Platform Grant Support for Materials Characterisation at Oxford

牛津材料表征平台赠款将主要支持一些博士后研究助理在灵活的基础上，从而增强和扩展我们的响应模式研究提案的组合。大部分拟议的平台赠款资金将用于支持通过标准机制供资的定期合同之间的关键工作人员（最初为两个员额）。此外，我们还将利用平台赠款来推动一些新的研究，这些研究具有战略重要性，但尚未充分发展到标准应用程序的跨学科研究方向。具体来说，我们将开发3D共聚焦电子显微镜在像差校正的环境，先进的纳米计量学和高分辨率成像（EM和NanoSIMS）的辐射敏感软材料。此外，我们亦会委任一些短期研究及技术职位（在完全响应模式应用之前），将支持新的He离子显微镜和新的高性能样品制备设备，为我们的许多活动提供基础设施。参与此应用的研究人员领导国际认可的团队（有杰出的出版物和支持记录）在电子显微镜，原子探针，纳米SIMS和纳米计量学。在每一项工作中，上述国际领导小组负责：a）反应堆钢、用于量子信息处理的碳纳米材料、催化剂、结构陶瓷、生物材料和聚合物以及磁性和能源材料的降解机制中的关键材料问题b）开发新的表征技术和仪器（高分辨率成像和出射波重建、EELS、电子纳米衍射、分析EM、NanoSIMS、检测器开发和3D原子探针。牛津大学的材料系是国际领先的，在过去的2次RAE评估中获得5* 评级，在英国排名第一，材料特性的发展是该部门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访问的核心EM设施联系起来。

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.