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Maximising Current Capability (Infrastructure) (What could EPSRC funded…
Maximising Current Capability (Infrastructure)
How do you engage with Industry, including SMEs?
SME shyness to share
Fear university users will break equipment
Undergraduate summer projects and postgraduate projects
Workshops on industry posed problems (x2)
Industry partners in collaborations need funding (low TRL)
CASE studentships (x2)
Industry networking events, conferences (x5)
Materials Research Exchange events, KTN meetings, KTP (x5)
Barriers to Industry engagement: time, money, incentives
Poorly/ not at all (x2)
Local knowledge/network (how can we improve this?
University liaison/research/enterprise offices (x3)
Through existing networks: TE network, UK MagSoc, colleagues
Existing graduates who have moved to industry
Industry headhunting - they come to us, based on publications (x2)
Webpages
InnovateUK grants (x2)
Spin-out own company
Consultant - targeted (x2)
Contacted from press releases rather than reading journals
Academics contacting the industry directly
Social events
Issue: scale-gap prevents industry wanting to become involved
Flexible engagement - use engagement to develop longer, stronger relationships
Open events (1 day, to engage, talk about technicians and give examples
Impact acceleration accounts
Innovation vouchers (>£5K)
Match funding
Used to be through CDT
Need more networking - difficult to get to know industrial collaborators
Fellowships
EU projects (x2)
Externally funded programmes
Industrial/centre advisory board (x3)
Create an informal local network with SME and run annual event
Create an offering for industry e.g. expertise, skills, facilities
Engage with equipment manufacturers and co-fund studentships
Associations e.g. TechUK (x2)
Persistent comms to build up and maintain rapport/gain access (x2)
How do you find out about equipment?
National equipment register (x4)
Google (x5)
Published papers (x5)
Coffee/word of mouth (x4)
Own network/networking (x7)
Conferences (x4)
E-mails for companies
More dissemination e.g. via websites
Asking around
Discussions with collaborators, networks, colleagues
Research council newsletters
Luck
Regional equipment list e.g. N8
From suppliers
Royce Institute
University contacts or business engagement team
Interaction with other EPSRC big investments e.g. CDTs
Devices lab
Specific searches
Professional bodies
Clear information linkage/ EPSRC funded facility
What could EPSRC funded facilities do to encourage usage (included non-NRF)?
Help to develop sustainable cost models
Go to webpages
Ensure underpinning facilities are distributed geographically
Website with links to resources
Web presence just for NRF, better advertised (x2)
Review of how facilities are financially supported (coordinate with universities)
Ensure part of indirect costs go back to PIs to pay for facilities sustainability.
Good map with funded facilitites
Travel costs
Better, more visible communication
National labs
Equipment in dedicated centres, not universities (e.g. Harwell)
Training workshops for graduate students/ECRs
Encourage a facility portal that connects different facilities - established connectivity
Networking at all levels
Allow a low cost avenue, facility usage support to access for PhD students, young researchers (x4)
Enhance networking/connectivity between young researchers/affiliated schools
Regional networks
Failed NRF applications re-directed to appropriate universities that have the right measurement capabilities.
Review success stories e.g. ISIS materials lab
Searchable database of EPSRC funded equipment/VOP for equipment (and usage level) (x3)
Shared database of instrumental parameter set-ups
Grants for tech transfer
Grants for permanent technicians
Funding calls for ECR/institutions
Remote access
Clarity on access and engagement, advertise options available
Joint funding for 'long-term' development of sample and experimental environment.
Subsidised access with publication requirement
Help people to develop relationships and contract networks
EPSRC funding for maintenance
See Cardiff XPS, HR-TEM and HR-XRD
Standard terms and conditions for SME usage (fast)
Viable proof points for materials for academic R&D and SME
Open and free at the point of access
Flexible proof-of-concept funding (x2)
Remove barriers to access
Include providing access as a measurable in grant reporting or mid-term reviews etc.
Facilities to run the peer review process, EPSRC to dictate time given to proof-of-concept rapid access
More predictable IAAfunding
Provide access to childcare @ facilities
Cut-down on application/waiting times
Calls for access, or mechanisms to cost into grants
Provide guidelines for community
Identifying current infrastructure
What equipment do you currently use?
HPC Archer (Tier 1) and Tier 2 (x 4)
Local HPC resources (departmental, university)
Custom designed Plasma equipment
TEM, SuperSTEM (x5)
Fume cupboards, glove boxes, potentiostats, absorption/luminescence spectroscopy, elemental analysis, synthetic equipment, microwaves (x4)
Underpinning materials characterisation
SPRING-8 (Japan)
NMR/MS
Spark Plasma Sintering
Hartree Centre
ESRF (x2)
ISIS (x7)
Diamond (x6)
DESY
Paul Scherrer Institute (x2)
Institut Laue–Langevin
XRD (x5)
XRR
Raman (x3)
Thermoelectric characterisations
AFM (various modes) (x3)
in operando
capability
Electron beam/photolighography
Magnetometer
In house local equipment: spluttering, lithography, SEM/AFM, VSM, transport, XRD, FMR (x3)
XPS (x3)
Composite manufacturing, autoclave, furnaces
Clean room facility - CVD reactors, semiconductor processing, electron beam (x2)
Piezo/Pyro - characterisation
Shakers, frequency analysers
ToF-SIMS
Impedance analysers (x2)
EQCM
EPR NRF
X-ray tomography
Spray deposition
Thermal analysis: DSC/TGA (x3)
ICP-MS
Dilatometry
Mechanical analysis
Gas sorption
Industry
EDX
Laser flash analysis
FTIR
NanoCT
Rotating ring disk electrodes
GC
Fuel cell test standards, electrochemistry testing
State of charge testong
CLF (x2)
Crysallographic Service
Database (chemical/structural)
National Epitaxy Facility III-V
What are the barriers to usage?
Distance/geographical location (x 2)
Sampling costs (discount for non-CDT students)
Centralisation of facilities
Software support on HPC
Costs of consumables and equipment (x5)
Not being in a CDT
Expertise, skills transfer for long-term sustainability
Closed shops
What are the national facilities (lack of awareness) (x4)
Big Data Analysis
TEM - thin film sample prep (i.e. training for FIB "slicing"
Clustering of equipment
Data access/retrieval at large facilities can be difficult
Variance in institutional structure
Training / Lack of research technical professionals/experts; retraining of trained staff for no slippage (x4)
Harder to use/slow
Restricted facility
Lack of funding
Full economic cost model
Sample requirement, detailed specifications
RO not wanting the maintenance cost so not 'owning' - stay in groups
Access vs. capacity problems
Replies from "open access" equipment e.g. N8
University policies
Analysis time for solid state NMR and MRI
Access to scale-up facilities
Barriers to industrial testing/evaluation standard methods
Unclear ways of access - which routes, how to apply, how to cost in?
Lack of long-term funding to run equipment
Support admin, health and safety, technical
Lack of contacts
Contracts, confidentiality and legal issues (x3)
Long waits on responsive mode applications (e.g. CLF @ RAL), limited access because of insufficient technical support, not enough beamline scientists to run all experiments continually
InnovateUK 30/70 split, EPSRC subcontract = 80% - how to fund other 20%
TRAC costing
Lack of childcare at central facilities limits travel
Health and safety for very high energy measurements
Subscription to access central facilities
Very difficult now to ask for equipment money on EPSRC grants - very difficult to do cutting edge research without cutting edge equipment
EPSRC rules on facility access costing
EPSRC facility access (free) for non-EPSRC grant holders
Availability of money hard to predict - need to have a range of proposals ready to go
What is missing?
Funding to develop own equipment
Funding for equipment sustainability long-term (e.g technicians) (x2)
Concentration of funding
Information about WHO can support your experiments, and WHO to contact (x2)
Single crystal growth facility
Post-experiment analysis
More beamline scientists or specific data scientists
Cathodeluminescence (SEM)
Flexible funding models - RO/RTO/Company, meaningful projects to move to higher TRL (x2)
PhD students on research grants
People
Standard test procedures for energy harvesting
Characterisation in a hostile environment (temperature, pressure)
Support to accrue knowledge at new experiment via expert technicians
Maintenance of equipment grants
Grants to train technicians, postdocs
Experimental officers as standard at facilities
Advertising of track listed equipment
Visible database of equipment (small, mid-range) (x2)
Model agreements (IP) for small scale activities e.g. measuring a sample
Unknown unknowns
Proof-of-concept funding
Resource to service short-term projects
Academic careers are either towards teaching or research. A third way to engage super post-docs and responsive to industry is needed
Scheme to access HSL facilities
Lack of 'work horse' kit
Need 'batteries included' approach
Equipment held back by lack of resource
Rapid access facility time and equipment free at point of access
Database of UK capabilities/facilities
in situ
operando energy materials devices
Rapdi = < 1 month
More network grants - very useful
Ability to buy a suite of equipment
What equipment are you aware of but not using?
Atom probe, Oxford
EPR National Facility
ISIS
Royce Institute (x3)
NRFs
Strategic Equipment
Cathode Luminescence (not available in UK?)
Impedance Spectroscopy
XPS @ Harwell, paid subscription now required (x3)
Diamond
NPL
SQUID - several around the country but access is difficult
TEM - high level collaboration needed
Foundries for device processing
Cryoultramicroscopy
Micro-CT for porous materials
Electrical properties as a function of T
Electrochemical Interface
Low energy ion scattering (LEIS)
Electrochemistry
in situ
TEM (x3)
TEM tomography
Muon scattering
Lab-scale x-ray absorption spectroscopy
Harwell - various rapid access techniques (x2)
Sum frequency generation to probe materials surface
Tip enhanced Raman spec.
AI
CPI (and other catapults, need funds for proof of concept work
Scale-up facilities
High pressure hydrogen soprtion measurements
in situ
Raman