Thirteen ambitious projects at Imperial which could each be the seed of a life-changing discovery are among 100 receiving major new government funding
Researchers at Imperial College London and 38 other institutions are being supported by a share of £80m to take forward potentially transformative ideas, in fields from healthcare to clean energy and artificial intelligence to quantum computing.
"It is vital we support bright researchers to explore a new generation of discoveries." Lord Vallance Science Minister
Announcing the new funding supported by UKRI's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Science Minister Lord Vallance underlined the importance of supporting curiosity-driven research to improve lives and grow the economy.
Lord Vallance, who spent decades as a researcher and served as the Government's chief scientific adviser, has described curiosity-driven research as the 'goose that lays the golden egg,' allowing researchers to follow their curiosity to push back the boundaries of human knowledge. It has led to countless major breakthroughs in the UK and abroad, from fast-track vaccines which saved lives during the pandemic to the lithium-ion batteries we rely on to power the electronics we use every day.
Lord Vallance said: "We are backing 100 ambitious projects up and down the UK which could spark the beginning of a new generation of life-changing developments, from more comfortable and effective prosthetic arms to earlier detection and prevention of blood clots.
At Imperial, the projects range from exploring the effect of hip muscles on knee pain to using AI-driven design for forming high-performance vehicle parts.
Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise), said: "Imperial's world-changing research is driven by a strong sense of curiosity about what is possible, a passion for innovation, and an unrelenting determination to address global societal challenges. Discovery research must be the bedrock of any institution that strives for research excellence and impact. Our researchers explore new frontiers and push the boundaries of knowledge to deliver breakthroughs that could transform our society.
"These ground-breaking research projects show our strategy, Science for Humanity, in action - from fundamental questions about our world, to cutting-edge innovations like healing-focused orthopaedic implants, next-generation drug delivery systems and solar-powered technology for green hydrogen."
Professor Charlotte Deane, EPSRC's Executive Chair, said: "Discovery science is the bedrock of innovation, feeding the pipeline of progress critical to prosperity, sustainability, security, competitiveness, quality of life and resilience to future challenges.
"It's always been a UK strength and EPSRC has always been at the forefront of maintaining and extending this. Utilising and enhancing expertise in all parts of the country, these new EPSRC-backed projects will generate a legacy of extraordinary new knowledge, with impacts felt across the UK and the globe."
The projects at Imperial are:
- Dr Richard van Arkel (Mechanical Engineering): Orthopaedic Implants that Control Healing
- Professor Mark Crimmin (Chemistry): Carbon-Carbon Bond Activation with Main Group Metals
- Professor James Durrant (Chemistry): Organic heterojunction photocatalysts for solar-driven green hydrogen synthesis from water
- Dr Julie Euvrard (Physics): Hall effect in organic semiconductors: a compass to navigate towards more efficient charge transport
- Professor Jonathan Jeffers (Mechanical Engineering): The effect of hip muscles on knee pain
- Professor Eric Kerrigan (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) - two projects: Concurrent Learning and Control of Uncertain Large-Scale Phenomena
Behavioural data-driven coalitional control for buildings
- Professor Jeroen Lamb (Mathematics): EPSRC-FAPESP Predicting Critical Transitions in Complex Dynamical Networks: Reduction and Learning
- Dr Nan Li (Dyson School of Design Engineering): AI-driven Design for Forming High-Performance Vehicle Parts
- Dr Reshma Rao (Materials): ERCAT Electrocatalytic refinery –Designing catalysts to produce green hydrogen and value-added chemicals
- Dr Adam Jan Sadowski (Civil and Environmental Engineering): Digital twinning of next-generation massive-scale offshore metal wind support structures
- Professor Edward Tate (Chemistry): Direct-from-tumour discovery of next-generation antibody-drug conjugate linkers
- Dr Eleanor Tubman (Physics): Self-generated magnetic fields in hohlraums
