Small items of research equipment at Brunel University.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This proposal is to establish a suite of small items of research equipment at Brunel University in the area of metals manufacturing. The metals manufacturing sector is one of the most important UK manufacturing sectors and is worth an estimated £17 billion per year to the country's economy. The project is proposed by six early career lecturers, from two departments, five of whom are within the first three years of their appointment. It is aimed at significantly enhancing the breadth and depth of research output and the delivery of impact through establishing a comprehensive suite of research equipment, to (i) produce next generation of highly skilled researchers; (ii) develop interdisciplinary and industrial collaboration and delivery of impact; and (iii) enhance Brunel's research profile on the international stage.With great ambition and to further advance the research and development in this area of research work at Brunel, the University has recently invested £2.5 million on large scale state-of-the-art facilities. These include high pressure die casting, transmission electron microscopy, induction furnaces), optical emission spectroscopy, and various advanced characterisation tools. This investment has provided a core infrastructural platform for growth in metallurgical and associated engineering and physical sciences research at Brunel. The proposed small items of research equipment complement the university's investment and further enhance the research capabilities. The new equipment suite is primarily aimed at supporting the research activities of early career researchers (ECRs) such as newly appointed lecturers, postdoctoral research assistants, and PhD and MSc students. Two departments within the university have identified areas of synergy necessary for metals manufacturing which falls within the EPSRC's manufacturing the future theme and 5 new critical research areas identified. This investment from EPSRC will benefit the ECRs by establishing their own independent research programs, improve the depth of their research output, and enhanced employability.In addition to purchasing new off-the shelf equipment we will add value to the requested funds by: assembling in-house instrumentation; modernising used equipment procured from industry to suit lab scale experiments; make purchases based on flexible and modular systems that could be upgraded or enhanced as new research programmes come online; and leverage access Brunel University's Research Development Fund which offers research pump priming for lecturers in their first 3 years of appointment. The new equipment will promote broader collaboration between departments at Brunel by allowing property measurements to be made that bridge the gap between materials development and final application in engineering. There will be provision made for wider access to this equipment for all ECRs from all departments at Brunel and other national universities.