Category

Just Added

Apr 03 2019
11

Fibre-optics World Record is No Hollow Victory

By | Innovation and infrastructure, Just Added, Technology and interconnectivity, The Data Revolution | No Comments
A whole array of game-changing, life-shaping technologies, from long-distance telecommunications to laser surgery, have a key component in common: fibre optics that carry pulses of light to their destination at incredible speed. A University of Southampton team are now focusing on the next big step forward – hollow-core fibres (HCFs) – and last year shattered a longstanding world record to push the capabilities of these to a new level. Developing HCFs and readying them for real-world use is the mission of the £6 million AirGuide Photonics programme, led by Southampton and involving a high-powered consortium of industrial and academic partners,...
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Mar 20 2019
19

Guest Post: ISIS – access the atomic-scale

By | Events, Just Added | No Comments
Beamtime and Batteries at a World-leading Neutron and Muon source Rebecca Shutt PhD researcher, Advanced Characterisation of Materials Centre for Doctoral Training, UCL and Imperial College London My first interaction with the UK neutron and muon source, ISIS, was to apply for beamtime in November last year (2018).  The experiment: to probe structural changes within battery electrodes whilst they are being cycled, i.e. to watch layers of graphene in disordered carbons “breathe” in response to in situ charging and discharging. I am at the very beginning of my PhD, so when I was granted beamtime my first reaction was to...
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Feb 28 2019
10

SES universities receive a boost to tackle major research and societal challenges

By | Advanced materials, Bioscience and medicine, Cities and supporting life, Energy and climate change, Innovation and infrastructure, Just Added, Technology and interconnectivity, The Data Revolution | No Comments
75 Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) across the UK are set to receive over £800 million in support from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and industry partners; part of an increased research and development investment to boost the UK economy and deliver scientific excellence. 24 CDTs led by SES universities will soon benefit from UKRI’s funding of £446 million across 75 centres that will develop skills, bring innovation, and build better lives for UK citizens. The investment has been furthered by £386 million (committed through either cash or in-kind support) from 1,400 Industry partners.  In total, over 1/3 of the...
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Jan 24 2019
10

A Laser Focus on Diamond’s Dual Nature

By | Advanced materials, Just Added, Technology and interconnectivity, The Data Revolution | No Comments
An iconic material, diamond combines huge aesthetic value with enormous practical worth – and both facets of its character are benefitting from pioneering laser science at the University of Oxford. Led by Professor Martin Booth, the Dynamic Optics and Photonics Group has achieved a breakthrough that’s now being harnessed to help tackle gemstone counterfeiting and could play a pivotal role in next-generation supercomputing. From writing tamper-proof serial numbers inside diamonds to creating defects in diamond that can then store data in quantum computers, this breakthrough has opened up remarkable possibilities in laser fabrication and its application to this most remarkable...
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Dec 13 2018
14

The Green Dream Team

By | Energy and climate change, Equipment, Just Added, Popular | No Comments
How efficient labs could progress sustainability and excellence in research An exciting new tool is currently being piloted across the UK in an endeavour to standardise best practice across research efficiency, sustainability and quality. The countless benefits and developments in scientific research are widely known and recognised by society, from better drugs to safer materials and faster technology. However, there’s a rarely reported on ‘dark side’ to science where the materials and energy cost to deliver excellent research, both financially and environmentally, are piling up.  With over 2/3 [1] of total university energy usage consumed by laboratory buildings, it’s no surprise that...
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Nov 08 2018
9

Collaboration the Key to Unlocking Cells’ Secrets

By | Bioscience and medicine, Just Added | No Comments
With the NHS celebrating its 70th birthday this year, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on the vital role of drug discovery in the never-ending drive to improve healthcare – and on the ground-breaking research that makes such discoveries possible. Research outcomes can be strengthened hugely by working across disciplines and by combining complementary skills across institutions. An excellent example of both is a well-established collaboration between teams at Oxford University and UCL that’s generating deeper understanding of the innermost workings of the central nervous system. Harnessing a combination of cutting-edge experimental and computational techniques, the research is delivering insights...
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Oct 23 2018
4

The Link Between Brain Waste and Alzheimer’s

By | Bioscience and medicine, Just Added | No Comments
Prof. Roxana Carare on how the build-up of plaque in the brain could be the key to Alzheimer's research Roxana Carare is a medically qualified Professor of Clinical Neuroanatomy and experimental neuropathology at the University of Southampton.  Roxana leads interdisciplinary, international research on neuroanatomy and neuropathology, demonstrating the unique lymphatic drainage pathways by which fluid and soluble amyloid are eliminated from the brain along basement membranes within the walls of cerebral capillaries and arteries (Intramural Periarterial Drainage Pathways, IPAD). She currently leads Carare Group, with Professor Roy O. Weller as group mentor, at the University of Southampton. You’ve had quite the...
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Oct 09 2018
2

£14 million Helps UK Catalysis Hub React to Key Scientific Challenges

By | Cities and supporting life, Energy and climate change, Just Added, News | No Comments
A new £14 million investment into the UK’s Catalysis Hub (launched in 2013) that will support a nationwide research programme was announced yesterday by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Centred at the Research Complex at the Harwell campus in Oxfordshire, the Hub will co-ordinate a collaborative research program across the UK. The Hub's collaborating partners include SES members the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Southampton, Queen Mary University of London, UCL and Imperial College London. The University of Bath, Cardiff University, and The University of Manchester will lead three of the Hub's themes, with 25 universities directly involved in projects...
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Oct 04 2018
7

SES Open: Harnessing FAIR Data

By | Events, Just Added, Recommended, The Data Revolution | No Comments
Open Science is a contemporary and relevant theme across the UK research landscape. This year we're hosting a series of exciting events that directly engage with the practice of opening up science. From opening up the discussion on  representation of women and people of diverse backgrounds in research, to providing a forum for debate on the opportunities and struggles in mining or storing data, we invite scientists, staff, students, policymakers, scholars and stakeholders in science and education to join us. Harnessing FAIR Data focused on researchers who employ or are seeking to use data in their work. FAIR is a set...
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Sep 25 2018
9

Will Timesaving Taxiing at Airports Take Off?

By | Energy and climate change, Innovation and infrastructure, Just Added, The Data Revolution | No Comments
Fewer delays, fewer emissions, lower fuel costs, less noise – remarkably, it’s by targeting times when aircraft are still on the ground that the global aviation industry could make big strides in achieving all of these benefits. Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is leading development of a new IT-based system designed to maximise efficiency and minimise bottlenecks when planes are taxiing to runways – reducing hold-ups for passengers, cutting airline running costs and helping to tackle air quality and other environmental issues in and around airports. With a host of industry partners on board (including two international airports and...
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