Laboratory Research Focus Accessing Research Infrastructure
High-end instrumentation can often cost in the range of hundreds of thousands to millions of pounds. Super sensitive mass spectrometers, scanning electron microscopes, measurement instrumentation and light sources require significant investment and technical staff to manage and maintain them. Such instrumentation and technology is not accessible to most private companies or academic groups conducting research. However, select research facilities and university departments have invested in such instrumentation, and many offer access to these facilities for external academic and private industry use.
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Brand new state-of-the-art data- processing software and computing hardware enables the user to make maximum use of the facility
Author Details: Oliver Stigley,
Sensors & Instrumentation Knowledge Transfer Network Email:
oliver.stigley@
sensorsktn.com
The Sensors & Instrumentation Knowledge Transfer Network (SIKTN) has been investigating the services offered from university and research facility infrastructure for industrial use. There are in excess of 50 such services on offer from university departments and research facilities that we have learned of, and we suspect there are significantly more facilities of which we are not yet aware. Such provisions consist of technology service, hire/ loan of instrumentation or on site use of instrumentation that businesses or other academic groups do not normally have access to. Four examples of such facilities are the Imperial College London Wind Tunnel, the University of York Technology Facility, the Central Laser Facility’s Laser Loan Pool and Daresbury Laboratory’s SuperSTEM.
The Imperial College London Wind Tunnel sponsored by Honda, provides an excellent facility for aerodynamic development and safety evaluation studies of road and race cars, aircraft, buildings and structures. It has a rolling road and a fully computerised control system. Brand new state-of- the-art data-processing software and computing hardware enables the user to make maximum use of the facility. It also provides very high quality flow and a comprehensive range of instrumentation, which enables measurement of force, pressure and flow velocity to be made accurately and efficiently.
The University of York Technology Facility’s remit is to provide access to technology and research services for the biosciences. It provides a unique facility that allows access to a wide range of technologies and expertise in an integrated manner that can help drive forward your research efficiently and cost effectively. Their clients include research groups from within the university, many external universities throughout the world and an array of commercial enterprises of all sizes. Specific facilities include analytical biochemistry, bioscience computing, genomics, imaging and cytometry, molecular interactions, protein production and proteomics.
The Laser Loan Pool at the Central Laser Facility provides commercial laser systems and diagnostics for researchers to enable them to carry out laser experiments at their own organisations. Those on offer include Nd-YAG pumped dye lasers (UV-visible), near-IR (1.5-4.0 microns), quasi continuous wave broadband ultrafast Ti:Sa oscillator with second harmonic and third harmonic, ultrafast fempto second regenerative amplifier with optical parametric amplifier and SHG and SFG options, 5W Argon-ion FreD laser and more.
The SuperSTEM is a unique Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope hosted at Daresbury Laboratory. It was the first of its kind in the world. It enables scientists to study atoms within materials in a way that has never before been possible and will pave the way for pioneering research relating to every aspect of our lives, from research into liver disease, to the creation of the mobile phones and computers of the future. The two SuperSTEM devices at the facility are available for use by the microscopy community and the project team welcomes users with appropriate problems to solve.
What do Research Facilities gain by offering access to industry and other academics? There are three advantages to facilities to allowing access to their unique technologies:
Money
Facilities and institutes often charge a fee for access to such facilities. These differ on the type of instrumentation available, and some facilities do not charge at all for academic use. This is a good source of income generation from the industrial sector into public research, and helps cover running and maintenance costs for the service in question.
Collaboration and Engagement
Offering access to facilities is an excellent way to increase public funded research engagement with private industry. Research collaboration opportunities can arise in common areas of interest, as well as exchanging ideas on key areas of future research and technology demands.
Technology and Knowledge Transfer
From external engagement, opportunities can present themselves for technology transfer and knowledge transfer.
The benefits to industry and other users are obvious; access to specialist equipment and staff without tackling the significant investment required for such instrumentation. In the near future, the SIKTN will be creating a database available online that will contain various facilities on offer.
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