Perspectives Issue 2 / December 2016

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10 Perspectives Keeping staff informed December 2016
Wat-er result for Ewan in prestigious
research funding award
The water industry invests heavily in removing contaminants from wastewater.
However, useful and valuable nutrients, salts and metals that have real value for
manufacturing and agriculture are often not recovered.
Recovery and reuse of raw material within the circular economy has been projected to reduce costs among Europe’s manufacturers by
as much as 32% by 2030 and 53% by 2050. Ultimately, the approach also means safer, cleaner water and less energy use.
Reclaiming the reusable chemicals from wastewater is a complex scientific challenge; using membrane technology to encourage
crystallisation and crystal growth could be the answer.
Now five years of funding, totalling €1.5 million, to develop a world-leading research team and facilities at the University has been
secured through a major European Research Council (ERC) Frontier Research Grant.
Dr Ewan McAdam from the Cranfield Water Science Institute was successful in his grant proposal to use membranes to harvest
chemicals from wastewater for reuse in industry and agriculture. The grant is given to promising researchers with proven potential of
becoming independent research leaders, and will continue the growth of an established membrane research group within the CWSI.
The SCARCE (Sustainable Chemical Alternatives for Reuse in the Circular Economy) project is setting out the case for finding ways
to control the process of separation and, critically, how the process can be scaled-up for widespread industry use outside of the
laboratory.
Ewan, Reader in Process Engineering, is currently recruiting and will then lead an experienced, interdisciplinary research team to study
crystallisation processes on membrane surfaces and how the crystals can most effectively and efficiently be harvested.
Professor Paul Jeffrey, Director of our Water theme, said: “This grant award is testimony to our leading-edge research in water,
which is helping to bring significant benefits to industry and, ultimately, to people’s lives and livelihoods. Combining water quality
improvements with the promotion of circular economy solutions is central to the University’s core beliefs. Winning a significant EU
grant at this time demonstrates that Cranfield remains an important source of scientific knowledge generation in this area.”
The ERC programme attracts some 3,000 applications each year, of which around 1,200 are in physical sciences and engineering with
funding for only around 150 of these applications.
Declaration to enable ‘a better life in rural areas’
The Cork Declaration on Rural Development was first
signed in 1996 – this European Union initiative looked at
the influence, importance and impact of the countryside
on Europe, both historically and moving forward.
It stressed the need for agricultural policy to be adaptable to new realities
and challenges; a 10-point rural development programme has since driven
rural policy in Europe. This has included funding measures to preserve and
protect the environment, and helping member states shift towards a low
carbon economy in rural areas over the past two decades.
Professor Jane Rickson from our Soil and Agrifood Institute was one of 300
invited delegates to an EU conference in Cork, Ireland, tasked with writing a
new declaration for rural policy development and implementation to cover
the next 20 years.
Jane said: “I chaired one of the four workshops on ‘Innovation and
Knowledge Exchange’ which related to addressing a range of rural
stakeholders’ needs including food safety, sustainability and environmental
concerns. We highlighted the opportunities that are present today in rural
communities and also addressed the barriers to rural development, coming
up with suggestions going forward which centred on being more innovative, strategic and flexible.”
The outputs from the workshops informed the new 2016 Declaration, accepted in person by the EU Commissioner for Agriculture
and Rural Development, Phil Hogan. As significant changes have occurred over the past 20 years in how we use, live in and value the
countryside, the updated Declaration (‘A better life in rural areas’) has a renewed focus. This deals with the need to ‘rural proof’ all
policies, the importance of ‘digitalisation’, the challenge of climate change, and the fact that the proportion of EU citizens in rural areas
has increased since EU enlargement to 28 member states.
Jane added: “This was agreed after just three days – no small feat! It was an honour to be involved and help
shape this new Declaration. Our hope is that regardless of Britain’s status within Europe, the conclusions and
recommendations reached will help realise the overarching aim of a better life for all in rural areas
across Europe.”
Professor Jane Rickson receives a ‘thank you’ gift
from the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural
Development, Phil Hogan.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
There are many ways companies engage with us, one being
through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership which is designed to
encourage diverse business/knowledge base collaborations and
help companies access the skills and expertise available in higher
education.
Currently we have seven underway, four of which are showcased below.
Next generation sports clothing
Working with TotalSim Ltd, Dr Nicholas Lawson and Professor Kevin Garry are helping the company
to develop a new business selling the next generation of aerodynamic, high performance, bespoke
sports clothing solutions for professional athletes and high-end sports enthusiasts. They are
expected to be ready for showcasing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
bigHead Bonding Fasteners
Dr Lawrence Cook and Andrew Mills are working together with bigHead Bonding Fasteners Ltd.
to provide manufacturers with high volume product and process solutions for the integration of
bigHead fasteners, used to fasten composite materials, into composite manufacturing processes.
Improving product lifecycle management systems
Professor Raj Roy, Dr Christos Emmanouilidis and Dr Yuchun Xu, together with two KTP Associates,
are working on a project with Design Rule Ltd to develop new in-house capabilities to offer
manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises novel, quick and easy to deploy processes/
methodologies/software to improve their product lifecycle management systems.
Surveillance innovation
Professor Rafal Zbikowsi is working with Overview Ltd to develop and build new advanced motor
control capabilities to support innovation in the design of advanced stabilised camera platforms for
surveillance and broadcast applications.
How you can get involved with a KTP?
If you know of a company which might benefit from a KTP, are interested in opportunities to work
with companies through KTPs, or would just like additional information, please get in touch with
Sandra Messenger in the Research and Innovation Office. The office provides a support service,
from initial enquiry through to grant application, recruitment of KTP Associates and post-award KTP
management. The activity and income can all be submitted for the Research Excellence Framework
(REF).
Find out more about KTPs on the intranet: ‘Research, learning and teaching’ tab > ‘Funding
opportunities and support’ > ‘Knowledge Transfer Partnerships’
Success in innovation
Innovate UK Women in Innovation 2016 Award
Congratulations to Siobhan Gardiner, a Cranfield Industrial-CASE PhD candidate and CEO of start-up HEROTECH8,
based in our Business Incubation Centre (CUBIC), who has received the Innovate UK Women in Innovation 2016
award.
This is the first women-only Innovate UK competition and is part of a new initiative set out to encourage diversity
in innovation. Siobhan will receive a tailored package of support to further her innovation project and activities,
including £50,000 of funding, consultation with the UK Patent Office, and mentorship.
HEROTECH8 delivers drone technology to places and people that either would not have the resources, energy
infrastructure or technical knowledge to reliably and safely operate existing drone systems; this is creating
autonomous drone infrastructure.
Read more online about Siobhan’s work.
Innovate UK Energy Catalyst Award
Supported by the University’s Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurship, Cranfield alumnus Dr Matt Pearce, Director
of Phycofeeds Ltd, has been awarded £35,000 in funding through the Innovate UK Energy Catalyst competition.
An additional £40,000 to work on research in the same project has also been awarded to applied concentrated
solar power research at Cranfield. This award will allow Phycofeeds Ltd to continue research into the sustainable
production of biofuels using integrated concentrating solar power, waste and microalgae. In 2017, continued
collaboration will enable field testing scale-up and commercial scale demonstration of the technology. Matt said,
“I am most grateful for the opportunity to take my research outside of the laboratory into future commercial
development with the unique multi-disciplinary cohorts of both research and business at Cranfield.”
Back in 2015, Matt pitched at the School of Management’s Inaugural Start-up Competition and won. Through
collaboration with Professor Shailendra Vyakarnam and Dr Maarten van der Kamp from the Bettany Centre,
Phycofeeds Ltd was able to acquire funding through the University’s evergreen pre-seed fund, which in turn led to
the recent Innovate UK funding award.
Read more online about Matt’s journey and his collaboration with Cranfield.