Summary of the impact

Challenging simplistic depictions of Ireland's revolutionary past, Fearghal McGarry's research has facilitated greater public understanding of the causes and consequences of political violence in Ireland. Through impacts arising from an innovative collaboration with a documentary film-maker, as well as through the influence of his research on public discourse, cultural life, civil society and education, McGarry's work has enhanced public understanding by extending the range and quality of historical evidence, contributing to a more meaningful public engagement with both history and commemorative processes within the context of post-conflict Northern Ireland and the current `decade of centenaries'.

Summary of the impact

Research on Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) structures has led to major advances in the design and manufacture of the world's most advanced payload instrumentation for use in Earth observation satellites. This technology has provided the core element of the radiometer instrumentation needed for more accurate global weather forecasts and better understanding of climate change. The advances described have made it possible to combine all of the different functions of the MetOP-SG radiometer into one instrument, thereby halving the footprint of the satellite payload resulting in a [text removed for publication] cost saving.

Summary of the impact

Research in robust speech enhancement and audio-visual processing has led to impact on a range of different fronts:

(i) Collaboration with CSR, a leading $1 billion consumer electronics company, has shaped its R&D research agenda in speech enhancement, has inspired ideas for new product improvements, and has helped establish Belfast as an audio research centre of excellence within the company.

(ii) Our technology has changed the strategic R&D direction of a company delivering healthcare monitoring systems, with potential for multi-million pound savings in NHS budgets.

(iii) Audio-visual speech processing research has led to a proof-of-concept biometric system, Liopa: a novel, robust and convenient person authentication and verification technology exploiting lip and facial movements (www.liopa.co.uk). A start-up company is in an advanced stage of being established to commercialise this product. The product and commercialisation strategy was awarded First Prize in the 2013 NISP Connect £25K entrepreneurship competition in the Digital Media and Software category. The first commercial partner for Liopa has been engaged.

(iv) A system-on-chip implementation of a version of our speech recognition engine, which was developed through an EPSRC project, was awarded first prize in the High Technology Award in the 2010 NISP £25K Awards competition, and contributed to the founding of a spin-out company, Analytics Engines (www.analyticsengines.com).

Summary of the impact

The work of poetry critic, Professor Fran Brearton, has impacted upon the media (particularly BBC) representation of, and understanding of, modern poetry, in Ireland and Britain. Through shaping radio broadcasts, the research also impacts on educational resources at all levels (School and HEIs) as well as providing a general cultural benefit, to poetry readers specifically, and to a general audience, thereby bringing current trends in research out to a wider public. The research has also led to broadsheet newspaper writing on contemporary poetry which is then utilised by publishers and literary event organisers (as a PR/marketing resource and external authoritative critical validation of their product) to promote and enhance the work of living writers. It has enabled and facilitated literary events that have themselves had impact beyond the academic sphere, through collaborative initiatives with external organisations as well as with individual artists.

Summary of the impact

By ensuring the durability of notable concrete structures in China, such as the Bird's Nest National Stadium Beijing, Dayawan Nuclear Power Station, Harbin-Dalian Railway Bridges, Qingdao Bay Bridge and Beijing-Tianjin Railway Bridges using Autoclam Permeability System and Permit Ion Migration test, developed by Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and sold by a QUB spin-out Amphora Non-destructive Testing Ltd., the savings in future repair costs are estimated to be hundreds of millions of Chinese Yuan (RMB) (the repair expenditure for the three-year period 2009-'11 was RMB 10.2 billion).

Research on permeability and diffusivity testing of concrete on site since 1993 has led to the incorporation of both the Autoclam and the Permit in a corporation standard issued by the Central Research Institute of Building and Construction (CRIBC), China and the test protocol of Permit in a Chinese railway standard.

The training of construction professionals (including more than 200 senior managers from the Chinese construction industry) since 2008 has impacted on improved sales of Autoclam Permeability System and Permit Ion Migration Test, securing around £500k commercial income, and generating new employment in the UK. Since 2008 these test instruments have been sold to 12 countries.

Summary of the impact

Every year 15 million babies are born premature and prematurity is the world's single biggest cause of newborn death. Babies born preterm cannot shiver and are dependent on interventions to prevent low body temperature (hypothermia). Implementing evidence-based interventions such as provision of thermal care at high coverage (99%) could increase survival of premature babies by 35-55% worldwide. In light of this, a Cochrane systematic review of evidence on low cost/low tech interventions to prevent low body temperature at birth in preterm and low birthweight babies was conducted. This produced strong evidence to support their routine use in practice, with particular support for use in low and middle-income countries. The findings and recommendations of the review are included in global action agendas of bodies such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF and they have been used as the foundation of numerous clinical practice guidelines worldwide.

Summary of the impact

A new design methodology which enhances the quality and accuracy of information derived from non-market valuation surveys is now the instrument of choice for many consultancy projects worldwide. The approach — known as Sequential Efficient Bayesian (SEB) design — enhances the decision-making process and the efficiency of service providers and is now available in major commercial software such as JMP from SAS (the integrated statistical software package created by SAS Corp and used by many businesses and academic institutions around the world). The methodology is routinely used in the design of surveys to analyse consumer and public choices in relation to willingness to pay for health, transport and environmental services. The research team's external affiliation since 2012 with the business consultancy CENSOC Sydney helps to provide tailored SEB designs to commercial clients, including several international, blue-chip corporations listed on the CENSOC site:http://www.censoc.uts.edu.au/about/members/external.html

Summary of the impact

Queen's University Belfast has developed a number of biocatalytic processes for the production of pharmaceutical intermediates which have been applied commercially. The most significant involved Vernakalant, a new drug for treatment of the most common form of irregular heartbeat, now available in the EU, and currently awaiting approval in the USA and Canada. In addition, QUB has sold £300,000 worth of bioproducts and through the collaborations with Almac Sciences facilitated the initiation of their biocatalysis business which currently is a multi-million revenue earner for Almac Sciences and employs 30 staff, including 15 PhD graduates from the Queen's group.

Summary of the impact

Dickens scholarship, and has impacted upon culture and leisure services; schools, colleges and lifelong learning; charities; community organisations; and the media. The delivery mechanism was a year-long festival, known as Dickens 2012 NI (Registered charity no. XT33252), which attracted thirty thousand of people of all ages. It organised events covering literature, theatre, music, the visual arts, museums, and education. The project achieved the following impacts:

• an increased level of understanding among all participants of Dickens's multiple literary and personal connections with Ireland
• the provision of professional expertise on Dickens and Ireland, drawn upon frequently by the arts sector and the media, which allowed them to provide informed, authoritative pronouncements on this subject, particularly during the Dickens bicentenary year
• the conception and delivery of public exhibitions with demonstrable benefit for culture and leisure services, through enhanced access to events which had a positive effect on well-being
• the provision of work-placement opportunities in arts management for Queen's postgraduate students, thus enhancing their employment prospects
• a set of formal links with the young people's charity Barnardo's, particularly for delivering outreach work on literacy, which excited young people in disadvantaged areas about reading, and enhanced their engagement with the arts in a suitable accessible form

Summary of the impact

A portfolio of research on the structure, conduct and performance of credit unions has led to the following impacts:

• in the $, the introduction of new legislation and the establishment of a restructuring board to ensure the sector's long term sustainability; and the development of a stabilisation policy to include a deposit insurance mechanism to protect savings, a mechanism to support credit unions in temporary difficulty and a failure resolution mechanism; and
• assessment of the effect of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on merger and acquisition activity in US credit unions.