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Professor David Zhang's research into agility strategies and the analysis and optimisation of complex supply chain networks in the manufacturing sector has led to significant economic impact. Reductions have been made in inventory and cost of goods sold, amounting to an estimated £80M per annum for CIFUNSA, one of the world's largest engine block and head manufacturers. The entire senior management team has been trained in agility strategies and techniques at China's largest non-ferrous metals research and industry complex GRINM, leading to major corporate-level restructuring and growth. The senior management of solder-specialist COMPO has also been trained based on Zhang's research to help the company quadruple turnover in four years and become global market leader. Finally, these same strategy and analysis techniques have generated cost savings and performance improvements worth an estimated £375k for UK engineering solutions company J+S Ltd (http://www.jands.co.uk).
Research at the University of Exeter on the links between the Amazon rainforest and climate change has influenced international climate policy, has directly assisted Brazilian environmental policymakers, and has received international media coverage. The underpinning research spans the vulnerability of the rainforest to anthropogenic climate change and the mechanisms behind the Amazonian droughts of 2005 and 2010. Impact has been achieved by stimulating public debate through the media, by contribution to science-into-policy documents produced by the World Bank and for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and by direct face-to-face interaction with UK and Brazilian policymakers.
Exeter Drama's research in Applied Theatre has had impact in the improvement of community understandings of mental health, providing professional development for medics and teachers, and providing and informing training in applied and community theatre. This case study outlines the impact of last twenty years of research and performance practice in applied theatre, developed by Honorary Research Fellow (2005-) and former senior lecturer (1990-2005) John Somers, and continued in the work of Fiona MacBeth, Kerrie Schaefer, Sarah Goldingay, Anna Harpin, and Jane Milling. Somers developed new approaches to community theatre and has given presentations on this work internationally. Impact has also been achieved through Somers' founding of the applied theatre company Exstream (Exeter, 2001) and under his direction Exstream achieved a reputation for excellence through the development of interactive theatre, raising awareness of issues related to wellbeing, mental health, and creativity within the community.
Research carried out at the University of Exeter into the ancient religious traditions reflected in biblical texts has been at the centre of two major TV documentary series. Advised and, for one series, written and presented by the main researcher, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, the documentaries contributed to the content and delivery of public broadcasting and greatly extended public understanding of the evidence concerning foundational aspects of the Jewish and Christian faiths. These documentaries, each episode of which was seen by over 1.5 million viewers, became the subject of intense public debate, generating much discussion and response in both national and international media. Stavrakopoulou, dubbed "the BBC's new face of religion" by the Telegraph, also communicated the research in numerous other broadcasts and public events.
Research by Professors Tamara Galloway, David Melzer, and Michael Depledge at Exeter identified, for the first time, associations between exposure to the widespread environmental contaminant bisphenol A (BPA) and changing incidences of disease. The research showed that higher exposures to BPA are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and hormonal changes. The research has influenced policy development worldwide, raised public awareness of environmental chemical health risks, stimulated public debate and critical media analysis, and is stimulating enhanced public, policy-maker and business interest in anthropogenic chemicals in the environment and their implications for human health.
Professor Tamara Galloway's research has identified for the first time associations between exposure to one of the world's most widely used chemicals, bisphenol A (BPA), and an elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death globally. Specifically the 25% of individuals with highest urinary BPA levels, compared to the 25% with the lowest levels, have a 1.5-2 fold increased risk of developing CVD. This finding has influenced international policy debate and resulted in restrictions on the use of BPA in food contact materials, and is stimulating industry investment into safer chemical alternatives. Furthermore it has raised public awareness of the associated health risks.
The difficulty of certifying the safety (often termed Verification and Validation — V&V) of increasingly complex and more autonomous Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems is now widely accepted to be a serious threat to the success of future space missions. In response to this threat, the European Space Agency has funded Dr Prathyush P Menon and his team to develop a suite of mathematical tools for the V&V of advanced GNC systems. These tools have now been widely adopted throughout the European Space industry, and have been successfully applied by major companies such as Astrium, Thales-Alenia and GMV to systems ranging from flexible and autonomous satellites, to launch vehicles and hypersonic re-entry vehicles.
Research at the University of Exeter Business School (UoEBS) has embedded low carbon practice into the procurement policies and supply chains of several Cornish private and public sector organisations — including police and health authorities, education and council institutions. Through the Clear About Carbon (CAC) project, innovative methods to nurture leadership qualities which advance sustainable practice locally have led to those models being replicated both nationally and Europe-wide as part of the global drive to meet emissions targets. The research has contributed to sustainability initiatives led by the Department of Health and Defra, and boosted economic competitiveness of participating organisations.
Exeter's Centre for Energy and the Environment has created novel probabilistic weather files for 50 locations across the UK, consisting of hourly weather conditions over a year, which have been used by the construction industry to test resilience of building designs to climate change. They have already had significant economic impact through their use in more than £3bn worth of infrastructure projects, for example, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Leeds Arena, and the Zero Carbon Passivhaus School. The weather files are widely available to professionals and endorsed by internationally leading building simulation software providers such as Integrated Environmental Solutions.
Research at the University of Exeter identifying potential climate tipping points and developing early warning methods for them has changed the framework for climate change discussion. Concepts introduced by Professor Tim Lenton and colleagues have infiltrated into climate change discussions among policy-makers, economists, business leaders, the media, and international social welfare organisations. Thorough analyses of abrupt, high impact, and uncertain probability events, including estimates of their proximity, has informed government debate and influenced policy around the world. It has also prompted the insurance and reinsurance industry to reconsider their risk portfolios and take into account tipping point events.