Right first time: pioneering new methods of drug manufacture

Engineers at the University of Leeds have developed a simple technology which can be used in existing chemical reactors to ensure “right first time” drug crystal formation.

Ensuring drug crystals are formed correctly is crucial to their efficacy and the efficiency of pharmaceutical manufacturers’ operations. Using self-assembled monolayers, the team has been able to show that crystals form into their desired product form with the correct shape and particle structure, without the usual problems of polymorphism which results in huge losses to the pharmaceutical sector each year.

“If you imagine the way that oil sits on top of water, that’s similar to how the monolayer works,” says Professor Kevin Roberts of University’s Faculty of Engineering. “We’ve shown that we can produce a well-defined crystal structure using a self-assembled monolayer bound onto a metal substrate within a regular reactor. This is exciting stuff, because it’s a relatively simple system, but could make a huge difference in the efficiency of drug manufacture.”

One of the first stages of the crystallisation process is called nucleation. During nucleation, particles are introduced into a reactor to encourage the formation of crystals. However, the way in which this is currently carried out is difficult to control and can often lead to the wrong shape, size or structure of drug crystal, something which affects the usefulness and efficacy of the compound.

The new system proven to work by the Leeds team, working alongside Ana Kwokal from Croatian pharmaceutical company PLIVA, has shown that introducing a self-assembled monolayer – a layer of self-organising molecules that is attractive to the substance being crystallised – into a reactor enables consistent crystal formation.

Professor Roberts says: “Because this is a really simple solution to ensuring consistent crystallisation, it has huge potential commercially. Our next steps are to make sure it’s just as efficient on an industrial scale.”

This work draws on previous research and experimental systems developed through the Chemicals Behaving Badly II initiative, an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) programme which includes universities and industrial partners.

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50 active years after 50: increasing the quality of our second half-century

A £50 million research initiative, aimed at giving people ’50 active years after 50’ was launched on 19th October 2009 at the Science Media Centre.

Recent research, published in The Lancet, found that more than half of babies now born in the UK and other wealthy nations will live to 100 years. But while improvements in healthcare, diet and lifestyle are helping us to live longer, our bodies are still degenerating with age, reducing our quality of life and our ability to contribute to society.

50 active years after 50 is responding to this trend by developing new medical devices and regenerative therapies, ensuring that people can continue to be as active during their second half century as they were in their first.

The research will focus on those areas most affected as we age – our joints, spine, teeth, heart and circulation – developing new technologies for tissue engineering and regeneration, longer lasting joint replacements and spinal interventions

The programme will also accelerate the translation of new discoveries into clinical practice. Over its first five years, it plans to develop ten new products and halve the time it takes to get new products to market.

The initiative will be coordinated by the University of Leeds Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (iMBE), the country’s largest bioengineering unit and a world-leading research centre for artificial joint replacements. The Institute’s research has already benefited tens of thousands of individuals over the past 15 years.

Funded through research councils, charities and industry, 50 active years after 50 will bring together researchers in engineering, computing, chemistry, physics, biology, dentistry and medicine with practicing clinicians and medics and industrial partners from all over the UK and beyond. The initiative includes two major projects – the £10m (EPSRC, BBSRc, TSB funded) Innovation & Knowledge Centre in Regenerative Therapies and Devices and the £11m Wellcome EPSRC Leeds Medical Engineering Centre.

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Saving lives and improving health

Modern day engineering is about much more than building bridges and designing buildings.

An exhibition showcasing research carried out by engineers at the University of Leeds is offering members of the public a chance to see how high level research improves human health and well-being.

Proving that engineering can provide the answer to a multitude of health and wellbeing problems, work designed for the 2009 Make Some Noise competition is on show at the Thackray Museum in Leeds until the end of October.

From computer modelling techniques that enable the repair of complicated spinal fractures through to the development of microcapsules that will destroy cancer cells, a variety of photographic images and posters designed by the researchers will be on display in the James Allen Room of the Conference Suite in the museum.

Researcher Training and Development Manager in the Faculty of Engineering, Patricia Gray says: "In previous years this competition has stimulated some positive feedback from the general public. Often, people are unaware that engineering covers such a wide field or that it can have such an impact on our daily lives. We are also encouraging researchers to find ways of engaging with the public and informing the outside world of their work."

Groups who use the conference facilities at the museum range from local community organisations through to professional health practitioners.

Make Some Noise is an annual festival of research and public engagement which links training and development with public engagement activities. The photographic images and poster competitions are just two elements of the festival.

A reception for the winners was recently held in the James Allen room at the Thackray Museum. Prizes of £300 worth of Amazon vouchers were awarded to the overall winners, with second and third prizes of £200 and £100 respectively.

The winners of the poster element of the competition were Corinne Hanlon in first place, Jawaid Daudpoto in second and Alex Lincoln in third.

Kasim Sadar won the photographic image competition, with Diago Angarita-Jaimes coming second and Yeaw Chu Lee coming third.

In the presentation section (held at an earlier Make Some Noise event), Andrew Greenall came first, Colin Myers was in second place and Michael Burkinshaw and Chandra Malvi were awarded the third place jointly.

Further information from:
Patricia Gray, Researcher Training and Development Officer, Faculty of Engineering, 0113 3433351,p.a.gray@campuspr.co.uk,

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Research gives new meaning to ‘green’ cross code

Pedestrians could reduce the amount of traffic pollution they breathe in simply by crossing the street, according to the latest research from the University of Leeds.

The research, led by Professor of Environmental Modelling Alison Tomlin from Leeds’ Faculty of Engineering, has shown that air pollution levels change dramatically within small geographical areas dependent on wind patterns, the location of traffic queues and the position and shapes of the surrounding buildings.

The findings showed that pollution hotspots tend to accumulate on the leeward side of the street, (the sheltered side) in relation to the wind’s direction at roof-top level. 

They also revealed that that carbon monoxide levels were up to four times lower in parallel side streets compared to the main road.

The team monitored traffic flow and carbon monoxide (CO) levels over an eight week period at one of the busiest junctions in the UK - the intersection between Marylebone Road and Gloucester Place in West London.

“CO levels were highly variable over remarkably short distances,” says Professor Tomlin. “As you’d expect, the junction itself showed high levels caused by queuing traffic, but with some wind patterns these hotspots moved further down the street. However, the leeward side of the street had consistently higher concentrations of carbon monoxide than the windward side. The same trends would be expected for other traffic related pollutants such as ultrafine particles and nitrogen dioxide.”

“Most people would expect pollution levels to be slightly lower away from the main body of traffic, but our figures show a very significant difference,” she says.

“Pollution can be trapped within the street where it is emitted by recirculating winds. If it escapes to above roof-top level, it doesn’t tend to be mixed back into neighbouring streets very strongly. It would be worth cyclists and pedestrians rethinking their regular routes, as they can massively reduce their pollution exposure by moving just one street away from the main traffic thoroughfares.”

The research also has significance for local authorities and other bodies monitoring air quality levels in urban areas. Currently every city has a number of sites monitoring pollution levels to ensure compliance with EU standards, but Professor Tomlin says these may need to be looked at in relation to the other factors identified by the research to ensure an accurate spatial picture.

“Monitoring stations tend to be sited in what are expected to be pollution hotspots, but our research has shown that hotspots move depending on meteorological conditions, particularly wind direction,” says Professor Tomlin. “We need to develop models which take these factors into account, so that the data from monitoring sites can be accurately analysed to provide a true reflection of air quality across the whole of an urban area.”

The research is published in the latest issue of Atmospheric Environment and has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

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Connected in the cloud

The cost of a home PC and related software could come down significantly within a few years if the current trend for internet based computing continues, say computing engineers at the University of Leeds.

The fast growth of cloud computing - where data, hardware and software is accessed over the web on a pay per use basis - could mean laptops and PCs of the future will become little more than shells with just a screen, keyboard, web connection and some basic processing power, with the cost as little as £100.

Speaking today at this weeks’ Shaping the Digital Future conference, Professor Jie Xu, Chair of the School of Computing at the University of Leeds said:

“The global rate of growth in web based ‘cloud’ services is quite astonishing. Many businesses are already turning to the likes of Amazon and Google and IBM for web based software and data storage. It seems logical that where business goes the rest of us will follow.

“Most of us already use websites like Hotmail, Facebook and Flickr but this is taking things one step further by storing all your files online and using online software to work with. Rather than paying for expensive programs you rarely use you may only pay a few pence a time whenever you use them instead. This means that in the near future it may well be nothing is stored on your PC or laptop. If that happens we won’t need half the technology we have in our computers today as they will only really be access points to the web. And that means the purchase price should be dramatically lower than it is today.”

Cloud computing, which offers firms scaleability combined with lower in house IT bills, is predicted to grow by up to 40% in 2009. And the global market for cloud services is predicted to reach nearly £30bn in 2012. Cloud computing requires huge data centres which means 20% of the worlds servers are now being sold to a handful of IT giants.

While cloud computing promises access from any web enabled computer to the files and software you need, concerns have been raised about the risk from hackers, slow web connections and the environmental cost of huge IT data centres like the ones needed for cloud computing.

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Leeds tackles terrorists with new technology

Engineers at Leeds are playing a leading role in designing an intelligent CCTV system that will track people who have left bags in public buildings – and even determine whether their actions might be suspicious.

Building on existing surveillance technology, the SUBITO (Surveillance of Unattended Baggage and the Identification and Tracking of the Owner) programme does exactly what its name suggests.

Whilst standard security systems rely on security personnel to monitor video footage, the SUBITO concept uses computer technology to identify specific shapes and movements that allow an individual and their baggage to be tracked over time.

Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Leeds, David Hogg, says: “Due to increased anxieties around the threat of terrorism, the monitoring and surveillance of unattended baggage has become a top priority across the globe. By employing advanced computer technology our system will make this kind of surveillance much less prone to human error.”

Using the SUBITO system, security teams could follow a suspect’s movements in the minutes leading up to them leaving their bags unattended and then keep track of their whereabouts afterwards. This would minimise cost and wasted resources by cutting the number of false security alarms at places such as airports and railway stations. The system would highlight potential threats so that staff could keep a close eye on those rather than having to scan dozens of screens; this should limit the need to close down public areas unnecessarily as suspicious individuals can be watched more closely.

As part of an international consortium, the team at Leeds will develop a computer package that can detect someone leaving a bag unattended. By creating an artificially intelligent system, users should be able to determine whether someone has put a bag down for an innocent reason such as going to buy a coffee, or for something more sinister.

Under the leadership of SELEX Galileo, the SUBITO programme includes ten organisations from six European countries and is funded through the European Community'sSeventh Framework Programme(FP7/2007-2013). The consortium encompasses a diverse group of technology and implementation specialists who are all recognised experts and world-leaders in their fields.

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Soldiers turn a march into a charge

Engineers at Leeds are developing a way to capture the kinetic energy produced when soldiers march and use it to power their equipment.

The new system designed to convert foot-power into battery power could help troops reduce the weight of their packs by up to 10kg.

The devices will use high tech ceramics and crystals as piezoelectric transducers in order to convert mechanical stress into an electric charge.

The project will consider the optimum placement of the ‘energy harvesting’ devices, including the back-pack straps and around the knee to provide active support, capturing energy but also cushioning the impact when legs are bent, joints compressed or their boots strike the ground.

Professor Andrew Bell, Director of the Institute for Materials Research at the University of Leeds, who is leading the £1m research project says:

“As well as the obvious green issue of using so many batteries, it could also reduce a soldier’s pack weight by around 15 per cent. And this technology could potentially have lots of applications in civvy street too.”

The project has been designed to address the needs of soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heavy packs can severely limit a soldier’s mobility and also lead to long term health problems.

Ground troops typically carry electrical equipment including including torches, personal radios, the Bowman communications system plus kit for electronic counter measures.

The typical pack weight of an infantry soldier on a 6 hour patrol is around 75kg, with batteries making up 10kg of the load. Essential kit such as ammunition and water make up much of the rest.

A similar energy harvesting idea has been used in cars for some time where braking force is stored and later used to drive the vehicle forward. However harvesting energy from people walking has always proved difficult due to the flexibility and strength of the materials required and the fact that everyone’s walking patterns are different.

Professor Bell says his team will succeed where others have failed because they are taking a holistic approach.

“By using the latest materials and electronics combined with taking into account personal differences in walking style we are confident we can make this work without adding to the burden or fatigue of the soldier wearing the device,” he says.

Another key part of the project will be adapting radio equipment to run on a reduced power budget. The new style low power radios will run on ‘standby’, only boosting up to full power when an important message is received or a transmission is required.

The 2-year project, due to start in September this year, also involves scientists from Bristol, Essex, Liverpool, Sheffield, Southampton and Cranfield universities. The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).

The Leeds-led kinetic energy project is part of a larger programme of research called the ‘battery free soldier’, commissioned by DSTL and EPSRC, which includes research into converting and storing and other sources of energy such as solar power and body heat.

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Hydrogen technology steams ahead

Could the cars and laptops of the future be fuelled by old chip fat?

Engineers at the University of Leeds believe so, and are developing an energy efficient, environmentally-friendly hydrogen production system. The system enables hydrogen to be extracted from waste materials, such as vegetable oil and the glycerol by-product of bio-diesel. The aim is to create the high purity hydrogen-based fuel necessary not only for large-scale power production, but also for smaller portable fuel cells.

Dr Valerie Dupont from the School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering (SPEME) says: “I can foresee a time when the processes we are investigating could help ensure that hydrogen is a mainstream fuel.

 “We are investigating the feasibility of creating a uniquely energy efficient method of hydrogen production which uses air rather than burners to heat the raw product. Our current research will improve the sustainability of this process and reduce its carbon emissions.”

A grant of over £400k has been awarded to the University by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) within a consortium of 12 institutions known as SUPERGEN Sustainable Hydrogen Delivery.

Hydrogen is widely considered to be a potential replacement for fossil fuels, but it is costly to extract. There are also often high levels of greenhouse gases emitted during conventional methods of production. 

The system being developed at Leeds – known as Unmixed and Sorption-Enhanced Steam Reforming - mixes waste products with steam to release hydrogen and is potentially cheaper, cleaner and more energy efficient.

A hydrocarbon-based fuel from plant or waste sources is mixed with steam in a catalytic reactor, generating hydrogen and carbon dioxide along with excess water. The water is then easily condensed by cooling and the carbon dioxide is removed in-situ by a solid sorbent material.

Dr Dupont says: “It’s becoming increasingly necessary for scientists devising new technologies to limit the amount of carbon dioxide they release. This project takes us one step closer to these goals – once we have technologies that enable us to produce hydrogen sustainably, the infrastructure to support its use will grow.”

“We firmly believe that these advanced steam reforming processes have great potential for helping to build the hydrogen economy. Our primary focus now is to ensure the materials we rely on - both to catalyse the desired reaction and to capture the carbon dioxide – can be used over and over again without losing their efficacy.”

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Professor John Fisher elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Mechanical Engineering John Fisher has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Fellowship is in recognition of John's distinguished role in pioneering research in mechanical and biomedical engineering that has had global impact when applied to prosthetics and regenerative medicine.

More about the Leeds' Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, which is led by John, is available at: http://www.imbe.leeds.ac.uk/. Read more about the Royal Academy of Engineering at: http://www.raeng.org.uk/

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Leeds to host international civil engineering conference

Leading civil engineering researchers from 22 countries are gathering in Yorkshire this week as the University of Leeds hosts a prestigious international conference focussing on technology advances in the field of construction.

More than 120 academics will share their expertise at the 9th International Conference on Steel Concrete Composite and Hybrid Structures [08-10 July], which will see discussions on the latest construction thinking and design. It will cover topics such as earthquake and impact, structural analysis, fire behaviour, and progressive collapse.

Says University of Leeds’ Dr Dennis Lam, who is chairing the conference: “Construction methods around the world tend to focus on either steel or concrete and the best methods and designs are crucial to ensuring safety and cost-effectiveness. Steel beams and columns are easy to manufacture and erect, but their integrity is compromised when there’s a fire, and whilst concrete is much more durable, it’s a much slower and wasteful method of construction.”

“This conference is about discussing new ways to combining the advantages of both materials - and technology advancements that offer opportunities for the industry to enhance durability, sustainability and safety.”

For example, using composite steel tubes filled with concrete in the construction of a large building offers many advantages: the manufacturing process would be simpler, cheaper and more efficient, yet in the event of a fire, the structural integrity of the building would not suffer.

“There’s great scope for sharing novel ways to design composite and hybrid structures and this 4-yearly conference brings experts together from all over the world to discuss their research, knowledge and best practice techniques,” says Dr Lam.

“This is the first time conference has been hosted in the UK and we were nominated on the strength of the research at Leeds in this area. It’s a great opportunity to showcase our research in the School of Civil Engineering to such an eminent audience.”

The 2009 conference runs from 08-10 July 2009 at the University of Leeds’ Faculty of Engineering and is run in collaboration with the Association for International Cooperation and Research in Steel Concrete Composite Structures (ASCCS). The website for the conference is at www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/cpd/ASCCS2009

For more information, please contact:
Dr Dennis Lam, Reader in Structural Engineering and Steel Design, School of Civil Engineering on 0113 3423 2295, d.lam@leeds.ac.uk

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Leeds engineers developing bullet proof vest from cement

Engineers at the University of Leeds are working on a new type of body armour made from cement.

The new vests will combine super-strong cement with recycled carbon fibre materials to make a material tough enough to withstand most types of bullets.

The cement vest project, still at the early research stage, is being carried out the School of Civil Engineering at the University.

Dr Philip Purnell, who is leading the team, said: “By using cement instead of alumina we are confident we can deliver a cost-effective level of protection for many people at risk. It should be good enough for people like security guards, reporters and aid workers who are worried about the odd pot shot being taken at them.

“The fact is many of the armoured vests sold today are over-engineered for the threats they face. Cement based body armour would not only create a whole new market but it would also take some of the pressure off the demand for hi-spec alumina models so that people like soldiers, who really need this kit, can get it.”

Currently available hi-spec body armour is constructed with alumina plates - the raw material used to make aluminium - which is heated to 1600 degrees Celsius for up to two weeks in a process called ‘sintering’ in order to make them ultra hard.

Enhanced combat body armour (ECBA) as supplied to UK troops uses sintered alumina plates. In the past UK and US soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have faced shortages of ECBA as production has struggled to keep up with soaring global demand.

Cement vests are just one of a range of novel uses for the 2000 year old material that the Leeds engineers are investigating in a three year project called ‘Cementing the future’. Other ideas include cement based pump-less fridges, a new type of catalytic converter, and improved bone replacements.

Dr Purnell is actively seeking other researchers, engineers, scientists, designers or even sculptors and artists who also have ideas for new uses for cement.

For more information and to take part in the project visit http://.tinyurl.com/nacnet

Cementing the future has £100,000 in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

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Leeds engineer receives National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy

Professor Martin Levesley, from the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds is one of 50 lecturers and learning support staff to be awarded National Teaching Fellowships from the Higher Education Academy.

The award winners were chosen from 203 nominations submitted by higher education institutions across England and Northern Ireland and will each receive an award of £10,000. The award may be used for Fellows’ professional development in teaching and learning or aspects of pedagogy.

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) is part of an overall Academy programme to raise the status of learning and teaching in higher education. It comprises two strands: Individual National Teaching Fellowship Awards, and Projects. It is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI).

The individual strand of the scheme aims to raise the profile of learning and teaching, recognise and celebrate individuals who make an outstanding impact on the student learning experience, and provide a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes.

The awards will be presented to Fellows at a celebration event in London on Wednesday 23 September 2009.

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Molecular typsetting - proofreading without a proofreader

Researchers at the universities of Leeds and Bristol have developed a model of how errors are corrected whilst proteins are being built.

Ensuring that proteins are built correctly is essential to the proper functioning of our bodies, but the ‘quality assurance’ mechanisms that take place during this manufacturing process are not fully understood.

“Scientists have been puzzled as to how this process makes so few mistakes”, says Dr Netta Cohen, Reader at the University of Leeds’ School of Computing.

To create a protein, the first step involves copying the relevant gene on our DNA onto a template, called RNA. This copying process is carried out by molecular machines called RNA polymerases.

“The RNA polymerase acts like an old fashioned newsprint typesetter, constructing newsprint by assembling letters one at a time. Similarly, RNA polymerase constructs RNA by reading the DNA and adding new letters to the RNA one at a time,” explains Dr Cohen.

There’s no way for the RNA polymerase to ensure that the correct letter is always incorporated at the right spot. “Statistically, we would expect to see a hundred-fold more errors than we actually do, so we know that some error correction must be happening. Otherwise, many more proteins in our bodies would malfunction,” says Dr Cohen.

Biological experiments have shown that the RNA polymerase slides both forwards and backwards along the RNA sequence it has created. What’s more, it has miniature scissors that can then cut out the last few letters of RNA.

So how are errors corrected? Intelligent typesetters would remove the last few letters when they spot an error. The new model suggests how the backward sliding stalls when passing an error, so wrong letters can be snipped off and copying can resume.

“The mechanism we’ve modelled has only recently been shown to be implicated in proofreading,” says Dr Cohen. “In fact, there is more than one identified mechanism for ensuring that genetic code is copied correctly. The challenge now is to find out – through a combination of experimental biology and modelling – which mechanism is dominant.”

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Leeds launches engineering institute to tackle global challenges

The University of Leeds’ Engineering Faculty has launched a new Institute for Resilient Infrastructure (iRI) to focus on global issues of resilience of physical infrastructure to both natural and man-made disasters.

Based in the School of Civil Engineering, the Institute aims to be at the forefront of research and debate and draws experts from a wide range of disciplines together with industrialists and government representatives. iRI’s research will ensure the sustainability of essential physical infrastructure and its impact on communities, businesses, the economy and society – in both the UK and beyond.

 “Around the world, systems such as transport infrastructure and power and water supplies are taken for granted. But as pressures on these systems mount due to a range of factors, there’s an increased risk of their failure,” says iRI Director, Professor Steven Male.

The impact of climate change on infrastructure is a key area of research for iRI. The impact of natural disasters worldwide ran into the hundreds of billion of dollars in 2008 alone, and an expected increase in floods and droughts, the estimated migration of around 200 million people as a result of increased temperatures and loss of land and changes in soil conditions, mean current infrastructures will be unlikely to cope.

“We’re breaking the traditional mould, where researchers are split according to their subject area, to enable engineers to play a key role in addressing global challenges such as climate change.

This approach to engineering research echoes the findings of the House of Commons report Engineering: Turning Ideas into Reality, published in March this year by the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee. The report concludes: “…we have become increasingly conscious of the critical contribution that engineering makes to the economy and societal well-being, and the decisive role it must play in tackling global challenges such as climate change, water and food supply, and energy security.”

Professor Male says that iRI aims to look at the infrastructure systems necessary to sustain life in the light of such changes. “Infrastructures aren’t just about the physical design and construction of systems we need,” he says. “It’s not enough to, for example, to develop new methods of power or water delivery. What’s needed is an approach that also takes into account the human response – the decision making structures that are necessary and the way in which communities work. Equally, the iRI will also be working in areas allied to the development of sustainable construction and ensuring the resilience of buildings in the face of government policy to move towards a low carbon economy.”

“The challenges facing the world today are huge,” says Professor Male. “And engineering will play a leading role in enabling us to meet those challenges.”

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Make some Noise

BBC journalist and broadcaster Quentin Cooper described by The Times as "the world's most enthusiastic man" was the guest speaker at this year’s Make Some Noise lecture, 12 May. This popular event proved a highlight of the Faculty’s annual Festival of Research and Public Engagement which trains and supports early career researchers in the confident, skilful communication of their work with a variety of audiences.

Quentin’s talk was a wide-ranging and humorous take on the often contradictory and simplistic ways that the mass media cover climate change issues and how ordinary people respond to ‘facts’ and ‘risks’ reported in science and engineering stories.

He encouraged researchers to look at imaginative ways of working with the public if we want to see a major cultural shift in attitudes and responses to the challenges of global warming and, more generally, towards science and scientists. Via examples from his own public engagement work Quentin showed how old style, one-way, top-down, ‘public information’ models are progressively giving way to inspiring and engaging projects such as the NESTA-supported Famelab and Cape Farewell projects.

Quentin also awarded the winners of this year’s Make Some Noise Presentation Competition their certificates. Researchers took training and gave presentations about their research aimed at non-experts. The winners were Andrew Greenall, Mechanical (Ist); Colin Myers, Computing (2nd); Chandra Malvi, SPEME and Michael Fairweather, Mechanical, (joint 3rd). The Make Some Noise Poster and Research Image competitions are still open and entries will be displayed at the Thackray Museum, Leeds throughout September – October.

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Planning sustainable cities: the tools for the job

A £1 million research project at Leeds will help cities meet the significant challenge of planning for energy sustainability.

Cities are now expected to incorporate energy sustainability as an integral part of the planning process for major projects.  This is a new responsibility, and many cities lack expertise and experience in energy issues, despite the rapid expansion of UK cities in recent years and the likelihood that this expansion will continue over the long haul. A project worth over £1 million, led by engineers at the University of Leeds, together with colleagues from the University of Nottingham, will enable the development of tools necessary for planners to make these decisions.

“Traditionally planners were concerned with issues such as the appropriateness of proposed buildings and transport infrastructure,” says Professor William Gale of the School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering at Leeds. “Our cities have a huge impact on energy sustainability and economic competitiveness, so it’s vital that future energy needs are considered in the planning process.”

The project brings together academics from a range of disciplines, working with the different strands of complexity science – a field concerned with the evolution of physical and organisational systems and decision making. “What this means is that we’ll be using expertise from a range of backgrounds,” says Professor Gale. “We’re not only looking at how much power will be needed and where it might come from, we’ll also be examining how decision making by multiple stakeholders – as is common in high density city areas – might affect the energy planning process.”

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the project is due to start in the autumn and has the potential to enable cities across the UK to deliver on targets set to support overall UK energy sustainability. The project has an informal collaboration with Leeds City Council to use the city as a test bed for its tools.

Dr Tom Knowland, Head of Sustainable Development for Leeds City Council says: "Leeds is working hard to create a sustainable city and our recently adopted climate change strategy identifies developing low carbon energy infrastructure as a priority. At the moment we only have a few examples of decentralised energy in Leeds, but we have the potential to do much more. This project with the University to develop a planning tool will help us with our ambition in this field."

“This is a three year project during which we hope to develop the basis of some simulation tools that could apply to any city in the UK,” says Professor Gale. “These would model current energy usage and provide predictions of future energy needs and how these could be met as sustainably as is realistically possible. Leeds is a great city to use as a case study because it has changed enormously over the past 20 years and its development is continuing.”

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Resilient Infrastructure - Institute Launch

Tuesday May 12th saw the launch of the newest of our research institutes, the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure (iRI). One hundred staff, students, partners and other guests joined together to celebrate the event which was hosted by Nigel Smith, with keynote presentations from Steve Male the Institute Director and from Barry Clarke and Phil Purnell, both Deputy Directors of the Institute.

Physical infrastructure is vital for continued national and international economic, social and environmental development and prosperity. “‘Resilience’ is the ability of a system to withstand threats and continue to function, and is related to continuity, durability and performance to expected standards over time. ‘Resilient Infrastructure’ is therefore, those systems of physical assets that will be able to survive and perform well in an increasingly uncertain future. The challenge is that existing and new physical assets will have to become more adaptable; and, be created, designed, built, operated, and/or, disposed of in the light of current as well as ‘new and emergent futures’.

“It is as a direct response to these challenges that we have created the institute, the scope of which is interdisciplinary; embracing the interactions and impact of disciplines drawn from the Engineering, Environmental, Economic, Community/Societal and Political domains on the whole life performance of physical assets. The time frames of the Institute’s research agenda cover the short, medium and long term requirements for meeting the physical infrastructure challenges now facing society, and encompasses fundamental, applied and policy-oriented research.” Steve Male, Director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure.

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A fractured life – repairing the damage when hip replacements fail

More people than ever are enjoying healthier and more active lives, thanks to hip replacements – but when these replacements fail, patients can be left immobile and in great pain.

New research at the University of Leeds will help doctors to repair the damage caused when hip replacements break down.

The research is led by orthopaedic surgeon Terry Tsiridis and bio-engineer Ruth Wilcox who have got together to tackle a growing problem. As Mr Tsiridis, of the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, explains: “More people, and younger people than ever, are having these operations and they have a good record of success. Around 95 per cent are still working well after 10 years, and the best-performed ones can last 25 years.”

But the prostheses – and the bone around them – can fail. Mr Tsiridis, who treats patients at Leeds General Infirmary, regularly encounters those whose new lease of life has suddenly ended as a peri-prosthetic fracture leaves them immobilised. And as younger people are treated, and life expectancies continue to grow, there is set to be a steady increase in the number of people suffering these setbacks.

There are already potential solutions. A second hip replacement can be put in, or plates inserted around the bone, using a number of different designs and fixings. The Leeds research will focus on classifying the various types of peri-prosthetic fracture, determining which treatment works best in which case, and publishing guidelines to ensure surgeons use the most appropriate techniques for the patients in their care.

Engineers from the University’s Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering will use sophisticated computer modelling techniques to simulate the fractures and their possible repairs, and to assess their durability over long periods. Alongside the simulation work, a testing rig will put potential solutions under further scrutiny, examining the bone, the prosthesis and different plates, screws and cements in the stressful conditions which might be encountered during a number of different physical activities.

“These fractures are a complication of one of the most common and successful prosthetic procedures,” said Dr Wilcox, who will work on the project with engineering colleagues Prof Zhongmin Jin and Dr Alison Jones. “The end result will be to classify these failures, and prescribe the best long-term solution for them.”

The research is being funded by Joint Action, with a £400,000 Latta Fellowship. Joint Action is the orthopaedic research appeal of the British Orthopaedic Association. The Fellowship was established by a legacy from Mrs Doreen Latta who was one of the first people to receive a Charnley Hip, developed by pioneering surgeon John Charnley, who was also one of her neighbours. Mrs Latta died in 2006, aged 93, leaving this lasting legacy to enable others to benefit from improved prosthetic techniques.

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Leeds research to shape design technology

Engineers at Leeds have their sights set on developing an intuitive computer aided design (CAD) system that could revolutionise the design process.

Professor of Design Systems, Alison McKay, from the University’s School of Mechanical Engineering, together with Professor Steve Garner from the Open University, have been awarded £195k from the Leverhulme Trust to examine how eye tracking technology could recognise which parts of design sketches the designer was interested in, and automatically suggest developments of that aspect.

“Our starting point was thinking about what type of computer systems designers will be using in 15 or 20 years’ time,” says Professor McKay. We believe that in the future, CAD systems will work alongside designers to stimulate and enhance their creativity by offering suggestions and highlighting alternative options right from the earliest point in the design process, when they’re sketching out their ideas.”

The research builds on a prototype CAD system funded through the Designing for the 21st Century programme, a joint initiative between the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Led by Professor McKay, the Design Synthesis and Shape Generation project (DSSG) produced the world’s first 3D shape grammar-based design system, which succeeded in overcoming a major limitation in current shape grammar-based systems – that of recognising ‘sub-shapes’ in early design sketches.

“Sub-shapes or emergent shapes are those created when two or more shapes intersect,” explains Professor McKay.  “For example, if 2 squares overlap diagonally, we see a third square created in the middle. But in conventional CAD terms, this middle square doesn’t exist, because it has not been previously defined in the programming and is therefore ignored by the CAD system for design purposes. But in real life, designers use such ambiguities within their sketches to inspire further design developments using their creativity and experience and we succeeded in developing a system that could assist that process from the start.”

The new project takes the DSSG software a radical step further by adding eye tracking capability into the mix. It’s a step that could ultimately see the designer and software working in complete creative harmony, says Professor McKay.

 “When we’re interested in something or when part of a picture catches our eye, our eyes are naturally drawn back to that part several times over. The eye tracking device could detect this interest and intuitively make suggestions to inspire the design development without the designer having to interrupt his or her train of thought to instruct the computer to work on a certain part,” she says.  

“The designer wouldn’t have to physically interact with the software – the software would already be in tune, ready to support the creative process by suggesting new ways of seeing the possibilities a shape can offer.” 

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Agilent Technologies and the University of Leeds Open New Wireless Communications Laboratory

Agilent Technologies Inc., the world's premier measurement company has sponsored a new laboratory at the University of Leeds, equipped with its very latest testing equipment. The laboratory, located in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds, will support teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in broadband wireless networks, RFID and sensor networks.

The School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering is the top electronic and electrical engineering department in the UK, as determined by the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which rated 80 percent of its research activity as internationally excellent or world-leading.

The University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Fisher, and Ueli Nussbaumer, Agilent’s European Geographic Business Manager, formally opened the laboratory on 06 May.

“Agilent has a lasting commitment to supporting academic institutions in nurturing the next generation of engineers by equipping their laboratories with state-of-the-art test instruments,” says Ueli Nussbaumer. “The University of Leeds has a world-class reputation in RF, microwave and wireless research, and it is a pleasure to be able to assist them in this way.”

 “The Faculty of Engineering here at Leeds has a long history of collaboration with Agilent, spanning more than 25 years,” said Professor Roger Pollard, Leeds’ Dean of Engineering.   “We are extremely grateful to Agilent for its continued support and in particular, for the generous sponsorship of this exceptionally well-equipped laboratory.”

The new laboratory can accommodate up to 64 students at a time. Agilent equipment in the lab includes six Digital Modulation Workstations for generation and analysis of IQ modulated signals up to 3GHz; six RF network analysers; and vector signal generation and analysis instruments used to validate conformance to a wide range of modern digital communications standards.

“This investment comes at a welcome time as it enables us to build on the school’s success in the RAE and to continue to use our research expertise to provide an outstanding student experience, and to inspire our students to achieve their full potential,” said Professor Paul Harrison, Head of the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. We are introducing a range of new four-year integrated MEng/BEng programmes for undergraduates, and extending the range of MSc courses that we offer primarily to overseas students, and students on all of these courses will benefit from the new facility.”

 “In today’s fast-moving technology environment it has never been more important to ensure that our young engineers have the very best teaching and facilities to equip them for shaping the future of the wireless communications industry – and by inference that of the entire global economy, which depends on having a fast, reliable communications infrastructure,” added launch event keynote speaker, Dr Mike Short, Vice President of 02/Telefonica Europe.  “The University of Leeds has a long-standing reputation for producing some of the industry’s best RF and wireless engineers, and this new laboratory and the EPSRC-funded Masters courses it supports will help to consolidate its position among the world’s finest research establishments in wireless technology.”

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Mechanical engineering student Sara Thurman wins Ford 'WISE' prize

Mechanical engineering student Sara Thurman became the latest winner of the Ford WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) prize, the annual award that recognizes and rewards exceptional women studying engineering and promotes engineering as a career.

Sara, who is at Leeds University, received her £1,000 prize from Terry Marsh, director of WISE, at the Young Woman Engineer of the Year award ceremony in London.

Alexandra Walker, Ford powertrain manufacturing manager, said: "This year's Ford WISE prize has showcased some amazing talent amongst the UK's female engineering undergraduate population. Having met our three finalists I find myself bowled over by their enthusiasm and commitment to engineering. Whatever their next steps, I am convinced that they will all be highly successful in their chosen careers."

Sara, 22, was selected by a panel of engineering professionals after a rigorous selection processes.  Amanda Hughes, studying aeronautical engineering at Loughborough University, and Clare Howard, civil engineering at Loughborough University, were the other finalists.

Award winner Sara said: "It is a fantastic achievement to have won the Ford WISE prize, and to have met with so many women excelling in their engineering careers. It has encouraged me to push even harder to be successful in my career and to act as a role model for young women. I hope I can encourage them into engineering by showing them that it's an exciting career where achievement is recognised."

The Ford WISE prize was initiated to recognize and reward exceptional women in the penultimate year of studying for their engineering degree. It is backed by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

In addition to the prize money, all three finalists have been invited to tour Ford's Dunton Technical Centre in Essex, the UK's largest automotive research and development facility, staffed by an engineering team of more than 3,000. The facility specialises in commercial vehicle, engine and transmission development.  

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UV light cuts spread of TB

Ultraviolet lights could reduce the spread of tuberculosis in hospital wards and waiting rooms by 70 per cent, according to a new study involving researchers from the University of Leeds.

The study, published in PLoS Medicine today, explores the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) from infected patients, and suggests that installing simple ultraviolet C (UVC) lights in hospitals could help reduce the transmission of even drug-resistant strains.

Every year, more than nine million people are infected with tuberculosis and approximately two million people die from the disease, according to the World Health Organisation. Infection rates are particularly high in places where vulnerable people are crowded together, such as hospitals, homeless shelters and prisons.

When a tuberculosis patient coughs, bacteria are sprayed into the air in tiny droplets, floating around the room and infecting other patients, visitors and healthcare staff. These bacteria can be killed by hanging a shielded UVC light from the ceiling and ensuring an effective system to move and mix the air, say the researcher team, which includes the University of Leeds, Imperial College London, Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Lima, Peru, and other international institutions.

UVC light kills tuberculosis bacteria, including drug-resistant strains, by damaging their DNA so they cannot infect people, grow or divide. It is already used at high intensity to disinfect empty ambulances and operating theatres.

The impact of UV lights is greatest when combined with careful management of the air flow on the wards, as Dr Cath Noakes from Leeds’ Faculty of Engineering explains: “The lights must be set high enough to ensure patients and health workers are not overexposed, but if the lights only treat air at that level, there will be little benefit. To be most effective, ventilation systems need to create a constant flow of treated air down to patient level, and potentially infected air up towards the lights.”

A specialist in hospital ventilation and air flow management, Dr Noakes is already building on the results of the Peruvian trial in new research aimed at developing practical guidelines for the installation of UV infection control systems. By creating computational models of UV lights in realistic environments such as hospitals and clinics, Dr Noakes will determine in which environments the UV is most beneficial and design systems to interact effectively with the air flow in the building.

“The trial showed that UV can work,” says Dr Noakes. “For hospitals and other institutions to be able to use it with minimum cost but maximum impact, we now need to know the details – where the UV lights need to be placed to work most effectively and safely and what changes to ventilation systems may be required.”

Lead researcher Dr Rod Escombe, from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine at Imperial College London says: “Thankfully, the rate of tuberculosis infection in countries like the UK is relatively low and people who are infected can be treated using antibiotics, which are readily available here. People are more likely to die from the disease in developing countries like Peru, because there are limited resources for isolating patients, diagnosing them quickly and starting effective treatment. Also, the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is much higher in the developing world. Preventing infection is much easier and cheaper than treating a patient with tuberculosis.”

Plans are already underway to install upper room UV lights in the chest clinic at St Mary’s Hospital, London, which will be the first hospital to have them in the UK.

This research was funded by the Wellcome Trust, Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Sir Samuel Scott of Yews Trust, Proyecto Vigia (USAID) and the charity Innovation for Health and Development (IFHAD). Dr Noakes’ current research project to develop UV usage guidelines is funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

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Ageing gracefully with novel joints

A skeleton was put through its paces on an exercise bike to demonstrate the next generation of artificial joints at the Pioneers 09 event in London on 4 March, where businesses were shown some of the UK’s most cutting-edge research.

The cycling skeleton was the star of an interactive display by biomedical engineers from the universities of Leeds and Glasgow, who are developing longer-lasting joints that cause less wear and tear, taking people well beyond retirement age as life expectancy grows.

The aim is to improve people’s quality of life, while also reducing the economic burden on the NHS. Its movements were powered by a second bicycle, which visitors could hop on and ride.

“In the past artificial replacement joints have been largely developed on a ‘one size fits all’ basis,” explains research fellow Dr Sotirios Korossis, a member of Leeds’ Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (iMBE), which carries out pioneering research into medical devices, regenerative medicine and clinical therapies for human diseases.

“By creating personalised implants, precisely tailored to the needs of the individual, we want to give patients the best possible chance of a more active, healthy old age – so people can enjoy their longer lives as actively as possible,” says Dr Korossis.

Pioneers 09 was organised by the Engineering and Physical Sciences

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Cleansing toxic waste – with vinegar

Engineers and environmental scientists at the University of Leeds are developing methods of helping contaminated water to clean itself by adding simple organic chemicals such as vinegar.

The harmful chromium compounds found in the groundwater at sites receiving waste from former textiles factories, smelters, and tanneries have been linked to cancer, and excessive exposure can lead to problems with the kidneys, liver, lungs and skin.

The research team, led by Dr Doug Stewart from the School of Civil Engineering and Dr Ian Burke from the School of Earth and Environment, has discovered that adding dilute acetic acid (vinegar) to the affected site stimulates the growth of naturally-occurring bacteria by providing an attractive food source. In turn, these bacteria then cleanse the affected area by altering the chemical make-up of the chromium compounds to make them harmless.

“The original industrial processes changed these chemicals to become soluble, which means they can easily leach into the groundwater and make it unsafe, says Dr Burke. “Our treatment method reconverts the oxidised chromate to a non-soluble state, which means it can be left safely in the ground without risk to the environment. As it is no longer ‘bio-available’ it doesn’t present any risk to the surrounding ecosystem.”

Chromate chemicals have previously been successfully treated in situ in neutral Ph conditions, but this study is unique in that it concentrates on extremely alkaline conditions, which are potentially much more difficult to treat.

The current favoured method of dealing with such groundwater contaminants is to remove the soil to landfill, which can be costly, both financially and in terms of energy usage. The Leeds methods being developed will allow treatment to take place on site, which is safer, more energy efficient and much cheaper.

Dr Stewart says:  “Highly alkaline chromium-related contaminants were placed in inadequate landfill sites in the UK right up until production stopped in the 1970’s – and in some countries production of large quantities of these chemicals still continues today. The soluble and toxic by-products from this waste can spread into groundwater, and ultimately into local rivers, and therefore will remain a risk to the environment as long as they are untreated.”

Current environmental regulations mean that before the team can test out its research findings in the field, they need water-tight proof that their methods can work, as it is illegal to introduce any substance into groundwater - even where it is contaminated - unless it has been shown to be beneficial.

“From the results we have so far I am certain that we can develop a viable treatment for former industrial sites where chromate compounds are a problem,” says Dr Stewart. “Our next step is to further our understanding of the range of alkalinity over which our system can operate. As society becomes more environmentally-aware, new regulations demand that past mistakes are rectified and carbon footprints are reduced. By designing a clean-up method that promotes the growth of naturally occurring bacteria without introducing or engineering new bacteria, we are effectively hitting every environmental target possible.”

The research, part funded by The Royal Society, is published online in the Journal of Ecological Engineering

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Energy storage for the future

The challenge of how to store energy from renewable sources is being tackled by University of Leeds researchers as part of a collaborative UK project.

Renewable energy sources, such as wind, tidal and solar energy are intermittent, making it difficult to use them effectively. Engineers from the University of Leeds, are developing technology to store electricity generated from these sources.

Their research is part of a joint project, involving the universities of Leeds, Newcastle and Ulster, to develop an innovative biofuel-based ‘trigeneration’ system, which can be used to heat, power and cool either domestic or industrial-scale buildings.

The trigeneration system aims to use bio-fuels to power an electricity generator. Waste heat from the generator provides heating and hot water and a refrigeration process offers cooling.

Using the technology being developed by the Leeds researchers, the surplus electricity is stored, along with the waste heat from the generator. The stored energy can be released and used efficiently when required.

The technology works by using a combination of ‘phase change’ materials. When a material is cooled to a temperature below its phase change point, for example melting or boiling points, energy is stored. When the material is heated to above the phase change points, the energy is released. The energy release process being developed at Leeds involves the use of turbines or piston-based engines to generate electricity.

Professor Yulong Ding of the Institute of Particle Science and Engineering at the University of Leeds, who is leading the energy storage part of the project, explained:

“The biofuel-powered engine produces flue, or waste, gas at about 600oC. This is a good grade of thermal energy, and it makes good sense to find a way to store and use it efficiently.”

The research is part of a three-year, £1.1 million project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. By the end of the project, the researchers aim to produce a prototype system capable of running an ordinary domestic building.

Professor Ding added: “The key to the successful use of any renewable energy is its efficient conversion to a convenient form, such as electricity, and its storage for efficient use when needed.”

The team believes the technologies can also be used for storing electricity generated from nuclear power stations and fossil fuel power stations to enable them to better match their output to demand.

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Greener future for water companies

Treating sewage could need fewer chemicals in future, following research from the University of Leeds.

The findings are good news for the environment - and will be welcomed by water companies battling to meet tough European targets to cut phosphorus in waste water from sewage plants.

The EU's Fresh Water Fisheries Directive aims to reduce phosphorus in lakes and rivers where high concentrations can lead to excessive algae bloom taking a stranglehold.

Cheaper and more environmentally friendly biological methods for removing phosphorus from waste water are unreliable, so companies are currently forced to rely on expensive chemical methods to ensure they meet the stringent EU legislation. But Dr Nigel Horan, from the School of Civil Engineering, has found a solution to enable water companies to reduce the use of chemicals and maintain their green credentials.

“Biological methods of removing phosphorus generally only fail during extended periods of heavy rain, when the concentration of sewage is weaker,” said Dr Horan. “Climate change has meant that this type of weather is increasing as witnessed by this year’s wet spring. Water companies can’t risk getting it wrong as the impact on the rivers and fresh water courses would be serious.”

Dr Horan’s team developed a model by which water companies can monitor the flow of sewage through their treatment systems and predict when biological methods of phosphorus treatment are likely to fail – and use chemical treatment only when required.

The model is based on research undertaken at one of Yorkshire Water’s largest sewage works in Sheffield, which sees one hundred and sixty million litres of sewage go through every day. Dr Horan’s team set up a pilot biological treatment plant at the site and over a two-year period, the team monitored the flow of sewage through the plant, its phosphorus concentration and the point at which biological treatment failed to reduce phosphorus to the necessary level.

“In heavy rain, the flow increased and the concentration dropped and we’ve been able to pinpoint at what rate of flow the biological method of removing phosphorus breaks down,” said Dr Horan. “By using our model and monitoring the flow of sewage through a plant, companies can predict when biological methods become unreliable and will only need to carry out chemical treatment for the short period necessary until flows return to normal.”

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Nanofluid heat transfers to industry

Article written by Michael Pollitt, and published in the Guardian on Thursday 8th January 2009

Are you facing some hefty fuel bills this winter? Professor Richard Williams of the University of Leeds may have a possible answer to those rising costs. But the development of his innovative nanofluid technology (Tiny tubes could bring big savings on fuel bills, 13 April 2006) for improved heat transfer is taking longer than he originally hoped.

Add carbon nanotubes (an arrangement of carbon atoms more than 50,000 times thinner than a human hair) to liquid, and they'll disperse to form a "nanofluid". Williams's interest lies in the thermal conductivity properties of this mixture: the nanotubes could make a 10% difference to the efficiency of transferring heat from the boiler to your radiators.

The nanofluids transfer heat at a higher rate than ordinary fluids (for example, water) which allows for more efficient heating or cooling while reducing energy consumption. Over the past two years, Williams has carried out more scientific research into the phenomenon. "The most significant area that we have been exploring relates to how tiny clusters of particles cause heat to be transferred more effectively compared with fully dispersed nanodispersions. Many of these effects can be explained using conventional physics but a range of variables need to be accounted for."

Although domestic central heating remains of interest, Williams has since concentrated on industry as a quicker route to market. "We have been working with various partners to evaluate industrial applications including thermal transfer for transportation and computer cooling applications," he says.

Finding exactly the right nanofluids for car engines to computers is important as, even in flowing liquids, the particles can clump together, thanks to van der Waals forces - that is, attraction between molecules. In addition, carbon nanotubes cost thousands of pounds per kilogram, although you only need a tiny percentage by volume. "We have been developing fluid formulations that perform at low and high temperatures," says Williams.

This complex area is subject to patent applications, so he won't discuss specific details of the work. However, suitable nanofluids may be made from carbon nanotubes or metal oxides along with water, glycol (antifreeze), and mineral oil with other additives.

The practicalities of scaling up from the laboratory bench to 200-litre test batches have also slowed progress. But this hasn't deterred Williams and his colleague Professor Yulong Ding from establishing a spin-out company, Dispersia.

Backed by venture capital and a regional grant, they've managed to attract development collaborations in the automotive and power electronics fields. While all this looks promising, it'll be a while before your central heating system receives that energy-efficiency boost.

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Sweet answer to a fuel problem

Article written by Michael Pollitt, and published in the Guardian on Thursday 4th December 2008

Did you know that petrol and diesel now contain a minimum of 2.5% biofuels? Thanks to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, this requirement will rise to 5% by 2010. While motorists won't notice any difference when filling up, this important change is expected to prevent the emission of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next few years.

But might biofuels be helping to solve one major environmental issue simply to create another? For Valerie Dupont, of Leeds University, the increasing use of biofuels means a sticky problem. For every tonne of biodiesel made from vegetable oil, 100 kilograms of thick, viscous glycerol is produced as a byproduct. The annual 6.8bn litres biodiesel production in the European Union yields around 0.68m tonnes of crude glycerol. Although some of the sweet-tasting liquid can be purified for pharmaceutical or food applications, the rest ends up as waste.

Lake of sludge

Dupont, who has a PhD in fuel and energy, now hopes to turn this growing lake of low-grade sludge into high-value hydrogen gas. Produced from vegetable oils and methanol, biodiesel is a renewable alternative to ordinary diesel. But what green-minded motorists don't realise is that glycerol is creating a big problem.

"Glycerol is thick, viscous, full of oxygen and you cannot burn it easily," says Dupont. "Nobody knows what to do with all this glycerol from biodiesel. There is no real outlet."

Most waste glycerol is currently disposed of by incineration, a less than ideal arrangement. Burning the glycerol in a power station might seem an option but, says Dupont, poor energy conversion and inefficient combustion produces pollutants.

Glycerol - C3H5(OH)3 - is a molecule of three carbon atoms with eight hydrogen and three oxygen atoms. Unlock the hydrogen, and you'd have a rich source of fuel from renewable resources. At the moment, the world's hydrogen mostly comes from the steam reforming of natural gas - methane (CH4) - which produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

"Since glycerol has a high hydrogen content compared to methane, we reckon that converting crude glycerol to hydrogen is a valid alternative route," says Dupont.

Based on earlier research work, Dupont and her co-investigators are developing a viable process to release pure hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from glycerol.

The 18-month £270,000 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council project involves mixing glycerol with steam over a catalyst at a controlled temperature and pressure. A reusable CO2 adsorbent ensures the carbon monoxide (CO) produced reacts fully with the steam, making even more hydrogen and CO2.

"Our process is a clean, renewable alternative to conventional methods. It produces something with high value from a low grade by-product," says Dupont. "In addition, it's a near carbon-neutral process, since the CO2 generated is not derived from the use of fossil fuels." The project is using a prototype chemical reactor which will quickly answer many practical questions including the effects of impurities. Dupont is also taking a green engineering approach, aiming for a high-purity hydrogen product that would be ideal for fuel cells.

"If everything goes well, we can look at scaling up and maybe even scaling down," says Dupont. "If we had a reactor which could extract the hydrogen from glycerol it would be very interesting for distributed power generation."

While hydrogen and fuel cells go nicely together, the gas is already heavily used for fertilisers, chemical plants and food production. However, making hydrogen using natural gas or even water electrolysis is expensive and unsustainable. Finding a new source makes sense.

Monomer momentum

"Hydrogen has been identified as a key future fuel for low carbon energy systems such as power generation in fuel cells and as a transport fuel," says Dupont.

Professor Graham Hutchings of Cardiff University has other possibilities in mind. He's working on a government-funded research project involving Imperial College and Cambridge University to find different uses for waste glycerol.

"There is a glycerol problem, so people are looking for opportunities to do anything other than burn it. Turning it into hydrogen is a neat idea," says Hutchings.

His project is therefore seeking "high tonnage" answers by turning glycerol into valuable monomers for plastics production, biodegradable solvents and even fragrances. There are several research threads, currently confidential, being worked on.

"We're looking for things that have real application," says Hutchings. This could include biodegradable polymers for plastic bags or perhaps solvents for paints. If such uses are developed, the glycerol glut might well become a welcome bonus.

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New Years Honour for Leeds academic

Professor Richard A. Williams, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise, Knowledge Transfer and International Strategy, has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of services to science and engineering.

Williams is also Professor of Mineral and Process Engineering in the University’s Institute of Particle Science and Engineering. Working as Trustee, Vice President and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, he has been extensively involved in identifying and nurturing engineering achievements and innovation in the UK and abroad.

He has had a significant role in building innovation and entrepreneurial activity on the regional, national and international stage by fostering closer links between scientists and engineers and higher education and businesses.

Professor Williams’ academic research, looking at the properties of mixtures of fine particulates in fluids, has focused on solving problems in the scale-up of manufacturing process. He has more than 440 publications in this field, received both national and international awards for innovation and has founded several innovative companies from his work.

He said: “I am delighted and extremely honoured to receive this OBE. The award reflects the fact that innovation in engineering is at the very centre of society and drives improvement in our quality of life on a global scale.”

Professor Williams graduated from Imperial College London in 1982 with a degree in minerals engineering after attending the Kings School, Worcester. After spells with the Anglo American Corporation and De Beers Industrial Diamonds, he was appointed lecturer in the Chemical Engineering Department at UMIST, Manchester, in 1986, going on to become Senior Lecturer.

At the age of 33 he was appointed Professor of Minerals Engineering at the University of Exeter before being named Anglo American PLC Professor of Mineral and Process Engineering at the University of Leeds in 1999. At Leeds, he established the Institute of Particle Science and Engineering, a world-leading group of chemical engineers teaching and researching in particulate systems.

In 2000, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and elected to the Australian Academy of Science and Technology in 2008. Professor Williams has founded five companies, both public and private. He is a director of 12 companies, trusts and not-for-profit bodies. Regionally, he is a director of Medilink Ltd, Leeds Innovation Centre Ltd, the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and White Rose Technology Seedcorn Ltd.

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Faculty of Engineering celebrates RAE 2008 success

The Faculty is celebrating an excellent outcome from the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE); an overall grade-point average (GPA) of 2.94 and 75% of activity rated as internationally excellent or World leading. These results place the Faculty 7th* in the UK after Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, Manchester, Nottingham and Edinburgh, confirming the Faculty as a leader in the field. 

All of the five Schools have done well individually and one, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, has come top in the UK for their subject.

"These results clearly demonstrate Leeds' position as one of the leading Engineering Faculties in the UK (and beyond). The fact that 75% of our activity is rated as Internationally Excellent or World Leading and that we have significantly increased the volume of research submitted, compared to previous exercises, illustrates real strength in depth across the whole of the Engineering discipline" commented Professor Peter Jimack, Pro Dean for Research.

As a research intensive University the RAE is vitally important to us, high rankings enable us to attract funding and investment, attract the best staff and students.

Go to http://rae.leeds.ac.uk/ for the full results for the University and this also links through to the Times Higher tables and rankings.

The RAE is conducted jointly by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland (DEL) and is a mechanism for evaluating quality of research in UK Higher Education.

*The Faculty of Engineering ranking of 7th in the UK is based on taking the weighted average of GPAs for the engineering related units of assessment (units 23 to 29 inclusive) for all universities with engineering submissions.

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