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World-leading primate research by the `Origins of Mind' group led to the creation of the University's £1.6M `Living Links to Human Evolution' Research Centre, intentionally located in Edinburgh Zoo where it has pioneered unique public engagement and science education using a range of materials and activities. The research has thus impacted on: i) society and culture: since 2008, around 250,000 visitors per year have engaged with live, on-going science and multiple associated legacy resources and activities; ii) educational practitioners and school children, through classes in the Centre and internet teacher packs that integrate with Scottish Highers; and iii) commercial income to the Zoo.
Research conducted within the School of Physical Sciences (SPS) at the University of Kent has led to the development and successful commercialisation of facial identification software named EFIT-V. First sold in 2007, this software is now used by more than 70 police forces internationally and has revolutionized the way eyewitnesses and victims of crime create computerised facial likenesses of offenders. These images are circulated to police intelligence units, and the general public, leading to the identification and arrests of offenders. Police Identification rates have jumped from 5% to 55% as a result of this software. With a current annual turnover exceeding £250K, which is projected to reach £600K by 2015, Kent spinout company Visionmetric has made significant impact with EFIT-V, and achieved a position of commercial dominance in the UK, and around the world.
Wheeler's internationally influential research on 4E (embodied-embedded-extended-enactive) cognition has played a formative role in the genesis and development of SmartData, an innovative public-policy-realizing project spearheaded by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC). IPC is an agent of the Ontario legislature that acts to uphold and promote the protection of personal privacy. The goal of SmartData is to enhance personal data privacy on the Web, by developing Internet-based agents that act as online surrogates for individuals, securely storing and intelligently disclosing personal information as required. The identified research has influenced the content and implementation of SmartData, by contributing to (i) the IPC's understanding of the link between privacy and context-sensitivity, (ii) the principles shaping the design of the online agents, and (iii) the specification of the first `proof-of-concept' SmartData product, an under-development mobile phone book ordering application.
In 2009 Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida commercialised novel apparatus and control software for computer-automated behavioural testing of rats and mice, reducing the time and user-hours required to generate data; and yielding improved performance levels and opportunities for translation whilst also reducing variability. The apparatus is sold with a battery of purpose-designed cognitive tests that parallel those used to assess cognition in patients (e.g., CANTAB). This has had impact as follows: (1) sales: over 400 units; (2) preclinical research: because of its potential for translation of the tasks, the apparatus is influencing how pharmaceutical companies conduct CNS research; (3) spinoff industry: contract research organisations now include touchscreen-based cognitive assays in their services.
Losing one's way in complex built environments wastes time and money, and often causes stress and anxiety. The BU Wayfinding Research Centre (WRC) has developed a research-driven, evidence-based approach to this common problem. Researchers have translated wayfinding knowledge from laboratory research on navigation and icon interpretation to a diverse range of private and public sector organisations (Frankfurt International airport, World Heritage Site, multi-national offices, hospitals). The method has replaced existing, unreliable navigational supports, typically based on intuition and guesswork, with effective, scalable, research-based solutions. These have improved wayfinding in complex, unfamiliar buildings, enhancing organisational productivity and reducing users' inconvenience, distress and risk. The successful delivery of the WRC's approach proves this method works and has significant potential for future application and development.
The domestication of animals — some ten thousand years — ago has allowed important insights into the origins and spread of farming across the globe and the impact that had on human biology and culture. Research carried out by an international research group, led by Aberdeen and Durham Universities, has brought understanding of this fundamental change in human history to a broader public, resulting in impacts on culture and quality of life. The research findings have featured widely in TV and radio programmes, both in Britain and abroad. The main researcher was also invited to participate in a six-month (privately-funded) experimental sailing expedition that traced the migration route of ancient Austronesian settlers into the pacific, which led to the collection of unique samples for research. The voyage resulted in a film and a book.
Archaeologists routinely investigate human remains which play a vital role in understanding past societies. In recent years, however, increasing restrictions have impeded excavation and research and this has affected public engagement as applied to skeletal material. The `bones without barriers' case study is underpinned by research into the ethics of burial archaeology which supports the need for openness and debate. This research prompted the mobilisation of the archaeological community to challenge the conditions being implemented by the Ministry of Justice. The result has been a significant change in governmental attitude which has far-reaching implications for the whole heritage sector.
Biopta is a profitable, award-winning company spin-out from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU). Established in 2002, to deliver commercial products and services developed by university employees, it employs 19 staff across its Glasgow and Beltsville (Maryland USA) offices. It specialises in the provision of instruments and services monitoring drug effects in ethically donated, healthy and diseased human tissue, and counts eight of the top 10 major pharmaceutical companies as clients. To date, Biopta has provided early stage testing on more than 400 new drugs, designed to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma and irritable bowel syndrome, determining their efficacy and potential side effects.
Novel research into the cardiovascular and other health benefits of consuming flavanol-containing foods at the University of Reading prompted a multi-national food and confectionary producer, Mars Incorporated, to invest over £1.1 million in research into the absorption, metabolism and health effects of cocoa-derived flavanols in humans. This research informed the development of a cocoa-extract supplement drink and supplement extract, both widely available in the US since 2010. This in turn sparked interest from other multinational corporations looking to market flavanol- and other flavonoid-containing health products, resulting in an additional £917K investment by industry. Mars' cocoa-extract supplements currently hold a 1% share of all food and drinks marketed on a cardiovascular health platform in the US; a market worth US$3.1 billion in 2012. Research by Reading and others has provided evidence that consumption of these products can improve memory and cognition, cardiovascular health and digestive health for consumers. These and other research findings have been widely disseminated to the general public by the Reading researchers.
Professor Andy Miah's research on the ethics of human enhancement has transformed the working lives of three principal professional communities: curators of UK flagship festivals and exhibitions (Abandon Normal Devices festival, the Wellcome Trust, Edinburgh International Science Festival); journalists (coverage on doping); and politicians and civil servants working on technology policy (European Parliament, World Anti-Doping Agency). His pioneering research has led to the creation of new artistic work, shaped policy directions, contributed to public engagement with bioethics, and advanced debate on the ethics of digital and biological technology.