Newsletter
PPARC KITE Club - Technology and Industry News – December 2006
As the New Year nears, it’s time for season’s greetings, and a bumper-packed set of events and funding opportunities from the PPARC KITE Club Innovation Advisory Service.
1. What science can be done on low-cost space platforms? Workshop 24th January 2007
2 Regional KITE Club workshops – Scotland 21st February, Birmingham 6th March
3. Urgent reminder - Technology Programme Autumn Call £7.5m for sensors
4. New £2.75m PIPSS Themed Call for defence and security projects
5. New ESA Networking / Partnering Initiative seeks technology from non-space research groups
6. PPARC Researcher wins ‘most improved team’ prize in the Research Councils’ Business Plan Competition
1. What science can be done on low-cost space platforms? – 24th January 2007
The PPARC KITE Club will be hosting a workshop on the potential science returns from low-cost space platforms. The workshop is to be held in London on 24th January 2007.
We are delighted to confirm as keynote speakers Sergio Volonté ESA Head of the science planning and community coordination office in ESA HQ Paris, Professor Alan O’Neill, Professor of Meteorology, University of Reading and Science Director, NERC National Centre for Earth Observation and Professor Richard Holdaway, Head of Science Programmes and Director of the Space Science and Technology Division of CCLRC.
We are all aware of the financial pressures on the ESA science programme. It has often been argued that the key science goals of PPARC and NERC are only achievable on sizeable missions. The UK has demonstrated strength in industrial capability for low-cost platforms together with both industrial and academic strength in low-cost or miniaturised instrumentation. So how far could we achieve the science objectives of Cosmic Visions and future Earth Observation programmes with lower cost platforms?
The workshop will include briefing from key industry and academic players on their technical capabilities, perspectives on the international issues and plenty of chance for debate.
Registration is now open at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/In/SLCSM.asp - please register early as places are filling fast. There are also a couple of spaces left for pitches by research groups with technology that they wish to share. Please contact Nathan Hill to express your interest in this opportunity.
2. Regional KITE Club workshops – Scotland 21st February, Birmingham 6th March
We shall be holding two regional KITE Club workshops to showcase regional strengths in PPARC supported groups to regional industry. The Scottish workshop, to be held at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh on 21st February, is held in partnership with the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance and the Photonics Knowledge Transfer Network. The Midlands workshop will be held at the University of Birmingham on 6th March.
Registration for these events will open shortly. To express interest in attending or exhibiting posters, please contact Chris Appleyard.
3. Urgent reminder - £7.5m for Sensors and Imaging for Medical, Security and Environmental Applications
Note that expressions of interest must be submitted by 8th January and outline proposals by 15th January. In the Autumn Call from the Technology Programme, £7.5m funding is available to support Collaborative Research and Development projects that address innovations in the development and application of sensors and imaging technology.
Particular emphasis will be placed on projects that provide evidence of significant advances in the following application areas: medical and healthcare, security, crime detection and prevention systems and environmental monitoring (including atmosphere pollution monitoring).
Emphasis will be placed on projects that address clearly identified applications and specific user needs that can demonstrate commercial potential and also wider benefits. Project consortia should therefore include at least one end-user partner.
PPARC funding may also be available for projects exploiting technology developed within its programme or projects developing new technologies that will benefit its programme alongside other applications. If you would like support or advice on how to apply, please contact Mark Littlewood.
4. New £2.75m PIPSS Themed Call for defence and security projects
We are pleased to announce a joint call for funding between PPARC and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) through the PIPSS programme in the areas of technology for security and defence. This is supported by the MOD Joint Grants Scheme (£2m) and ring-fenced PIPSS funding of £0.75m. Applications will be subject to the normal PIPSS review process and will be considered in the 3rd April, 3rd July and 2nd October 2007 quarterly calls. This is an excellent opportunity to engage in technology development with dual (your research + security/defence) or triple (your research + industry + security/defence) application.
There are two main modes of operation; (a) academic / industry: in this case, both the MOD and the partner company will be customers for the project results and (b) academic only: in this case, the MOD will be the customer for the project results.
The MOD has also recently launched a £10m Competition of Ideas www.ideas.mod.uk and we can provide support for both funding methods and advise you on which is best suited to your proposed project (you may not apply for both funding streams for the same project).
For further information, please contact Glyn White. General guidance on PIPSS is at www.pparc.ac.uk/in/sc/list/pipss.asp.
5. New ESA Networking / Partnering Initiative seeks technology from non-space research groups
A new initiative to increase interaction between ESA, European universities, research institutes and industry has just begun. Through its Networking/Partnering Initiative, ESA is offering to support research carried out by institutes and universities in advanced technologies with space applications.
The goals of the Networking/Partnering Initiative (NPI) are to enhance research for space applications and to take advantage of potential ‘spin-ins’ for space from technologies originally developed for application in areas such as consumer electronics and material sciences, as well as new developments in the nano and microtechnology domain.
This new initiative will support technology development in selected universities and research institutes, giving preference to new ideas or concepts originating in the non-space industrial or research sectors. Proposals accepted by the NPI will be offered support in a number of areas:
· Co-funding: the NPI can co-fund research for up to 50% or €30,000 per year for a doctorate degree or post-doctoral investigations
· Access to ESTEC laboratories: NPI participants will be able to use the facilities at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in The Netherlands for a minimum of six and a maximum of 12 months
· Technical support: NPI participants will have access to ESA experts with whom they can discuss proposal concepts and verify their relevance and applicability to space
· Networking: NPI participants will be able to search for potential partners for further cooperation and build ‘innovation networks’ through links provided by ESA
Universities and research organisations interested in taking part in the NPI can contact Joerg Wehner Joerg.Wehner@esa.int, the NPI Programme Manager, for further information and a proposal template. Additional support is available from Nathan Hill, UK Technology Transfer Officer for ESA.
6. PPARC Researcher wins ‘most improved team’ prize in the Research Councils’ Business Plan Competition
The final awards for the UK Research Councils’ Business Plan Competition were presented on 7th December at the Royal Society. Dr. Clive Speake and Stuart Aston from Birmingham University Department of Physics and Astronomy won an award for the ‘most improved team’. The business concept, entitled ‘EUCLID’ is based upon Dr. Speake’s research into an interferometric readout for the inertial sensor in the LISA mission. This research was funded through the PPARC Innovative Technology Fund (now the Project Research and Development Scheme http://www.pparc.ac.uk/rs/pp/sp/prd.asp). In a conversation I had with Clive Speake, he stated ‘I can’t overemphasise how much we’ve learned from the training and coaching support given in the Business Plan Competition. The process of researching the market and financial potential of our instrumentation and having to write that all down as a business plan has been eye-opening. We are now looking into taking the business idea further through PPARC Follow-on Funding and other regional support’.
EUCLID is a new tool that will enable industry to conveniently measure distances with sub-pm precision and thus improve instrumentation capabilities in industrial engineering. The new device has the accuracy and sensitivity of an interferometer but its innovative optical design makes it easy to use and extremely compact. It is expected that there will be significant markets in precision manufacturing, which includes the semiconductor industry, and in scientific instrumentation such as displacement measurement in nanophysics and gravitational wave observatories.
For further information about the Business Plan Competition and how it can help you to advance your ideas for commercialisation of technology developed in your research, please contact Nathan Hill.
May we take this opportunity to wish you a pleasant time over the festive season and a peaceful, happy and prosperous New Year.
Contacts:
KITE Club Innovation Advisors, ESA and CERN UK Technology Transfer Officer. Nathan Hill: email: nathan.hill@qi3.co.uk Tel: 01223 422405. Also Mark Littlewood mark.littlewood@qi3.co.uk, Glyn White glyn.white@qi3.co.uk, Alex Efimov alex.efimov@qi3.co.uk, Sue Peffer sue.peffer@qi3.co.uk and Chris Appleyard chris.appleyard@qi3.co.uk. For enquiries about the Sensors Knowledge Transfer Network Advanced Instrumentation and Research Facilities Special Interest Groups, please call 01223 422406. Registration for events is available via www.qi3.co.uk/events