DICE: Driving Innovation in Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research in the UK

从历史上看，英国大学的化学和化学工程一直是分裂的，而且这种分裂正变得越来越严重。这两个学科与英国以化学为基础的工业之间需要存在一种共生关系，因为工业和学术界的健康是相互依赖的。化学工业是英国经济的主要贡献者，但它面临着前所未有的压力(例如来自全球竞争)，只有快速和持续的创新才能与之抗衡。然而，英国的化学和化学工程系目前根本不具备支撑这种创新需求的跨学科能力。目前的进展太慢，英国远远落后于许多国家，特别是美国、荷兰、德国和日本。DICE是化学家和工程师的联合提案，它抓住了科学与创新呼吁带来的独特机会，创造了一个全新的研究环境，有可能将英国推向该领域的前沿。DICE将立即提供6名新的年轻讲师，并提供在化学/化学中心开展研究所需的支持。英语。界面。在5年的时间里，DICE将重塑整个学术供应链(从本科生到博士后)，以提供源源不断的研究人员，以支持英国在这一界面上不断扩大学术和产业创新。DICE将提供新的科学和新技术，将工程技术带入它未得到充分开发的领域。我们的项目将来自世界各地的新想法和技术引入英国，以加强和重振英国的研究基础。DICE建立在诺丁汉大学享誉国际的研究成果的基础上，这些成果正好横跨化学/化学。英语。分头行动。核心是一群化学家和化学工程师，他们的工作涵盖纯研究和应用研究，并将学术界与工业界联系起来。这个。小组在小规模上实现了在这一领域必须在全国范围内实现的目标。DICE建立并扩展了他们的方法，创建了化学/化学工程伙伴关系，拥有一系列在世界范围内独一无二的技能，能够对英国的科学产生重大影响。DICE将推动创意向英国各地的大学和行业传播。我们的建议涉及几个全新的举措：(I)灵活主席：一种全新的职位类型，使具有国际领先地位的化学工程师能够在化学/化学部门取得良好成绩。英语。接口，对英国进行长期访问，向他们灌输来自海外的想法和最佳实践。柔性椅将获得博士后支持，以在英国启动新的尖端研究；来自美国、日本和欧盟的研究人员已经对柔性椅表示了极大的兴趣。(2)具有高潜力的新研究举措，包括催化/生物催化、反应化学、聚合物合成和加工、仪器仪表/过程监测、光子学/器件、多尺度建模和教育。(Iii)在伯明翰、帝国学院、纽卡斯尔和谢菲尔德的主要化学工程系安排外展博士后研究人员，建立新的伙伴关系，在化学/化学中心开展新的研究。英语。并将年轻的研究人员培养为该领域新一代学者的候选人。每个PDRA将与一名博士生合作，该博士生由主办安置的大学资助。(Iv)灵活借调，将关键的英国和欧盟工业研究人员引入学术界，向内和向外传递知识，并帮助新员工建立自己的产业联系。诺丁汉大学大力支持DICE，并将承诺提供100多万美元，用于资助额外的两个讲坛、额外的Flexi教席、两名技术人员和一名业务发展官员，所有这些都致力于这个项目。此外，该大学将资助并提供专门的旗舰空间来孵化这项新研究。

Historically, chemistry and chemical engineering have been divided in UK universities, and this division is becoming increasingly serious. There needs to be a symbiotic relationship between the two disciplines and chemistry-based industry in the UK because the health of industry and academia are mutually dependent. The chemical industry is a major contributor to the UK economy but it faces unprecedented pressures (for example from global competition) which can only be countered by rapid and sustained innovation. However UK chemistry and chemical engineering departments simply do not currently have the interdisciplinary capacity to underpin this demand for innovation. Current progress is too slow and the UK lags way behind many countries, particularly USA, the Netherlands, Germany and Japan. DICE is a joint proposal from chemists and engineers which seizes the unique opportunity presented by the Science & Innovation Call to create a completely new research environment with the potential to catapult the UK to the forefront of this field. DICE will immediately deliver 6 new young lecturers with the support needed to launch research at the Chem./Chem. Eng. interface. Over 5 years, DICE will reshape the whole academic supply-chain (from undergraduate to postdoctoral) to provide a stream of researchers to sustain the continuous UK expansion of academic and industrial innovation at this interface. DICE will deliver new science and new technology, bringing engineering into areas where it is underexploited. Our programme pulls new ideas and techniques into the UK from across the world to strengthen and re-invigorate the UK research base. DICE builds on internationally acclaimed research successes at Nottingham which cut right across the Chem./Chem. Eng. divide. The nucleus is a group of chemists and chemical engineers whose work spans pure and applied research and links academia with industry. The. group has achieved on a small-scale what must be achieved nationally in this area. DICE builds on and expands their approach to create a Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Partnership, with a range of skills unique on a world scale, capable of making a substantial impact on UK science. DICE will drive the dissemination of ideas to universities and industry across the UK. Our Proposal involves several radically new initiatives(I) Flexi-Chairs: a completely new type of post to enable internationally-leading chemical engineers with a track-record at the Chem./Chem. Eng. interface to make extended visits to the UK to inject ideas and best practice from overseas. The Flexi-Chairs will be given postdoctoral support to initiate new, cutting-edge research in the UK; researchers from the USA, Japan & EU have already expressed great interest in the Flexi-Chairs. (ii) New research initiatives with high potential, including catalysis/biocatalysis, reaction chemistry, polymer synthesis and processing, instrumentation/process monitoring, photonics/devices, multi-scale modelling and education. (iii) Placement of Outreach Postdoctoral Researchers in leading chemical engineering departments at Birmingham, Imperial College, Newcastle and Sheffield, creating new partnerships to seed new research at the Chem./Chem. Eng. interface, and to train young researchers as candidates for the new generation of academics in this area. Each PDRA will work with a PhD student funded by the university hosting the placement. (iv) Flexible secondments to bring in key UK and EU industrial researchers to academia for both inward and outward knowledge transfer and to help the new staff in establishing their own industrial links.The University of Nottingham supports DICE very strongly and will commit more than 1M to fund two extra lectureships, additional Flexi-chairs, two technicians and a business development officer, all dedicated to this Project. In addition, the University will fund and provide dedicated flagship space to incubate the new research.