The latest Business updates from the science industry


by Heather Hobbs Honorary Award Recognises Contribution to British Life


Bioimaging pioneer Jason Swedlow, currently Professor of Quantitative Cell Biology in the University of Dundee’s School of Life Sciences, has received an honorary Order of the British Empire in recognition of his stellar research career.


Conferred on foreign nationals to celebrate the contribution they have made to British life, Professor Swedlow was awarded the honour for his services to biological imaging, during a presentation at the City Chambers by Dundee’s Lord Provost Bill Campbell.


Born in Los Angeles he received his undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and a PhD from UC San Francisco, moving into postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School before joining the University of Dundee in 1998.


“I feel extremely honoured to receive this award, particularly as it is for services to bioimaging, something that I have dedicated my career to,” said Professor Swedlow. “For me, this is recognition for an extremely powerful and growing community of scientists that I feel privileged to be part of.


“Dundee has been my home since 1998 and I have turned down many offers to return to the US and chose to raise my family in Scotland because of the culture here. At our School of Life Sciences, I work alongside people from all over the world and the contribution we make to our fi elds is testimony to the benefi ts of a dynamic and diverse scientifi c community.”


Professor Swedlow’s research interests lie in the mechanisms and regulation of chromosome segregation and the development of software for handling and sharing large scientifi c image datasets. He is a co-founder of the Open Microscopy Environment (OME), an international consortium that develops and releases open source software for biological imaging.


He also founded Glencoe Software, Inc, which commercialises and customises OME technology for use in biotech/pharma R&D and data publishing, and BioImagingUK, a consortium of UK scientists that defi ne strategic priorities for imaging in the life sciences. Professor Swedlow was named Social and Overall Innovator of the Year by the BBSRC in 2011 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012.


At the presentation Lord Provost Campbell said, “This honour recognises the achievements of Professor Swedlow over a distinguished career of scientifi c excellence. His important work has helped put Dundee on the map as a leading knowledge hub and he has helped forge an international reputation for our city. I would like to congratulate him for his ongoing efforts and for this award today.”


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/7N5p 60100pr@reply-direct.com


Jason Swedlow OBE (pictured right) received his award from Dundee’s Lord Provost Bill Campbell Credit: University of Dundee


RMS AGM and Council Nominations


The Royal Microscopical Society AGM is set to take place during mmc2023 on 4th July (6pm) at the Manchester Central Convention Complex.


Open to both members and non-members attending mmc2023, including conference delegates, exhibition visitors and exhibitors, anyone wishing to attend specifi cally for the AGM can do so with their free exhibition registration.


Meanwhile nominations (in addition to those made by Council) to fi ll any of the Offi ces of President, Vice-President, Honorary Secretaries, Honorary Treasurer or other member of Council are currently open now, please check for closing details on the information link below


The Society’s by-laws state that any four RMS Fellows may nominate any other duly qualifi ed person by delivering the nomination in writing to the Chief Executive Offi cer, together with the written consent of the nominee to accept offi ce - if elected.


More details are available online: ilmt.co/PL/q1wx 60099pr@reply-direct.com


Raman Technology to Assess Electrode Performance


The Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) Baden- Württemberg has installed a Raman microscope for use in its new pilot plant in Ulm, where cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries will be produced and the scalability of fabrication methods will be investigated.


The performance of Lithium-ion batteries, a primary enabling technology in the current shift toward electric mobility, is almost exclusively determined by the materials used. Over the next 12 months ZSW is constructing the Powder-Up pilot plant that will focus on making improvements in the next generation of battery electrode materials and on scale-up of manufacturing processes. This work is set to have far-reaching effects in terms of battery performance, resource use and unit costs.


According to Dr Margret Wohlfahrt-Mehrens, Head of the Accumulators Materials Research department, “Raman microscopy is becoming a standard method in applied battery research. It quickly provides detailed information about how different electrode formulations function and degrade over charge cycles.”


WITec GmbH won the Europe-wide public tender due to the chemical sensitivity, spatial resolution and acquisition speed of its Raman imaging systems.


In a refl ection of Baden-Württemberg’s innovative strength, WITec’s headquarters and ZSW’s facilities are located on the same hill above Ulm. “It really highlights that this region is central in Germany’s efforts to support the green revolution,” said Harald Fischer, Marketing Director at WITec.


“We designed and built this microscope right here and then delivered it across our neighbourhood, where it will further the development of one of today’s most crucially important technologies.”


Florian Klein (left) and Leon Gläser (right) from the ZSW in Ulm together with WITec Application Scientist Dr Ievgeniia Iermak (middle) during training on the new Raman microscope.


The Powder Up facility, funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), is the fi rst of its kind in Europe. Material batches of up to 100 kilograms can be produced in the new plant. Such quantities are required to produce large battery cells for electric cars or stationary energy storage units.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/YvjB 60104pr@reply-direct.com


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