Phase III of The Directed Assembly EPRSC Grand Challenge Network: From Discovery to Translation

该网络的愿景是能够以足够的确定性和精度控制物质的组装，从而制备出比使用现有方法合成的材料更复杂、更可调的特性和功能的材料和分子组装。在这次大挑战中，我们的目标是获得对分子组装的前所未有的控制，这些分子是许多功能材料、消费品和工业产品的基石。我们从了解非常小的组装开始，但我们探索的方法将允许在从纳米尺度到日常尺度的整个长度范围内生产新型有用的材料。这些材料将在个性化医疗保健和食品生产、运输系统和燃料生产、住房建设和消费电子等具有社会重要性的领域产生显著影响。通过这种智能的设计方法，我们将有效地与美国、日本和欧洲大陆竞争，使英国牢牢地站在制造业、医疗保健和能源领域发展的最前沿。该网络提供的附加价值在于聚集了来自英国各个学科的最广泛的国际领先专家科学家群体，并为他们提供了他们帮助塑造的挑战，焦点和愿景。英国持续的经济繁荣严重依赖于具有竞争力的高科技制造业。定向装配网络活动的一些领域涉及现有工业中阻碍进步的障碍；其他人将创造未来的变革性产业。社会面临人口增长和老龄化以及自然资源减少的挑战。我们达成的目标将推动医疗保健领域取得重大突破，并为获取我们有限的储备提供替代方案。在解决这些目标所需的许多个别学科方面，英国已经被确定为世界级或世界领先，但真正的突破将只有通过利用来自英国各地的跨学科卓越才能取得-定向装配网络是形成和维护这个跨学科社区的关键。其他国家已经在材料科学进步项目上投入了大量资金；通过采纳上述建议，英国可以提高其科学能力并与国际水平保持同步，发展吸收能力并保持在未来制造业领域成为世界参与者所需的竞争优势。自2010年启动以来，DAGCN已融入定向装配工作人员的文化，并被称为获得指导、建议和支持的地方。在过去四年中，该网络已颁发了23笔激励赠款。这些活动以及会议在撬动大约5000万英镑的主要赠款资金方面发挥了重要作用。一个由来自英国各地的970名多学科成员组成的社区，包括112名行业成员和260名早期职业研究人员，他们为了一个共同的目标而参与、培养和聚集在一起：定向组装大挑战。直接举行的会议超过45次，促成了80项新的合作。自从网络建立以来，一种文化的变化已经被广泛地注意到：竞争对手的公司现在通常在竞争前阶段合作，不同类型的科学家现在认为彼此在建立牢固的关系和取得成果方面是无价的。尽管英国研究基地的技能得到了发展，但研究人员通过旅行补助和激励项目的流动性促进了数据和设备共享。庞大的970社区始终如一地参与其中，并制定了路线图，为未来5-50年制定了愿景。

The vision of the Network is to be able to control the assembly of matter with sufficient certainty and precision to allow preparation of materials and molecular assemblies with far more sophisticated and tuneable properties and functions than are accessible in materials synthesised using current methods.In this Grand Challenge we aim to gain unprecedented control of the assembly of molecules that are the building blocks of many functional materials, consumer and industrial products. We start by understanding the assembly of the very small, but methods we explore will allow production of new types of useful materials at a whole range of length scales from the nanoscale to the everyday. Such materials will have outstanding impact in areas of societal importance such as personalised healthcare and food production, transport systems and fuel production, housing construction and consumer electronics.Through this intelligent approach to design we will compete effectively with the USA, Japan and mainland Europe to place the UK firmly at the forefront of developments in the areas of manufacturing, healthcare and energy.The added value that the Network provides is in gathering the widest group of internationally-leading expert scientists from across a range of disciplines in the UK, and providing them with a challenge, a focus and a vision that they help shape.On-going economic prosperity in the UK is critically dependent on having a competitive, high-tech manufacturing industry.Some areas of the Directed Assembly Network's activities address barriers to progress in existing industries; others will create the transformative industries of the future. Society is challenged by a growing and aging population, and through declining natural resources. The goals we reach for will drive great breakthroughs in healthcare and offer alternatives to harvesting our limited reserves.The UK has already been identified as being world-class or world-leading in many of the individual disciplines needed to tackle these targets, but real breakthroughs will only be made by harnessing interdisciplinary excellence from across the UK - the Directed Assembly Network is key to the formation and maintenance of this interdisciplinary community. Other countries are already investing heavily in programmes to progress materials science; by adopting the recommendations above, the UK can enhance its scientific capability and keep pace at international levels, develop absorptive capacity and retain the competitive advantage needed to be a world player in the field of future manufacturing.Since its launch in 2010, the DAGCN has become embedded into the culture of those working in Directed Assembly and is known as a place to go to for mentoring, advice and support. The Network has awarded 23 pump-priming grants over the last four years. These, together with meetings have been instrumental in leveraging approximately £50M of major grant funding. A community of 970 multi-disciplinary members from across the UK, including 112 industry members and 260 early career researchers has been engaged, nurtured and brought together with a common aim: the Directed Assembly Grand Challenge. Over 45 meetings have been held directly that have led to 80 new collaborations. A culture change has been widely noted since the inception of the Network in both the way rival companies now commonly work together at pre-competitive stages, and, different types of scientists now see each-other as invaluable towards achieving strong relationships and results. Researcher mobility through travel grants and pump-priming projects has contributed to data and equipment sharing, notwithstanding the skills development of the UK research base. The vast 970 community has been engaged consistently and led to a Roadmap setting out the vision for the next 5-50 years.