The 1851 Fellowship

Eight young graduates were recently awarded £80,000 each to develop innovative commercial technologies as part of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. Here we speak to some of the 2013 Industrial Fellows to see exactly how they plan to use the money… Stephen Greenland is a Senior Systems Engineer at Clyde Space and PhD student the University of Strathclyde. He’s working on the first ever UK Space Agency commissioned nanosatellite. Tell us about the work that won you the Fellowship? I didn't have a clear career plan upon graduating from the University of Manchester, but I had become interested in nanosatellites and saw an opportunity to explore this new field through a research placement in Japan. I was selected, and having spent a year preparing through a space masters course at Cranfield University, learnt how a satellite could be built for a fraction of the cost of a traditional system, through some of the field's pioneers in Japan. I then had the opportunity to return to the UK, to work with Clyde Space and the University of Strathclyde, developing a similar nanosatellite system here. Engaging with groups across the space community – government, large industry, academia, etc. – we proposed the UKube satellite as a pilot for advancing space development. The mission was accepted and announced by the Science Minister David Willetts in July 2010, with myself as the technical lead. In just a few years we have the first satellite ready for launch, and the prospect of more in the future. That’s impressive; what now? We have a satellite waiting for launch (scheduled in March 2014), and are now looking for novel and exciting applications that may be integrated with our technology platform. To that end, I am currently out in Singapore learning the rudiments of quantum physics with a highly specialised team so that we can look to opportunities for using quantum-based technologies in space. One near term example is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to secure future banking networks against cyber-attack using principles of photon entanglement, with highly secure keys distributed across the globe by satellite. So how is this award helping your academic career? The scholarship means I can focus on my interest – learning and exchanging new ideas – whilst driving towards application, rather than to have to wait for customers to come to the company.  It allows me to explore the potential commercial, social or scientific value of a mission, as well as achieve a doctorate.  In short it’s a fantastic scheme and very timely opportunity to maximise the potential for the technology we have developed in all arenas and not just those areas with the largest budget. [caption id="attachment_37304" align="alignleft" width="200"] Jordan Conway[/caption] Jordan Conway is co-founder of SIRAKOSS and PhD student at the University of Aberdeen; he is investigating a material which could reduce the need for metal implants Tell us about the work that won you the Fellowship? Based on more than five years of technology and IP development, originally stemming from research done at the University of Aberdeen, SIRAKOSS Ltd is developing a unique calcium phosphate composition for use as a synthetic bone graft substitute - MaxSi. The technology is in the medical devices field, but more specifically has applications in bone defect filling, fracture fixation, spinal fusion and soft tissue fixation. This material however was designed for non-load bearing applications and has limitations because of this. How will the Fellowship help your research? The fellowship will allow for a PhD project to investigate using this unique bone forming composition to produce a composite material able to withstand load, which will improve patient outcomes by providing increased osseointegration and reducing the likelihood of implant migration and failure. Having a material able to withstand load can negate the use for metallic implants and increase the rate of bone fusion thus reducing the chances of requiring revision surgeries and additional operations to harvest a patient’s own bone. Having worked for the University of Aberdeen from 2007-2010 when the project was originally funded under the Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Programme, and then making the transition to the newly formed spin out company in 2011, I have been intimately involved in the technology which has since resulted in extensive new data and two further patent applications which will help form the basis for the load bearing material. Work done during the fellowship will add to the technology and intellectual property portfolio. How do you think this award will help your academic career? The fellowship will allow me to gain a new skill set and range of analytical techniques which otherwise would not have been possible through day to day employment at SIRAKOSS. This will allow me to continue my career within research and development by furthering my qualifications and whilst gaining additional experience in both industry and academic led research. The UK has a strong medical device industry with expanding markets constantly seeking new innovative technologies. I feel that in addition to the award benefitting myself, it will be of benefit to both SIRAKOSS Ltd, by strengthening their academic collaborations and their R&D, and also the host University, by increasing their academic-industrial collaborations and offering an exchange of good R&D practice that will translate from company to the university lab.  [caption id="attachment_37305" align="alignleft" width="200"] Patrick Cottam[/caption] Patrick Cottam is an engineer at Lindstrand Technologies and PhD student at UCL; he plans to investigate methods of reducing the cost of solar power generation. Tell us about the work that won you the Fellowship? I'm working on the “suspended chimney” – a chimney made from structural fabrics and held aloft with envelopes of lighter-than-air gas so that it becomes self-supporting. Such a structure is desirable for several different contexts, but the one on which I am focused is the solar thermal chimney power plant, which is a large-scale solar power generator capable of generating power in the hundreds of megawatts and operating as a base-load power generator, storing a proportion of the energy delivered by the sun to generate electricity when the sky becomes clouded or after the sun sets. The issue with solar thermal chimneys is that they require chimney structures over 500m tall in order to be commercially viable. Such a thin-shell structure presents technical and financial risk. The suspended chimney is a novel re-imagination of the chimney structure in an attempt to reduce the cost of such a structure, as well as the time spent on-site, consumption of water and greenhouse gas emissions. It is best suited to harsh or remote environments, of the sort where a solar thermal chimney is likely to be sited. How is the Fellowship helping you do this? The Fellowship permits me to build two prototype suspended chimneys, which would otherwise be beyond my reach. The first will be approximately 3.5m tall and will be located in UCL’s engineering labs. Its purpose is to ensure that our design and manufacturing processes are appropriate and generate some initial performance data for a chimney structure under lateral loading, which will be used to improve and validate an analytical model. The second prototype suspended chimney will be in the region of 20m tall, and will be sited outdoors, at my industrial sponsor’s premises. It will test the real-world performance of the suspended chimney structure under wind and weather loading. The 2nd prototype will enable the validation of a developed suspended chimney model and inform design decisions for larger commercial-scale structures. Both prototypes will be fully instrumented so that their structural performance can be assessed. What does the Fellowship mean for your academic career? The Industrial Fellowship is a marker of quality for my work and I’m very grateful to receive it. The Fellowship helps impress upon future employers the seriousness with which I take my work. It also permits me to take my doctoral work further than would otherwise be possible, providing the funding for the two prototype suspended chimneys and thus allowing me to undertake analyses that would otherwise be beyond my reach and to back up my models with real-world data. This will lead to a better academic understanding of the topic, a better doctoral project and increased opportunities in the future, both in this subject and more broadly.