The Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) at the University of Surrey announces the award of new funding in grants from research councils, the DTI, regional development agencies and charities. The funding, associated with collaborative research contracts of total value £7.5 million, supports the range of activities in the ATI including growth of nanomaterials, photonic devices, theory of quantum coherent phenomena and applications of ion beams.

The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) are supporting the ATI, in partnership with CEVP Ltd, to develop a “Nanogrowth” machine. This project will develop a tool for the commercial growth of nano-materials (including carbon nanotubes) on a wide variety of substrates including plastics. The growth process is based on recipes patented by Surrey.

The Carbon Trust are supporting a project to develop Ultra Low Energy High Brightness (ULEHB) light sources for use in large area display, domestic and commercial lighting, image projectors etc. These new lights use nano-composite materials invented at the ATI and promise low power operating combined with a long operating life.

The ATI has been awarded a contract to work on the theoretical modelling of laser light emitters operating in the mid-infrared, with applications including healthcare, environmental monitoring and manufacturing. The programme involves two Universities and five industrial partners led by Qinetiq, and is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). In another collaborative programme supported by the DTI, scientists at the ATI will join partners from the Centre for Integrated Photonics, Bookham, Epichem, Loughborough Surface Analysis, and the University of Sheffield to develop photonic components which operate at high temperatures to meet the power demands of tomorrow’s communication systems.

The remarkable properties of self-induced transparency and solitons will be studied in a new project supported by a grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). This project, involving scientists from the UK, USA and France, will study fundamental quantum coherent phenomena which may one day have applications in optical information processing.

New funding for the Surrey Ion Beam Centre (IBC), in the form of a £2.3 million grant from the EPSRC, will ensure the continuation of leading international research on ion beams and their applications by this national centre. The grant will also enable the IBC to develop new applications of ion beams in fields such as biotechnology and cultural heritage. The IBC has also been awarded a prestigious grant by The Wolfson Foundation, to develop the world’s first vertical scanning focused nanobeam in collaboration with the Gray Cancer Institute. This will be used to understand the early stages of cancer and how it can be treated with radiation.

&According to the ATI’s Director, Professor Ravi Silva, “our continued success in attracting funding, in the present highly-competitive funding environment, demonstrates the high reputation of our research. We target our unique blend of applied research inspired by theory towards today’s grand challenges in information technology, renewable energy and health-care. With this continued support, our activities will help shape tomorrow’s technology.”

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