EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Complex Particulate Products and Processes

大多数化学产品的设计都是为了产生效果，例如营养、卫生、医疗、病虫害防治、着色剂、风味和保鲜。配方用于增强和/或稳定这些预期效果，并在使用时提供益处。食品、家庭和个人护理、医疗保健、制药、农用化学品、精细化工、催化剂、涂料和特种化学品部门的大多数配方产品都是含有固体或液体颗粒(或液滴)的复杂颗粒产品。这一点的证据可以从这些关键经济行业支持CDT竞购的公司的广泛程度上找到。拟议的CDT将培训能够领导研究团队开发新的复杂颗粒产品及其相关强化工艺(高效、精益和敏捷)的科学家和工程师。TSB的高价值制造战略突显了英国需要将“尖端技术知识”应用于“产品创造”，以支撑以“制造创新”为中心主题的科技主导型经济。这需要在当前的工程技能基础上进行一次阶段性的改变，特别是通过促进科学家、工程师和产品设计师之间更有效地整合研究。粒子科学和工程支撑着英国广泛的制造行业，在整个领域，对工程师和物理学家的强烈需求，他们能够通过设计和开发可扩展的制造工艺，反复地将新材料发现转化为创新的高质量产品(例如遵循6西格玛战略)。缺乏训练有素的研究人员来支持这一领域的新颖和可持续的制造方法，这是总部设在英国的主要制造公司以及中小企业目前面临的一个风险。目前的学术培训主要是分析性的，侧重于材料发现(新分子、新材料)，或产品配方问题(物理/化学稳定性、产品效果)，或制造和加工(扩大规模、装置操作、化学和生化过程的设计和开发)。在整个研发和制造供应链中，从材料到产品的集成通常很少，需要所有不同的加工阶段。要有效地将新的高质量复杂配方产品推向市场，需要在产品设计和制造的各个方面工作的研究人员和从业者之间共同理解挑战和限制。这一CDT将挑战当前更加专注于研究的文化，为相关领域的所有学生提供全面的培训，重点放在所有阶段的团队合作上，包括博士研究阶段。该中心将为学生提供独特的培训环境，在以问题为导向的教育环境中，将创新的行业相关培训与世界级的研究指导相结合。归根结底，中心提供的技能组合将有力地促进工业界和学术界在这一领域培养新的研究带头人。

Most chemical products are designed to have an effect, for example nutritional, hygiene, medical, disease and pest control, colouration, flavour, and preservation. Formulations are used to enhance and/or stabilise these desired effects and deliver the benefit at the point of use. The majority of formulated products in the Food, Home & Personal Care, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Agrochemicals, Fine Chemical, Catalysts, Coatings and Specialty Chemical sectors are Complex Particulate Products that contain solid or liquid particles (or droplets). Evidence for this is found in the breadth of companies supporting this CDT bid across these key economic sectors. The proposed CDT will train scientists and engineers capable of leading research teams for the development of new complex particulate products and the associated intensified processes (efficient, lean and agile) for their manufacture. The TSB high-value manufacturing strategy highlights the UK's need to apply 'leading-edge technical knowledge' to the 'creation of products' to underpin a technology-led economy where 'innovation in manufacturing' is a central theme. This demands a step-change in the current engineering skill-base, notably through promotion of more effective integration of research between scientists, engineers and product designers. Particle science and engineering underpins a wide-range of manufacturing sectors in the UK and across this space, there is a strong requirement for engineers and physical scientists who can iteratively translate novel materials discoveries through the design and development of scalable manufacturing processes, into innovative high-quality products (following for example a 6-sigma strategy). The shortage of highly trained researchers to support novel and sustainable manufacturing approaches in this area is a current risk for major UK based manufacturing companies as well as SMEs. Current academic training is largely analytical and focuses on materials discovery (new molecules, new materials), or on product formulation issues (physical/chemical stability, product effect), or on manufacturing and processing (scale up, unit operation, design and development of chemical and biochemical processes). There is generally little integration from materials to products with all the various processing stages needed, across the research, development and manufacturing supply chain. The efficient delivery of novel high-quality complex formulated products into the market requires a shared understanding of the challenges and limitations between researchers and practitioners working at all aspects of the product design and manufacture. This CDT will challenge the current culture of more tightly focussed research by providing comprehensive training for all students across the relevant domain space with a stroing focus on teamwork at all stages including during the PhD research phase. For the students the Centre will provide a unique training environment, combining innovative industry relevant training with world-class research supervision in a problem-led educational environment. Ultimately the combination of skills provided by the Centre will contribute strongly to the development of new research leaders in this field for both industry and academia.