Sciences. The equipment will directly benefit over 1500 Early Career Researchers (approx. 1000 PhD students, 500 post-doctoral research staff and young lecturers) currently working within these thematic areas at the University of Nottingham and support the University's thematic areas of Energy, Biomedical Imaging, Operations in a Digital World and Drug Discovery. The equipment will also benefit ECRs within the Midlands region thorough our collaborations with the Midlands Energy Consortium, Midlands Physics Alliance and Midlands Ultra Cold Atoms Research Centre and ECRs at other HEIs through our collaborative Doctoral Training Centres. Equipment will be purchased across the Engineering and Physical Sciences to benefit as broad a range of ECRs as possible. New equipment will be purchased to support research into new areas, enable more senior ECRs to start independent research and gain valuable research results to support fellowship and grant applications. This equipment will enable some ECRs to establish their own independent research laboratories and establish their own research collaborations. Equipment will be purchased to upgrade current facilities which are either outdated or no longer fit for purpose. These upgrades will allow the equipment to be modified for ECR's specific research needs at a fraction of the cost of new equipment. Fundamental laboratory equipment will also be bought to increase capacity to enable more resource and time efficient research.
Planned Impact
Outcomes from research undertaken by ECRs supported through this grant will benefit a wide range of key industrial sectors, patients, practitioners and the public. A selection (not exhaustive) is provided below:
Energy: the immediate beneficiaries are the conventional power generators, their suppliers and customers through cleaner, more efficient power from fossil fuels (coal and gas). Clean power through fuel cells offer an alternative energy source and the work on novel fuel cell catalysis and electrolytes could usher in a new era of clean power generation using fuel cells and, consequently, it has wide-ranging impacts across society, academia, industry and financial sectors. Research in GGIEMR and CAMERA can contribute to limiting the environmental impact of wind turbine installation.
Healthcare technologies: outcomes would improve sensing technologies in the regenerative medicine, wound care, anaesthesiology and treatment for sickle cell anaemia. Benefits could include improved identification and treatment for those affected by attention difficulties and pre-term birth and novel, more effective drug delivery mechanisms. Advances in biomedical imaging can offer suppliers/users (e.g. Philips Healthcare, Unilever, Norgine Pharmaceuticals) advanced analysis of samples and give further understanding to information taken during MRI scans, improving diagnostics. Neruoimaging advances can give further insight into complex brain function and how it differs in chronic mental states and disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and tinnitus.
Transport: benefits can include improved design of the urban environment to minimize wind hazards at the pedestrian level and improved safety for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians through improved driver training. GGIEMR research can lead to redesigned aviation antenna to limit performance depredation to external interferers. It also offers reduced GPS interference through a managed frequency spectrum.
Energy: the immediate beneficiaries are the conventional power generators, their suppliers and customers through cleaner, more efficient power from fossil fuels (coal and gas). Clean power through fuel cells offer an alternative energy source and the work on novel fuel cell catalysis and electrolytes could usher in a new era of clean power generation using fuel cells and, consequently, it has wide-ranging impacts across society, academia, industry and financial sectors. Research in GGIEMR and CAMERA can contribute to limiting the environmental impact of wind turbine installation.
Healthcare technologies: outcomes would improve sensing technologies in the regenerative medicine, wound care, anaesthesiology and treatment for sickle cell anaemia. Benefits could include improved identification and treatment for those affected by attention difficulties and pre-term birth and novel, more effective drug delivery mechanisms. Advances in biomedical imaging can offer suppliers/users (e.g. Philips Healthcare, Unilever, Norgine Pharmaceuticals) advanced analysis of samples and give further understanding to information taken during MRI scans, improving diagnostics. Neruoimaging advances can give further insight into complex brain function and how it differs in chronic mental states and disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and tinnitus.
Transport: benefits can include improved design of the urban environment to minimize wind hazards at the pedestrian level and improved safety for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians through improved driver training. GGIEMR research can lead to redesigned aviation antenna to limit performance depredation to external interferers. It also offers reduced GPS interference through a managed frequency spectrum.
Organisations
Publications
Abdel-Moneim N
(2014)
Fabrication of stable, low optical loss rib-waveguides via embossing of sputtered chalcogenide glass-film on glass-chip
in Optical and Quantum Electronics
Acharya A
(2016)
Statistically efficient tomography of low rank states with incomplete measurements
in New Journal of Physics
Benito-Gallo P
(2015)
Chain length affects pancreatic lipase activity and the extent and pH-time profile of triglyceride lipolysis.
in European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V
Blundell TJ
(2014)
Ligand influences on homoleptic Group 12 m-terphenyl complexes.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Britnell L
(2013)
Resonant tunnelling and negative differential conductance in graphene transistors.
in Nature communications
Brunson C
(2015)
Open-Circuit Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Matrix Converters
in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
Dantanarayana H
(2014)
Refractive index dispersion of chalcogenide glasses for ultra-high numerical-aperture fiber for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation
in Optical Materials Express
| Description | This project funded many items of small equipment (less than £10K) across the Faculties of Science and Engineering at the University of Nottingham. The equipment purchased is used within the research EPSRC themes of Energy, Physical Sciences, Healthcare Technologies, Engineering, Digital Economy and Mathematical Sciences A summary of the key findings to date are given below: Energy 1. Low-coordinate and highly reactive alkaline earth and transition metal compounds have been stabilised using sterically demanding ligands, and the equipment purchased has facilitated this synthesis and the characterisation of these compounds. In particular, researchers have synthesised the first structurally authenticated bimetallic complex featuring an unsupported butyl bridge and novel organic molecules with potential use in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, and main group compounds through the reactivity of metal(II) terphenyls. 2. A real-time microgrid simulator, for studying renewable energy and storage deployment has been implemented. 3. The purchase of a Screentec printer, screens and amplifier and lock-in radiometry system has enabled the development of new p-type photo-electrochemical systems for harnessing solar energy. One of the key limiting factors to producing p-type devices is the poor reproducibility, porosity and mechanical stability of the nickel oxide material used. We have developed a screen-printable paste containing nickel oxide nanoparticles that can be deposited on conductive glass quickly and reproducibly. When heated in a furnace to 450 oC these form a porous semiconductive network that can be used as a transparent electrode in our devices. We have compared commercial NiO with that prepared from thermal treatment of nickel-containing precursors and NiO prepared by our collaborators in the Division of Environmental and Process Engineering at Nottingham and that prepared using a sol-gel route which is difficult to reproduce on a large scale. A range of surfactants, solvents and additives such as cellulose and polymethyl methacrylate to improve adhesion and porosity were tested to find the best formula for the paste. These were screen-printed using the SPR-25 stencil printer and custom made mesh frames to give a 10 x 10 array of 0.5 cm square NiO on conductive glass. We found the optimum sintering temperature for the films to be 450oC. The electrodes were then cut and stained with a state-of-the-art "P1" dye prepared in our group and assembled in dye-sensitized solar cells and tested for their light to electrical power conversion efficiency. The spectral response of the electrodes was tested using under monochromatic light using the Merlin lock-in amplifier and silicon photodiode purchased from Newport and the best devices gave photocurrents comparable with the state of the art in the field. The high reproducibility and performance means that we can screen for new device components such as dyes, electrolytes and catalysts to generate new combinations of materials that give higher solar cell efficiencies rapidly. 4. The FP Quest Software, digital camera and memory card purchased from this small equipment grant has directly facilitated current work involving the characterisation of biological components of wastes and residues generated by anaerobic digestion and gasification as a function of the waste streams and production conditions. Over the next few months, this equipment will be beneficial in assessing the effects these wastes have on soil microbial communities after application to both field trials (currently being run at the University of Nottingham) with long term applications to soil being conducted within laboratory experiments. The FP Quest Software, digital camera and memory card has enhanced the microbial analysis equipment already purchased as part of a three year EPSRC project developing Rural Hybrid Energy Systems in the UK (Reference number EP/J000361/1) by enhancing the image analysis of electrophoresis gel generated and allowing in house isolation of DNA bands for sequencing. 5. A number of new porous coordination framework materials have been synthesised by the new oven. These materials have been studied for the applications in carbon capture and hydrocarbon separations. In particular, a new MOF material (denoted as NOTT-300) has shown excellent properties in purifying acetylene, ethylene and ethane gases Physical Sciences 6. The Yokogawa DL850 ScopeCorder with the 16bit 701251 and 720210 modules along with a home-made pulsed generator are now implemented in a double channel pulsed current set-up with exceptional time and voltage resolution. This system will be used for non-destructive characterisation of different microscopic semiconductor devices. 7. The purchase of equipment including an electron beam evaporation source has enabled us to develop new ways of making magnetic materials and devices for emerging quantum technologies that exploit the spin of electrons. It has also enabled us to measure the electrical properties of those structures. 8. The computers purchased have greatly increased the speed of our computer calculations and simulations of complex quantum systems and materials that evolve rapidly as time passes. In particular, we have investigated new types of sudden change in the time evolution (dynamical phase transitions) and made detailed calculations of the behaviour of new types of graphene transistors. 9. A high-speed camera purchased through this grant is in constant use to investigate: Rayleigh-Taylor instability, equilibrium shapes of rapidly spinning droplets and the dynamics of granular materials in shaken fluids. Healthcare Technologies 10. An automated Agilent971 FP Flash Purification System has been used for the chromatographic purification of low molecular weight intermediates, especially carbohydrate-containing molecules. This automation has shortened and simplified the synthetic processes, and minimized waste of expensive chemicals. In the long term this will allow reduction in the overall operative costs of current and future research projects. 11. Recently gathered data has demonstrated how a high speed camera could be used as the basis for lower cost Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging (LDPI) and also furthered the understanding of how appropriate data processing strategies can accommodate problems associated with lower speed cameras. The camera has been used with modulated light (to reduce the effect of ambient light) to extract a pulsatile signal (heart-rate) from a subject when the setup (subject/camera/light) is stationary. It has allowed investigation (with high temporal accuracy) of how 'motion artefacts' (errors caused by movement of the subject/camera/light) corrupt the signal. The camera has been used to acquire laser speckle images of light scattered from tissue which can be used to image blood flow. We have developed a new method of image processing based on multiple exposure times and the camera has been a useful tool in demonstrating this. 12. The purchase of laboratory equipment, including rotary evaporators, vacuum pump and drying oven for synthetic chemistry has greatly aided in the chemical synthesis of novel chemical entities for potential exploitation in drug discovery in areas of unmet medical need. The equipment purchased was used in both the synthesis and purification of novel chemical entities and will hopefully assist in future publications of the work. The equipment purchased has also underpinned the chemical synthesis of new catalysts for the transformation of low value bulk commodity chemicals into more complex value added products such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and agrochemicals 13. A pH-stat titrator has been successfully utilized to establish an in vitro lipolysis model for optimization of the development of oral lipid-based drug delivery systems. A novel important phenomenon of preferential affinity of pancreatic lipase to triglyceride with chain length of C2 to C8 has been discovered. This important finding has potential to lead to significant advances in the oral lipid-based drug delivery field. The model has been optimized to overcome the differences of different types of lipid-based drug delivery systems, and now a wide range of formulations can be assessed using a single set of experimental conditions. The in vitro lipolysis model (with a pH-stat titrator as a core component) continued to be successfully utilized and so far resulted in multiple publications. In addition, an additional Manuscript which describes a novel link between the in vitro lipolysis and in vitro metabolism models for prediction of bioavailability of poorly water-soluble compounds is currently under preparation. 14. Ultra high precision translation stages have been used for a variety of experiments including variable temperature optical measurements of nanostructures and nanoscale devices. Their extremely high weight load (up to 20kg) combined with nanoscale precision <10nm even at large translation distances >10mm allows us to use the XY-stage for nanoscale positioning and imaging of both microscopic and macroscopic samples. A lock-in amplifier, pre-amplifier and photon counting unit are being used to research ultrasound modulated optical tomography. This is hybrid imaging technique can be used to image tissue in 3 dimensions. Engineering 15. A DC lab power supply with LAN, MS and SCS options has been used for research into high voltage SiC MOSFET converters for aerospace applications; research into new converter topologies for future HVDC transmission schemes and research into predictive control of converters for electrical machine drives. 16. PPM PNC3500-300 PSU (0-3.5kV and 0-300mA) and Keithley Source-Meter Pico Ammeter were used for the robustness testing of new generation wide band gap power transistors. -Power supply units and an infrared camera have been used to investigate a photo-voltaic converter topology using new generation silicon carbide devices featuring very high efficiency and performance with the potential for a dramatic increase in power density. 17. Temperature Chamber Type Binder MK53 has been used by a pool of researchers to investigate the reliability of integrated bond-wireless power switches and to develop an advanced cooling methodology. 18. The three phase power analyser has been used in multiple activities in the laboratory, especially where power quality was of concern. This has enabled harmonic analysis of PWM waveforms to check against grid harmonic regulations as well as to identify PWM problems caused by operation of switching converters (dead-time distortion etc.). 19. The power supplies (both AC and DC) have been used throughout the research group's labs in applications ranging from the thermal cycling and operation of new semiconductor devices and the low power supply of various power converters developed in the laboratory. The electronics load has been used in various AC applications where operation with unbalanced/asymmetric loading of a three phase converter was required. The DC capability of the load has also been used when testing multilevel converters for automotive applications. 20. A 4 channel portable oscilloscope has since been used in many projects with long distance travel or for industrial testing in environments which are not suitable for a full scope (transporting at high altitude). 21. An oscilloscope has been used to analyse switching waveforms for state-of-the art high speed silicon carbide power devices to demonstrate their suitability for use in matrix converter applications. Analysis of the electrical waveforms present in ultrasonic bonding equipment has been carried out using the oscilloscope in an attempt to discover how these waveforms change when poor, unreliable bonds are made during power electronic module assembly. Initial results suggest that the difference between the waveforms seen when reliable bonds are made, and those seen when unreliable bonds are made, is significant enough that these waveforms could be used as a form of on-line process quality control. 22. A logic analyser has been used for the analysis and design of high performance digital control systems. The high bandwidth and large number of inputs meant that it was very useful also in the analysis of controller bus interactions and reduced development and debugging time where novel controller topologies are to be used. 23. EMxpert for EMC investigation of circuit boards has been used to scan printed circuit boards while they are in operation to determine potential sources of electro-magnetic interference. This equipment has already proved very useful in locating the source of noise on an analogue sensor and has enabled a subsequent re-design and drastic improvement in noise performance of the sensor. 24. A Programmable Function Generator has been used to generate arbitrary test waveforms for testing and debugging of control systems. It has allowed the user to emulate real systems without the need for the final application to be functional in order to accelerate the development of novel control systems. 25. A copper plating line is being used as a method of additive manufacturing in order to 'grow' conductive structures for the purpose of developing novel and innovative power module packaging techniques. 26. The new traverse system for the ABL wind tunnel has allowed us to calibrate the ABL simulation in the working section and has demonstrated that the tunnel can be used to study wind flow around buildings and wind loading on structures. We now have a platform suitable for measuring flow fields around buildings in the working section. 27. A Newport ULTRAlign XYZ precision linear stage and wire saw have been used in our work to develop new light sources for the mid-infrared (MIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These new light sources, based on chalcogenide glasses, are particularly important because of the fundamental molecular vibrational absorption bands that exist at these wavelengths that give rise to distinct spectral fingerprints. We have reported on the first experimental realisation of a supercontinuum sources spanning 1.5 to 11.7 µm and 1.4- 13.3µm and on the development of rare-earthed doped glasses towards the realisation of fibre lasers operating in the MIR region. 28. NI Compact RIO used as control and data collection hub for Microgrid operation emulation, provides an open platform for proving of of test and real life scenarios in a safe emulated environments. Digital Economy 29. Through this grant we have added an additional projector to the NITES 2 simulator that projects an image directly onto the floor. This means that, as well as the view ahead giving accurate motion cues, the ground appears to move as well. Our intuition was that we needed this for the simulator to work as a pedal cycle simulator as well as a driving simulator. An initial study on speed perception has been carried out to test this hypothesis in which 32 cyclists and drivers made speed estimates in the simulator. When used as a car simulator NITES 2 was found to allow drivers to give accurate estimates of speed with or without the ground projection system in place. However, when used as a pedal cycle simulator, cyclists significantly underestimated their speeds in the virtual world without ground projection. With the new ground projector added, cyclists' speed judgments are now accurate. This dramatically improves the usefulness of the simulator and provides Nottingham with the world's most advanced pedal cycle simulator. We are terming this new upgraded facility NAPCyS - (the Nottingham Advanced Pedal Cycle Simulator). 30. A set of equipment was purchased to support the production of music and sound recordings within the Mixed Reality Laboratory (MRL) in the School of Computer Science. To date, the equipment has been used to record voiceovers for direct inclusion in mobile apps by PhD students, in videos promoting research work by early careers researchers and as part of initial experiments with automated music production by early careers researchers Mathematical Sciences 31. The equipment purchased supported the analysis of Diffusion-Weighted MRI data. Some key findings of the project are: -Different image reconstructions (which also differ between scanners) can significantly influence fibre orientation estimation and in consequence tractography too. -This is due to their different noise properties and the nature of the DW signal. -Various noise models were fitted to real data from a scanner to identify the best model for various settings. -Model selection criteria such as AIC, BIC and DIC offer a robust way to select the correct model. |
| Exploitation Route | Many items of equipment purchased through this grant will lead to further collaborations with industry and community outreach activity. Some specific examples are detailed below: 1. Within the MRL, research into mobile-phone based experiences, which has and will be supported by this equipment, focusses on practical applications. There is a specific focus on the museums sector, and the end-products of this research can have an impact on the practices of this sector. 2. The equipment has been used to record voiceovers for research videos constructed around the topic of "the multiscreen household"; an understanding of the household as a setting then has the potential to inform the design of digital products intended for the household. 3. The equipment will shortly be used to record voiceovers for inclusion in apps orientated around the use of energy in the workplace and the home. 4. On both environmental and health grounds there are compelling reasons to encourage people to cycle more. One of the major barriers to cycling is the perceived danger of cycling on roads shared with other traffic. We hope that research using the new pedal cycle simulator (NAPCyS) will allow transport planners and policy makers to better understand the behaviour of cyclists and minimize risks to them. 5. Statistical tools that have been developed will be available in the form of freely-available open-source software the terms of Matlab code. Therefore there is the potential to be included in open-source software such as the one provided by FMRIB (Oxford) which is not only used by academics but by medical practitioners too. 6. The established in vitro lipolysis model will be broadly used by pharmaceutical industry that have lipophilic drug candidates in the pipeline. The small items of equipment purchased will lead to research being put into use in the following ways: Energy 7. The synthesis of new fine chemicals or pharmaceuticals by the manipulation of the reactivity of these compounds towards small molecules such as carbon monoxide. 8. The development of new alkaline earth complexes which can be used in new catalytic reactions to generate new industrial compounds. 9. Development of dye sensitized photocathodes suitable for tandem cells which will generate photovoltages exceeding those achievable with conventional n-type dye-sensitised solar cells. Alternatively they can be coupled with a catalyst to generate solar fuels such as H2 or the mesoporous metal oxide materials can be applied in supercapacitors. Digital 10. The establishment of an accurate pedal cycle simulator enables a wide variety of studies on cyclists' behaviour that have never previously been possible. Particularly important are studies of cyclists' behaviour in hazardous situations - this is research that has previously been impossible for ethical reasons. Because we have the ability to link NITES 2 to our other driving simulator (NITES 1) we have the exciting possibility of exploring cyclist-car interactions in a virtual world with real cyclists and drivers in the same virtual world Mathematical Science 11. The reconstruction of pathways within the human brain to capitalise on the extraordinary amount of information which will be available in the near future, for instance, via the Human Connectome Project. Healthcare 12. To accelerate the development of novel carbohydrate-based therapeutics in clinical settings. These multivalent materials can target a range of diseases/conditions. One of the main hurdles to overcome is the lack of efficient synthetic routes to prepare these therapeutics in large scale. The process developed in this project is a big step forward to solve this important issue. 13. To form the basis of current and future drug discovery programs in areas of unmet medical need. Outputs from the research could form the basis of IP and will eventually be communicated in peer-reviewed journals. The synthesis of new biologically active compounds will form the basis of future grant applications. A further outcome was building the seeds for further research that has allowed a successful MRC DTP studentship application. The laboratory equipment has also been used by undergraduate students undertaking research projects and so has had added benefit in highlighting medicinal chemistry and drug design to non post graduate researchers as a potential future career. 14. To optimize the development of lipid-based drug delivery systems and to assess the performance of these systems in a fast and efficient way that reduces time and resources spent. This will also lead to a reduction in the use of animals for research for assessment of performance of lipid-based drug delivery systems. 15. To support research on nanophotonics (nanomaterials, nanostructures and nanodiodes) and healthcare (bioimaging) and promote collaborative research on new nanolabels for bioimaging and drug delivery. We are aiming to apply this research to pre-clinical imaging. We are particularly interested in the use of the approach to monitoring the effect of regenerative medicine therapies in tissue e.g. stem cell tracking. 16. To demonstrate that cheaper, off-the-shelf, high speed imaging devices have potential for use in Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging (LDPI) systems in certain clinical scenarios as diagnostic and monitoring aids. For example, in flap reperfusion studies, where post-operative assessment of a skin transplant is necessary to prevent partial or total flap loss, the low bandwidth Laser Doppler Perfusion Imager could be a valuable tool to guide treatment and/or remedial action. 17. To demonstrate that non-contact photoplethysmography may be applicable (if problems of motion artefact can be adequately overcome) for monitoring the heart rate (and breathing rate) of newborn infants. We have previously used other approaches but this technique has certain advantages (eg its non-contact nature). The method could also be used in any other areas, clinical or sports, where heart and breathing rate are required. Physical Science 18. To achieve a breakthrough in the performance of narrow gap dilute nitride materials that will allow the development of novel mid-infrared photonic devices to address a range of applications in the technologically important mid-infrared (3-5 µm) spectral range. The immediate applications include ultra-fast electronics for future generation computation and communications, medical and security imaging, radio astronomy, etc. 19. To support the development of new electronic components for the generation and detection of high-frequency (GHz-THz) electronic components. 20. To investigate (1) the Rayleigh Taylor instability which appears in a wide variety of phenomena in nature, including supernova explosions, geological features and in weather, and is relevant to the problem of generating energy from inertial confinement and plasma fusion reactors; (2)the shapes and stability of spinning droplets which can shed light on the stability of atomic nuclei, relevant in nuclear fission; (3) the manipulation of granular materials which is relevant to a wide range of industries including food technology and mining. Engineering 21. To accelerate debugging of problems and facilitate the development of digital control in order to speed up the final hardware implementation and testing of power electronics. 22. To exploit new semiconductor devices, to produce power conversion systems which are lighter and more efficient than existing systems - key parameters for many applications, but especially aerospace. 23. To develop a new generation of converters for HVDC power transmission, allowing transmission of bulk power (for example from wind-farms) with less losses, more flexible control and better resilience to fault conditions than existing technologies. 24. To research control strategies for converters driving electrical machines - typical applications are in industrial processes, electric ground transportation and the "More Electric Aircraft". 25. To inform the technology development of future Silicon Carbide power MOSFETs, as well as the design of robust and reliable power conversion systems; stimulate new and competitive system design concepts in a booming market and a strategic application sector (PV/renewable energies) and inform the technology evolution of integrated power switches and modules, enabling increased efficiency, reliability and power density (reduced size, weight and cost for a given power handling capability). 26. To develop future electrical transmission systems; be applied to pollution control and industrial microwave processing across a wide range of sectors and be exploited in future integrated drives for energy saving in industrial processes (particularly pumping applications). 27. Providing a reconfigurable micro-grid and energy community emulator for testing and development of new hardware and energy management algorithms and the effects of future energy usage changes and policies. 28. To provide accurate electrical characterisation of new power devices and generates data that can be used to ensure that the performance gains possible by using such devices can be fully exploited in real-world applications. 29. To allow sub-standard bonds to be identified during the assembly process which will assist with current research projects involving the design, construction and testing of novel power device packaging solutions. 30. The new traverse system for the ABL wind tunnel is a fundamental item of equipment for all future research students studying building aerodynamics in the ABL wind tunnel. The calibration of the boundary layer simulation is an essential pre-requisite to future studies in the tunnel. 31. In the remote sensing of gases such as CO2 for monitoring fossil fuel combustion efficiency through to the development of new sources for medical surgery. Our particular interests are in the early detection of skin cancer and in food security. The significance of our demonstration of chalcogenide-glass fibre-based supercontinuum sources in spectroscopy and molecular sensing was independently recognised by Steinmeyer and Skibina in the News and Views section of Nature Photonics (vol 8, Nov 2014, pp814-815) |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Construction,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Security and Diplomacy,Transport,Other |
| URL | http://minerva-project.eu/ |
| Description | 1. Cycle Simulator: The research demonstrates clearly the visual information necessary to produce accurate speed perception in a cycle simulator. 2. Imaging Reconstruction Application of multichannel receiver arrays and new image reconstruction techniques, e.g. parallel imaging, known to influence noise properties in MRI. We have established via analyzing simulated data as well as real data that wrong assumptions about the noise model can lead to wrong answers when estimating fibre orientation and hence tractography. Furthermore, we have established that certain statistical model selection tools enable us to corrently identify the correct noise model. 3. In vitro lipolysis model: The research project has introduced the in vitro lipolysis model to the UK. Although the model was previously established in other countries (Australia, Israel, Canada, Denmark and France), in the UK this is a novel system and will significantly facilitate UK-based research in oral lipid drug delivery both in academia and pharmaceutical industry. The established model will provide a basis for novel future projects (such as linking the lipolysis model to absorption models) to improve the predictive power of the model and bring the lipolysis research in the UK to the internationally recognised level. The findings have led to 3 poster presentations so far at national and international meetings (NC3Rs/Society of Biology 3Rs Symposium, PhysChem Forum 14 and APS Pharm Sci 2014). 4. New transition metal terphenyl complexes: Synthesis and reactivity of new transition metal terphenyl complexes is leading to new reaction methodologies and products, where chiral centres can be introduced, which has the potential to lead to new organic compounds of use in industry. 5. Automated Agilent971 FP Flash Purification System : Synthesis and characterisation of a new family of potential sugar therapeutics: a first manuscript is currently in preparation, with at least two more that will follow (academic impact). In addition we are currently in the process of patenting our technology(Impact on healthcare industry and Society). 6. New organocatalysts: a range of new phosphorus-containing organocatalysts are being developed and exploited in new reaction methods for the construction of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. These methods will streamline the synthesis of natural products, pharamceuticals, agrochemicals and other fine chemical products 7. New methods for phosphine synthesis: phosphine ligands underpin the field of homogeneous catalysis and new methods are being developed for their synthesis which avoid toxic and unstable phosphorus atom sources and intermediates. 8. Theoretical modelling of graphene-based quantum electronic devices: the prediction, and subsequent observation, of high-frequency current oscillations in graphene tunnel transistors opens a new route to fast electronics and led to collaborations with e2v, Dstl, NPL. 9. The significance of our demonstration of chalcogenide-glass fibre-based supercontinuum sources in spectroscopy and molecular sensing was independently recognised by Steinmeyer and Skibina in the News and Views section of Nature Photonics (vol 8, Nov 2014, pp814-815) |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Chemicals,Education,Electronics,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | Research Grant |
| Amount | £349,668 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NC/L00187X/1 |
| Organisation | National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2014 |
| End | 11/2017 |