EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Industry-Inspired Photonic Imaging, Sensing and Analysis

在由Heriot-Watt与圣安德鲁斯、格拉斯哥、斯特拉斯克莱德、爱丁堡和邓迪牵头的财团中，这项关于“EPSRC CDT in Industry-Inspirated Phononic Imaging，Sensation and Analysis”的提议回应了成像、传感和分析领域的优先领域。它认识到光子学在许多成像和传感技术中的基础作用，同时也指出了利用机器学习等新兴计算技术提高其性能的令人兴奋的机会。光子学在传感和成像中的作用怎么强调都不为过。智能和自主系统正在推动用于汽车激光雷达和智能手机手势识别的激光的增长；光子结构健康监测保护我们的道路、铁路、空气和能源基础设施；光谱学继续发现从识别伪造物到检测化学战剂的新应用。致力于传感和成像市场的英国光电子公司对我们的经济至关重要(参见CFS)，但它们的成功受到了以下因素的威胁：缺乏博士生级别的研究人员，他们对光子成像、传感和分析具有广博的知识和理解，并具有高水平的商业、管理和沟通技能。通过确保这些人员的供应，我们的CDT将巩固英国的工业知识基础，推动经济中高增长的出口导向型行业，这些行业的光子产品和服务对社会产生了深远的影响，从消费技术和移动计算设备到医疗保健和安全。基于我们CDT在应用光子学方面的成功，拟议的CDT将配置大多数(40)名攻读EngD学位的学生，其特点是由一家公司发起并在其网站上托管的研究项目。认识到公司的兴趣跨越所有技术准备水平，我们正在引入博士流，大约(15)名学生将在大学实验室从事与工业相关的研究，比EngD项目具有更大的灵活性和技术风险。超过100个项目的行业承诺几乎是100%的工业超额认购，主要利益相关者提供438万GB现金和556万GB实物支持，包括Fraunhofer UK、NPL、Renishaw、Thales、Gooch和Housego和Leonardo以及一些中小企业。我们向EPSRC申请的486万GB将支持35名学生，他们总共有40名工程博士和15名博士生。剩下的学生将由工业(230万GB)和大学(0.93万GB)捐款资助，EPSRC的资金提供了特殊的2：3现金杠杆，更多的学生接受了培训，纳税人的成本/人头比我们目前的CDT更低。为了让我们的中心对行业需求做出反应，需要一个多样化的监督员队伍。在整个财团中，我们已经确定了72名核心主管和另外58名可用于项目监督的人员，自2013年以来，他们的1679篇论文包括154篇《科学/自然/PRL》，其活跃的RCUK PI资金为9700万GB。所有学者都是经验丰富的导师，有许多现任或前任CDT导师。在圣安德鲁斯和爱丁堡进行的为期8个月的前期住宿阶段将确保队列强有力地凝聚在一起，并将在开始他们的研究项目之前装备学生所需的知识和技能。业务模块(X3)将把每个队列带回Heriot-Watt，为期一周，周末技能研讨会将用于定期重新组合队列，进一步巩固点对点网络。核心课程将增加专业选项，总计120学分，并将由我们的行业合作伙伴和外部供应商提供专业技能和负责任的创新培训。治理将遵循我们目前的模式，有一个学术和行业混合管理委员会和一个由世界领先专家组成的独立国际咨询委员会。

In a consortium led by Heriot-Watt with St Andrews, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Edinburgh and Dundee, this proposal for an "EPSRC CDT in Industry-Inspired Photonic Imaging, Sensing and Analysis" responds to the priority area in Imaging, Sensing and Analysis. It recognises the foundational role of photonics in many imaging and sensing technologies, while also noting the exciting opportunities to enhance their performance using emerging computational techniques like machine learning.Photonics' role in sensing and imaging is hard to overstate. Smart and autonomous systems are driving growth in lasers for automotive lidar and smartphone gesture recognition; photonic structural-health monitoring protects our road, rail, air and energy infrastructure; and spectroscopy continues to find new applications from identifying forgeries to detecting chemical-warfare agents. UK photonics companies addressing the sensing and imaging market are vital to our economy (see CfS) but their success is threatened by a lack of doctoral-level researchers with a breadth of knowledge and understanding of photonic imaging, sensing and analysis, coupled with high-level business, management and communication skills. By ensuring a supply of these individuals, our CDT will consolidate the UK industrial knowledge base, driving the high-growth export-led sectors of the economy whose photonics-enabled products and services have far-reaching impacts on society, from consumer technology and mobile computing devices to healthcare and security.Building on the success of our CDT in Applied Photonics, the proposed CDT will be configured with most (40) students pursuing an EngD degree, characterised by a research project originated by a company and hosted on their site. Recognizing that companies' interests span all technology readiness levels, we are introducing a PhD stream where some (15) students will pursue industrially relevant research in university labs, with more flexibility and technical risk than would be possible in an EngD project.Overwhelming industry commitment for over 100 projects represents a nearly 100% industrial oversubscription, with £4.38M cash and £5.56M in-kind support offered by major stakeholders including Fraunhofer UK, NPL, Renishaw, Thales, Gooch and Housego and Leonardo, as well as a number of SMEs. Our request to EPSRC for £4.86M will support 35 students, from a total of 40 EngD and 15 PhD researchers. The remaining students will be funded by industrial (£2.3M) and university (£0.93M) contributions, giving an exceptional 2:3 cash gearing of EPSRC funding, with more students trained and at a lower cost / head to the taxpayer than in our current CDT.For our centre to be reactive to industry's needs a diverse pool of supervisors is required. Across the consortium we have identified 72 core supervisors and a further 58 available for project supervision, whose 1679 papers since 2013 include 154 in Science / Nature / PRL, and whose active RCUK PI funding is £97M. All academics are experienced supervisors, with many current or former CDT supervisors.An 8-month frontloaded residential phase in St Andrews and Edinburgh will ensure the cohort gels strongly, and will equip students with the knowledge and skills they need before beginning their research projects. Business modules (x3) will bring each cohort back to Heriot-Watt for 1-week periods, and weekend skills workshops will be used to regularly reunite the cohort, further consolidating the peer-to-peer network.Core taught courses augmented with specialist options will total 120 credits, and will be supplemented by professional skills and responsible innovation training delivered by our industry partners and external providers.Governance will follow our current model, with a mixed academic-industry Management Committee and an independent International Advisory Board of world-leading experts.