The University will lead two new research projects announced today (19 December) by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Firstly, Southampton will receive £3.1m for Chalcogenide Advanced Manufacturing partnership (ChAMP) to revolutionise the manufacture and use of specialised glass, called chalcogenides, in a range of products from optical fibre and infrared lenses to electronic devices, including logic and memory. The University’s Composite Material Facility, unique to the UK, will also help to develop and manufacture radically new and advanced materials.
Professor Dan Hewak, from the University’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), who is leading the group says: “We are fortunate to have several world-leading scientists join us in this partnership to address the manufacturing research challenges in developing applications, production technologies and future processes that incorporate these advanced functional materials.”
The second project ‘Novel manufacturing methods for functional electronic textiles’ will receive £2.8m to develop novel manufacturing methods for wearable technology. It will be led by Professor Steve Beeby from Electronics and Computer Science and also involves Nottingham Trent University and a number of industry partners.
Professor Beeby says: “This project presents a fantastic opportunity to further the developments we have made towards the practical integration of electronics and sensing functionality in textiles. Nottingham Trent bring highly complementary expertise in yarn and textile manufacture to the project and, with the assistance of our industrial partners, we hope to achieve some real impact from this research.”
You can find out more information about these projects here.