December 2010

Maths venture to help banks cut risks

Banks could be helped to curb their losses in the event of a financial crisis, thanks to an alliance with mathematicians.

An initiative, known as the Scottish Financial Risk Academy (SFRA), brings together researchers, students and finance companies to share their expertise and insights.

The SFRA is led by the Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences, a joint research and teaching initiative between the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University.

Read More.

August 2010

£197k ERC (EPSRC) award for Complexity in material failure

As part of a €500,000 European Research Council award under the complexity-network call, Ian Main, Ian Butler (Geosciences) and Michael Zaiser (Engineering) have been awarded £197k to study 'Localizing signatures of catastrophic failure'. The project will combine high- resolution C-T scanning of natural and synthetic materials with numerical modelling and ultimately comparison with geophysical data for a range of applications, including rock failure and snow avalanches.

July 2010

All eyes on giant telescope project

An exhibition including two innovative videos is showcasing inspirational plans to build the largest optical telescope in the world – the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT).

Professor Colin Cunningham of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, which is leading the partners involved in the UK part of this international project, explains “The European Extremely Large Telescope will be the world’s largest optical telescope. It will enable us to track down Earth-like planets around other stars in the ‘habitable zones’ where life could exist, and study the earliest, most distant galaxies in the Universe. It will provide vital inspiration for young scientists and engineers and could bring contracts worth 200M Euros to UK industry.”

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June 2010

Smart Microsystems
Congratulations to Profs Anthony Walton, Ian Underwood, Tom Stevenson and Rebecca Cheung, Drs Stewart Smith and Robert Henderson, who along with Prof Marc Desmulliez and Dr Richard Fu of Heriot-Watt University have been awarded a Flagship Project Grant of £1.5M (with a further £1.2M in contributions from Industrial partners). The award comes from EPSRC through the Innovative Electronics Manufacturing Research Centre (IeMRC).

Further details of the project can be found at http://imnssm.eng.ed.ac.uk

May 2010

Dr Harold Hass of the SIP JRI solves our internet problems with the flick of a light switch.
Read More.

April 2010

Inaugural Lecture - Professor Bryce Richards, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences.
Solar enlightenment - bringing Photovoltaic power to where we need it most.

This public lecture will, firstly, discuss how a photovoltaic (PV) device produces solar electricity, before examining some of the challenges to widespread implementation of PV technology. Following this, two different approaches will be discussed to get PV systems where we need it most - in the heart of our cities and in the remote areas of developing countries. This presentation will introduce a PV technology that can be regarded as "electric window", with many possible sizes, shapes, and colours. At the other end of the spectrum there are the remote regions, mostly in developing countries, which do not possess access to electricity. Of the 2 billion people living without access to grid electricity, 1 billion of these people also have no access to clean drinking water. This fact motivated our research into developing renewable energy powered water treatment systems that are able to remove viruses, bacteria, salt, and trace contaminants from bores and wells. A significant challenge is to design and optimise such systems to operate from a fluctuating power source whilst not utilising batteries for energy storage.

Date: 27 May 2010, 16.30 - 18.30
Venue: Postgraduate Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

March 2010

New clean-up technology trialled

A radical new approach to decontaminating industrial land invented by Edinburgh scientists is now being trialled in America and Canada (Dr. Jose Torero is a member of the CEE JRI). Read More.

February 2010

IeMRC Smart Microsystems Flagship Research Consortium

EPSRC recently awarded the IIS £1.5M to undertake R&D with 14 industrial partners to develop smart microsystems. The formation of this Smart Microsystems cluster is based upon integrating novel materials and process and provides the UK with the opportunity to create the critical mass to form an agile globally competitive manufacturing capacity to support innovation. This IeMRC Flagship research project will focus on the creation of innovative electronic based systems through integration of microelectronics with novel material and manufacturing technologies. This will involve adapting Micro and Nano Technology(MNT) to integrate electronic ICs with additional components, materials and technologies on single substrates, thereby providing increased device functionality. This IIS Smart Microsystems cluster provides great flexibility in both substrate size (from 200mm wafers down to millimetre scale chips) and substrate material (such as Si, SiC, glass, sapphire and flexible polymers). The resulting microsystems will address a myriad of application areas, including chemical, biological, optical, mechanical, electromagnetic and fluidic technologies.

February 2010

CEE members Peter Woodward (HWU) and Mike Forde (UoE) have won approval for funding of their proposal ”Development of Design Guidelines for High Speed Railway Track" by the EPSRC Process Environment & Sustainability Panel. The total award is £469,779.

February 2010

SIAM student chapter is founded jointly between the ECOSSE and Maxwell JRIs (inaugural meeting on March 31). Read More.

January 2010

Successful ERPem Advisory Group Visit

The fourth and final annual ERPem Advisory Group visit took place on the 21st and 22nd of January 2010. Members travelled from the UK and Europe to spend time in each JRI before reporting on progress over the last year. The reports this year were extremely positive, with the group congratulating the ERPem on its huge achievements over the past four years.

January 2010

Edinburgh Lecture

ECOSSE Director Dorrik Stow gives Edinburgh Lecture on "An energy-hungry world: What role for Scotland?". Read more.