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Materials Research at The University of Ulster has jumped from 17th to 11th in the UK national league table for research excellence and in its research submission the Assessment Panel found strong evidence of world class research, supported by internationally leading research. In fact 95% of the staff are judged to be of international standing. The Assessment Panel for this highly competitive and economically important discipline were looking at scientific discovery and engineering innovation at some of the strongest academic institutions in the UK including Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield and Imperial. The outcome for Ulster is a reward for the strategic focus in nanotechnology and advanced materials research and provides a strong foundation for future growth of this young and dynamic Institute. Since the RAE submission the Institute has announced a further £7.5M of funding including a £1.7m Research Council (EPSRC) grant in the area of Health Technology (MATCH); two multi-million pound cross-border collaborative projects funded by DEL, in Biosensors and Tissue Engineering and a major industrial START (£1M) programme with AVX Ltd in the field of Nanoparticle research. Recently groups within the institute were shortlisted for a proposed £10M Wellcome-EPSRC Medical Engineering Centre.
Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Research Institute |
This Metallurgy and Materials Unit of Assessment is one of a small number of
very high priority research areas identified as such by the University of Ulster
(UU). Over a number of years it has had a very high profile in research into
structural and advanced functional materials. In particular the Unit has focused
on the development of a New Nanotechnology Research Institute as well as
extending the profile of Engineering Composites through ECRE. Other areas
including Biomaterials/Biomedical Engineering and Metal Forming have also
extended their international research profile.
The Unit has brought together a multi-disciplinary group of staff from a range of disciplines to undertake various forms of advanced materials research, including such topics as composites, materials characterisation, sensors, biomaterials, plasma processing, metal forming, nanoscience and nanofabrication. Strong International collaborations have been developed and large infrastructural and project funding has been a highlight of this rapidly growing research area. Technology transfer is also a key objective and the discipline in one of Northern Irelands leaders in intellectual property exploitation. The overall objective of the Unit is to investigate the structure-function relationships of, and the interactions between materials, processes and performance in support of the economic and social development of science, engineering, industry and technology transfer. |
There are currently three Research Centres in the Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Research Institute:
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Introduction
 | The materials activities at the University of Ulster are fully integrated within the Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMRI) of which the Director is Professor Jim McLaughlin. The Institute, one of 17 at UU, instigates materials research of international caliber thereby providing fundamental underpinning for UK industry. Fundamentally, the work of the Institute, particularly in sensors materials, plasma technology, surface-science, biomaterials, thin-film coatings, advanced composites and nanotechnology furthers both the national and international key issues and priorities that are also vital to the future development of local and international industry. The Institute has attracted in excess of £16M since 2001; successfully graduated over 50 PhD students and has continued to significantly maximise it’s International profile via renowned published work; a range of new alliances; seminal technology transfer in addition to numerous industrial collaborations. |
Director
- Prof J McLaughlin
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Research
- Publications
- PhD Projects
