Platform Grant Support for Materials Characterisation at Oxford

牛津材料表征平台基金将主要以灵活的方式支持一些博士后研究助理，从而增强和扩大我们的响应模式研究建议组合。拟议平台赠款资金的大部分将支助通过标准机制供资的定期接触(最初为两个员额)之间的关键工作人员。此外，我们还将利用平台赠款推动一些具有重要战略意义的新研究学科间研究方向，这些方向尚未充分发展，无法进行标准应用。具体地说，我们将在像差校正环境中开发3D共聚焦电子显微镜，先进的纳米计量学和辐射敏感软材料的高分辨率成像(EM和NanoSIMS)。我们还将任命短期研究和技术职位(在完全响应模式应用之前)，以支持借出的新氦离子显微镜和新的高性能样品制备设备，这些设备为我们的许多活动提供基础设施。参与这一应用的研究人员领导着电子显微镜、原子探针、纳米SIMS和纳米计量学方面的国际公认团队(拥有领先的出版和支持记录)。在这些领域中，上述国际领导小组都致力于：a)反应堆钢、用于量子信息处理的碳纳米材料、催化、结构陶瓷、生物材料和聚合物以及磁性和能源材料中降解机制中的关键材料问题b)新表征技术和仪器的开发(高分辨率成像和出射波重建、电子发射光谱、电子纳米衍射、分析EM、NanoSIMS、探测器开发和3D-Atom探头)。牛津大学材料系在国际上处于领先地位，在最近两次RAE评估中获得5+评级，在英国名列前茅，材料特性的发展是该系和大学长期战略方向的核心。因此，总体平台赠款支持将通过灵活的资金安排留住关键的、高技能的研究人员，将启动几个新的研究方向，最初将支持新的先进仪器，并将与我们提供国家接入的核心EM设施相联系。

The Oxford Materials Characterisation Platform grant will primarily support a number of post-doctoral research associates on a flexible basis thus enhancing and extending our portfolio of responsive mode research proposals. The majority of the proposed platform grant funding will support key staff between fixed term contacts (in the initial instance two posts) that are funded through standard mechanisms. In addition we will also use the platform grant to pump prime a number of new research strategically important interdisiplinary research directions that are not yet sufficiently well developed for standard applications to be made. Specifically we will develop 3D confocal electron microscopy in an aberration corrected environment, advanced nanometrology and high resolution imaging (EM and NanoSIMS) of radiation sensitive soft materials. We will also make appointments to short term research and technical posts (prior to full responsive mode applications) that will support a new He ion microscope on loan and new high performance specimen preparation equipment that provides an underpinning infrastructure to many of our activities.The investigators involved in this application lead internationally recognised teams (with an outsanding publication and support record) in Electron Microscopy, Atom Probe, nanoSIMS and Nanometrology. Within each of these the above lead internationally leading groups working on; a) key materials problems in degradation mechanisms in reactor steels, carbon nanomaterials for Quantum Information Processing (QIP), catalysis, structural ceramics, biomaterials and polymers and magnetic and energy materialsb) the development of new characterisation techniques and instrumentation (High Resolution Imaging and Exit Wave reconstruction, EELS, Electron Nanodiffraction, Analytical EM, NanoSIMS, Detector Development and 3D-Atom Probe. The Materials Department at Oxford, in which the grant will be based is internationally leading and is ranked top in the UK with a 5* rating in the last 2 RAE assessments and the development of materials characterisation is central to the long term strategic direction of the department and University. Thus, overall platform grant support will enable the retention of key, highly skilled research workers through flexible funding arrangements, will initiate several new research directions, will initially support new advanced instruments and will link to our core EM facillity which provides national acess.