2012-2013
Creating the hydrogen economy using small-scale hydrogen-generation
Contact: Enass Abo-Hamed & Dr. Roger Coulston, Chemistry Mentor: John Hunter The hydrogen economy has huge potential but has so far not yet reached reality. Visions of the future range from large-scale hydrogen power stations to tiny fuel cells powering mobile electronic devices, to mid-size hydrogen engines for vehicles. The main problem and limitation of the hydrogen…
Using micro-cantilevers to measure the viscosity of blood and other
Contact: Dr. Thanos Mitrelias, Cavendish Laboratory & Memsbio Mentor: John Loveluck The Thin Film Magnetism (TFM) group in the Cavendish have been working with a research team from Koc University, one of the leading Universities in Turkey, a collaboration which has now resulted in a Turkish spinout company called MEMSBIO. The team have developed a…
Finding the best route-to-market for printable lasers
Contact: Dr. Wen-Kai Hsaio, Institute for Manufacturing & Dr. Damian Gardiner, CMMPE Mentor: Simon Pulman-Jones References: Printed photonics arrays from self-organised chiral nematic liquid crystals The team from the Department of Engineering have created a unique way of printing organic lasers using everyday inkjet technology. This allows lasers to be printed in well-defined locations, either individually or in…
Identifying the best markets for porous silicon sensors
Contact: Tanya Hutter & Professor Stephen Elliott, Chemistry Mentor: Michael Katz & Marc Bax Porous silicon is inexpensive to manufacture and can be used to produce small, simple optical sensors for a wide range of gases and other materials. The silicon can be used in its bare state, or functionalised with the appropriate chemical markers, depending on…
Finding the best commercial application for a new type of
Contact: Jerome Charmet, Nanoscience Centre, Engineering & Emily Triggs, Engineering Mentor: Adrian Swinburne Lenses are everywhere, in mobile phones, security cameras, projectors, medical equipment and lighting, as well as in more specialised optical equipment such as microscopes, with each application creating its own unique demands on cost, size and ease of operation. This new technology, developed by…
Using sunlight-activated catalysts to remove pollution and purify water
Contacts: Dr. Vasant Kumar, Giorgio Divitini, Dr. Caterina Ducati & Najeeb Ullah, Materials Science & Metallurgy Mentor: Dr. Mark Priest Sunlight can degrade pollutants in water with a suitable catalyst. Current solutions exist, with the most common catalyst being Titanium dioxide particles. These have the advantage of working with sunlight, with no need for an external power…
Lowering the cost of purifying cell populations and biopharmaceutical molecules
Contact: Ipshita Mandal, Matthew Townsend & Dr. Duncan Sharp, Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology Mentors: Wouter Meuleman & Dr. Marc Bax The biopharmaceutical industry is growing rapidly, currently standing at a market capitalisation of over $140bn, and growing at 15-18% per year. With the increase in demand for biopharmaceuticals, there are key process limitations in biomanufacturing.…