Category / Awarded & submitted bids

BU and Precision Acoustics work together on high-impact NDT software programme

Awarded & submitted bids, Business Engagement, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

Aircraft engines

It is estimated that some 30% of airline engines worldwide are analysed using PA’s current-generation technologies to detect fan blade defects

A team from the Faculty of Science and Technology, led Professor Siamak Noroozi and Dr Richard Gunstone, have successfully obtained a Grant Offer Letter (GOL) for a high-impact KTP working with Precision Acoustics Limited (Dorset).

In this blog post we discuss some of the background to this KTP, and objectives.

Precision Acoustics (PA) manufactures acoustic measurement products for the medical and Non Destructive Testing (NDT) industries and is well established as a major supplier of equipment for the (MHz) ultrasound markets world-wide. PA has a close working relationship with the National Physical Laboratory, London, and academic establishments across the UK to further R&D.

The company’s core products are acoustics measuring devices. The company already has a significant share of the world market in this area, and is now embarking on innovative industrial NDT systems working on a number of precursor projects including with Rolls Royce. The longer term objective can only be achieved if PA introduces a software capability able to devise, maintain and develop a development process that has the expected attributes of resilience, performance and integrity, supporting product deployment. This is the principal focus for the KTP, capitalising on the capability in systems design, software, and assurance within BU.

The diagnostic systems work at PA are being developed and used in numerous applications, including malaria detection. It is estimated that some 30% of commercial airliners globally use the technologies developed by PAL for analysing defects in engine fan blades, for example. Due to the inherent nature of NDT systems and the potential application areas, these application areas are likely to have societal relevance and high-impact.

A great deal of effort has been spent in designing the project to be flexible and comprehensive. This has been made possible by the capable contribution of Norman Stock, the Faculty Business Relations Officer. He has worked closely with the academic staff and also the company to present a suitable proposal to Innovate UK, who are part-funding the collaboration.

In terms of project design, the KTP incorporates the new “KTP laydown” of an integrated MRes opportunity for the Associate, combined with expectations of research activity leading to co-authored papers. This provides a route for knowledge transfer of expertise from the university to the company, in a way that delivers advantages for all stakeholders.

We look forward to providing further reports on our collaboration with PA as time progresses.

In terms of advice for others considering KTP funding, Richard highlights a few relevant points:

“Engage early with the Business Relations Officer for your Faculty. Make sure deadlines are adhered to, including submission windows with Innovate UK. Finally, clarify the project plan as early as possible, including what is achievable in the project timescale – scoping is key”

Grant Success for BUCRU

Awarded & submitted bids

bucru identity

Sarah Thomas from the BU Clinical Research Unit is part of a multi-disciplinary research team on a grant recently funded by the UK Multiple Sclerosis Society that starts this month. The grant is entitled “Which treatments are effective for fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS): A systematic review with process and meta-analyses” and was submitted in response to a national commissioned call. The project is led by Prof Rona Moss-Morris at King’s College London (KCL) and involves other collaborators at KCL as well as Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. The main aims of the project are to provide an overview of current evidence and make recommendations for the design of a future clinical trial for fatigue in people with MS. This is an exciting opportunity to collaborate with other leaders in the field and further develop expertise in the area of MS-fatigue.

https://www.mssociety.org.uk/ms-research/research-blog/2015/09/let%E2%80%99s-put-fatigue-rest

An Early-Career Academic’s Experiences: How Grants Academy supported me to supervise an Undergraduate Research Assistant?

Awarded & submitted bids, Grants Academy

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to enrol on the Grants Academy, working to develop a draft proposal for what would be my first research study at BU. Having been taught the art of ‘craftsmanship’, ‘free writing’, and then developing the proposal(s) over time, allowed me to reflect upon and begin realising my research idea. This led to a cross-faculty research partnership and a Grants Academy Small Grant award, to fund a preliminary study to determine whether leg position influences the effects of an electrostimulation device used to prevent deep-vein thrombosis. The pilot study aimed to monitor leg muscle activity and balance ability in healthy, older adults, to provide a foundation for the future study focusing on post-operative, older adults. Not only did the Grants Academy develop my proposal writing skills and an understanding of research funding acquisition, but also supported me to establish my research profile at BU. Shortly after the internal-award, I applied for the Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) scheme, which would allow me to supervise a student for six weeks during the research study. The project was successful in supporting a URA, who sadly finished earlier this month.

Once a URA myself (albeit at Manchester Metropolitan University), I felt was it important to involve the assistant throughout the research process, including: protocol design, recruitment, laboratory testing, as well as data collection, archiving and early analysis. The URA proved to be mature, diligent and self-motivated, and also a great laboratory partner. After an induction week, she quickly familiarised herself with the lab equipment and was soon able to contribute to refining the study protocol. Partly due to her enthusiasm, partly due to Grants Academy funding, the URA worked hard: achieving NHS Good Clinical Practice training, co-presenting findings at Festival of Learning (Research Reflections event) and co-authoring the study protocol for Clinical Trial Register recognition. She also worked closely with academics from the Faculty of Management, and Faculty of Health and Social Care. Based on the URA’s performance and commitment, my co-investigator and I have invited her to continue working on the project to disseminate the study findings (with conference abstracts and two articles in preparation).

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Early data suggests healthy, older adults benefit more from electrostimulation with the leg bent (seated position), than having the leg straight (typical hospital-administered, lying position). These findings will provide the basis for the future study examining the impact of leg position in clinical patients recovering from surgery. So thanks to Grants Academy, BU and my URA, I’ve been able to establish a sustainable, cross-faculty research plan that will promote co-creation and co-production with students, end-users and research partners into the future. Regardless of where you are in your career, Grants Academy and the URA Scheme offer boundless opportunities for professional and personal development – much recommended!

 

Dr James Gavin

Lecturer (Exercise Physiology)

Department of Sport and Physical Activity

Faculty of Management

Building Roman Britain

Awarded & submitted bids

Photo_Fabric 2The Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences is about to start a new project that uses a non-destructive method to examine museum specimens in order to determine their possible source.

The project will examine the stone and ceramic (brick and tile) industries of Roman Britain using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to help us identify where the quarries and tile kilns were located. This work forms the centrepiece of a knowledge exchange network with two leading museums in southern Britain (Roman Bath Museum and Fishbourne Palace Museum) who will use our results in innovative interpretations, including new displays and museum learning centres. This will ensure maximum added value to blue-sky research that will quickly feed back into public engagement with science and technology. It is funded by a recently awarded HEIF5+1 grant.

The research supports knowledge exchange activity with SMEs by building on links established by BU over many years with archaeological museums in southern Britain. Museums are a vital component of our local economy. For instance, Roman Bath Museum attracts over 1 million visitors per annum, making it one of the most popular museums outside London. Its importance not only to Bath but to the wider regional economy is well recognised. But museums must constantly renew themselves and offer an exciting educational package to visitors of all ages, hence the Museum Association has made collaborations between universities and museums one of its key priorities, and as such this project should be seen as a model of best practice.

While XRF has been used for some time in archaeology, the recent development of portable XRF has added a whole new dimension. We no longer have to bring samples to the lab, but the lab can come to the museum, examining stone and ceramic samples that are on display. The Dept of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences is at the leading edge of this development and has already made a reputation using pXRF on archaeological soils, metals and for forensic analyses. However, work by science-based archaeology departments into Roman building material (i.e. limestones in this case) and ceramic building material has been limited. This is therefore an opportunity to work up a methodology and to apply it to the early Roman settlement of Britain. Questions about how and where production (both quarrying and kiln-works) was organised can be addressed once answers to questions about the location of these production centres have been examined. This has impact beyond Roman Bath and Roman Fishbourne, as it has implications for the concept of ‘Romanisation’ of Britannia in the early years of the Roman Conquest of Britain.

For further details, please contact Professor Mark Brisbane.

Fusion Investment Fund 2014/15: Upskilling the Engineering Workforce – an update

Awarded & submitted bids, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund

In December 2014 we received funding from the Fusion Investment Fund for a project which we hoped would allow us to strengthen strategic partnerships with local/national engineering companies (see previous posting). We are happy to report that the project has been a success.

Over the past few months we have been working with the Missions Systems division of Cobham PLC, based in Wimborne, and four of their employees, who are also students on our innovative Flexible Learning MEng (Hons) Engineering degree, to develop a Professional Registration Mentoring Scheme. Cobham was an ideal company to work with as it is the third largest aerospace and defence employer in the UK with over 12000 employees globally and 500 employees at the Wimborne site alone.

The main outcome of the project has been the development of the structure of the scheme, scheme material and promotional material.

Mentoring Scheme Flyer

In addition, a Festival of Learning lecture was developed entitled: ‘what professional engineers do and how to become one’. The lecture was attended by a mix of children and their parents who wished to find out more about embarking on engineering as a career and engineering employees from a range of industries who wished to find out more about how to develop themselves professionally. Promotional flyers for the professional registration mentoring scheme were provided to the engineering employees to take back to their companies. It is hoped interest from employers in the scheme will be generated from the event.

The scheme has also been integrated into the flexible learning engineering degree curriculum through the Level 6 unit Advanced Engineering and Level 7 unit MEng Project. Students studying on the degree will be mentored for up to a year after graduation to provide professional development opportunities by achieving professional registration. Thus, preparing the individual with key skills for the workplace and creating sought after individuals who will be recognised as the future leaders in their field.

Finally, a strong link has been developed with Cobham which is expected to carry on after this project. The links and reputation of BU developed through this project will be used to build the relationship with Cobham to ensure the apprentices progress to BU to complete their academic studies on the FdEng Engineering and MEng Engineering degrees.

A future goal, once established regionally, is to secure recognition for the scheme from an appropriate professional body. This will then provide the credibility to expand the scheme nationally

Please do feel free to get in touch with us if you would like further information.

Dr Phil Sewell –  (Principal Investigator) – Acting Head of Design and Engineering Department/Associate Professor – psewell@bournemouth.ac.uk

Dr Tania Humphries-Smith – Associate Professor – thumphri@bournemouth.ac.uk

GeoNet cultural heritage landscapes and deathscapes

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Knowledge Exchange, REF Subjects, Research themes

In our last GeoNet seminar Craig Young and Tim Darville discussed cultural heritage landscapes and deathscapes, followed by Anne Luce who examined the presentation of suicide in the media.

Craig Young introduced the seminar discussing the evolving patterns of death and the changing social attitudes towards death. The physical absence of the dead body is becoming significantly apparent when illustrating the changes in the memorialisation of the dead. For example, new ways of scattering ashes such as sending in to space, converting it in to diamonds as a permanent keepsake and using social media to contact others to help spread ashes to different continents. An increase in the memorialisation at the site of death in the form of roadside shrines indicates a shift away from official ceremonies to more informal and open displays of grief.

Tim Darville, who has recently published on life, death, ritual and regional identity in Britain c. 1600 BC, discussed the relationship and practices between the living and dead. He used Stonehenge as an example. I found it interesting to discover that Stonehenge originated as a burial ground, and as a monument to the dead. Darville went on to explain links between the spatial orientations of the stone structures with the celestial calendar.  The landscape changes from contained to dispersed, each holding its own celestial meaning as a burial site.

Anne Luce carried on the discussion talking about suicide in the media. Changes in attitude towards suicides have resulted in more high profile suicides reported in the media. For example, the Bridgend suicides in Wales 2008 were presented by the media as a suicide cult, therefore being picked up by the international press. The growth in social media sites, such as Facebook, has led to personal and public displays of remembrance in the form of memorial pages, which in some instances has led to an increased awareness of online bullying as a main cause of suicide.

Charlotte Unwin, GeoNet Intern

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Project – ENEFOR

Awarded & submitted bids

We would like to welcome you to our Marie Sklodowska – Curie project “ENEFOR”. We proudly present you our website (http://enefor.eu) and we look forward for a live discussion on the project’s output!

This project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (No 658494). The project started on April 2015 and it will be completed on April 2017.
This exciting and innovative project aims to develop new econometric model frameworks to forecast oil price and oil price volatility, which will be successful in enhancing internal consistency, forecasting accuracy and easiness to communicate extracting added-value (in terms of predictability) information from the ultra high sampling frequency. In addition, this project aims to use the forecasted oil price volatility to predict the economic policy uncertainty in Europe, given that oil price shocks exert significant impact on the effectiveness of economic policy.

Prof. Paul Lewis awarded OBE

Awarded & submitted bids

Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Paul Lewis who is listed on this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Professor Lewis has been awarded his OBE for Services to Mothers, Midwives and Maternity Services. Bournemouth University celebrated the retirement of Professor Lewis in October 2011.1 He had been leading midwifery education at Bournemouth University since 1995. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) recognised his contribution to the midwifery profession by including his name on the Register of Honorary Fellows of the RCM.

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Amongst his many contributions to the field, Prof. Lewis was a founding member of the journal The Practising Midwife. Just a few months ago Prof. Lewis co-authored a paper under the title ‘The loss of midwifery supervision: to mourn or rejoice?’ This paper was published in the March 2015 edition of The Practising Midwife. This paper ‘reflected on and discusses some of the possible consequences of the NMC’s decision to end statutory supervision of midwives in the UK.2

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

References:

  1. van Teijlingen, E., Tully, S. and Tobias, J.H., 2011. The retirement of the UK’s first male professor of midwifery – Paul Lewis. MIDIRS Essence (Dec. issue).
  2. Lewis P, Freemantle D and Ireland J., 2015/ The loss of midwifery supervision: to mourn or rejoice? The Practising Midwife 18(4): 12-16.