New UK Facility to Protect Microchips from Cosmic Chaos


UK scientists have built a new facility aimed at understanding how particles from space can interact with electronic devices and to investigate the chaos that cosmic rays can cause – such as taking communications satellites offline, wiping a device’s memory or affecting aircraft electronics.


Following a funding announcement by the UK government in 2011 a team led by ISIS project scientist Dr Chris Frost developed ChipIR , the latest facility built at the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ISIS neutron source. It is designed to look at how silicon microchips respond to cosmic neutron radiation, with consequent benefits for the electronics industry. ChipIR has now successfully completed its first round of development testing before going in to full operation in 2015.


University, Science and Cities Minister, Greg Clark commented: “The Government understands how vital it is to innovate and tackle the challenges that face our electronics industry. This funding is helping to develop a facility capable of putting safety critical circuits through their paces, making planes safer and the electronics on which we all depend more reliable.”


“In building ChipIR at ISIS we have created a test facility that will allow the electronics industry to rapidly assess the vulnerabilities of their devices. We can mimic the cosmic rays’ neutrons and by putting an electronic device into their path, we can work out why that piece of electronics is being disrupted,” said Chris Frost.


CHIPIR build 27 Jan (Credit: STFC) ISIS scientist Dr Chris Frost (Credit: STFC) 31420pr@reply-direct.com Minister Opens Centrum Building at Norwich Research Park


Life Sciences Minister George Freeman has opened the landmark £11.5 million Centrum building at Norwich Research Park, a leading hub of life science innovation that is undergoing expansion to bring jobs and major investment to the region.


“The Government’s continued investment in Norwich Research Park is helping to create and support a first-class innovation hub in the East of England based on world-leading bioscience. The science community will now be able to share access to this unique and specialist facility that will help to drive growth, foster innovation and support the Norwich, Norfolk and East Anglia life science cluster to create the jobs and businesses of tomorrow, “ said the Minister.


Mr Freeman also opened the Norwich Research Park Virtual


Technology Centre, where pooled scientific technology platforms from research organisations on the Park will enable ease of access for academics and businesses alike.


During the visit, the Minister heard of plans for a £5 million molecular farming facility. It will establish Norwich as a leading international centre for research and development in the use of plants to produce high value compounds. The molecular farming facility is being developed from inventions made at the John Innes Centre by Prof George Lomonossoff and Dr Frank Sainsbury, BBSRC Innovators of the Year in 2012, and will make the technology and campus capability accessible to all, including commercial companies in the pharmaceutical and industrial biotechnology sectors, as well as academics from outside of the Park.


The Centrum building, Virtual Technology Centre and future molecular farming facility are part of a substantial £26 million project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to develop a thriving research and innovation campus, supporting start-up, early-stage companies and attracting inward investment from multinational corporate organisations involved in science and technology.


The long-term public investment in the Park forms part of a strategy to invest in research and innovation campuses across the UK to create thriving innovation environments that maximise economic growth and impact from the UK’s world-leading bioscientists.


31419pr@reply-direct.com Biotech Takes Up Occupancy at Centrum


A new company that will be using biotechnology to manufacture sought-after bioactive ingredients for the cosmetics industry was the first of two spin-outs to occupy the new Centrum facility at Norwich Research Park.


plant products. The prize money that she and Dr Butelli received from BBSRC will allow them to take their research out of the lab and turn it into an economy-boosting commercial enterprise.


Persephone Bio Ltd, established by


BBSRC’s Most Promising Innovators of the Year, Professor Cathie Martin and Dr Eugenio Butelli from the John Innes Centre, will be progressing further with Professor Martin’s award winning research in which she developed several varieties of fruits, including tomatoes and oranges, containing high levels of nutrients and useful


Professor Martin said: “Tomatoes grown for food contain small amounts of cosmetically useful products such as flavonols and isoflavones, so we have developed varieties that contain much higher levels of these and related compounds that absorb ultra- violet light and protect plants against damage from the sun. We’ve also created ‘chemical-free’ commercial-scale systems to extract


SFI Targeted Research Programme Opens


the seven Irish universities as part of its strategy to build research capacity in key areas of economic importance. The Targeted SFI Research Professorship Programme 2014 will provide research funding of approximately €5 million for each successful applicant.


Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General SFI, Richard Bruton T.D, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Sean Sherlock T.D, Minister for Research and Innovation and Professor Vinny Cahill, Dean of Research, Trinity College Dublin


The Irish Government has announced a major new drive by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to attract the world’s top research talent to


“By developing the highest quality of research in Ireland we can help deliver on our aim to turn more good ideas into good jobs,” said Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, TD. “The initiative is part of our strategy through the Action Plan for Jobs to make Ireland a truly world-class location for leading edge research. By launching this targeted Programme to attract top international research talent to Ireland we are pursuing in a very concrete way that highly ambitious goal. The Irish Government is committed to providing a world-class research environment that fosters the very best innovation to support both short and long-term competitiveness and ultimately create the jobs we need.”


It is expected that the successful applicants would perform cutting edge research, develop significant research programmes with industry, discover and develop new technologies which could be spun-out into new enterprises, train students and young researchers


and leverage significant further research funding e.g. from the EU Horizon 2020 programme.


Minister for Research and Innovation, Mr Sean Sherlock, TD. said, “This Programme will help to boost Ireland’s international research standing and to continue to foster innovation in our higher education sector. Ireland’s research excellence and output is well-documented and we want to continue to attract the very best international research talent here – we are very much open for business.”


Run in partnership with the seven Irish universities and the Irish Universities Association (IUA), the programme will target key areas aligned with national strategic priorities, including advanced manufacturing, bio-manufacturing, energy, marine, ICT, medical devices, agrifood, climate change, smart cities, ageing, connected health and digital platforms, content and applications.


For further information on the 2014 targeted programme and submission dates see: http://ilmt.co/PL/6pl funding calls.


31422pr@reply-direct.com the ingredients directly from cold-pressed tomato juice.”


Tomato extracts are new to skincare products, but Professor Martin and Dr Butelli believe their naturally processed ingredients will be very attractive to the cosmetics industry. With further research it is also hoped that tomatoes could become natural factories for not only cosmetic ingredients, but also therapeutic ingredients to treat skin conditions or promote wound healing.


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