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High Performance Computing (HPC) is a key element in our research. The Particle Physics Group has accumulated expertise in the development and optimisation of coding paradigms for specific supercomputer hardware. Our codes are deployed on supercomputers around the world, producing high-profile research results. We have developed a simulation environment, BSMBench, that is, on the one hand, flexible enough to run on major supercomputer platforms and, on the other hand, pushes supercomputers to their limits. These codes are used by IBM and Fujitsu Siemens for benchmarking their large installations and mainframes. The third party company BSMBench Ltd has commercialised the usage of our codes for analysing and optimising HPC systems of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mumford and Tallant engaged in consultancy work for IT companies, with both interactions leading to substantial positive benefits for commercial partners. Though `early stage impacts', each consultancy has generated both commercial value and a change in software design of a key product.
Through Mumford's consultancy, research led to significant changes to the development of a database tool developed by a national IT company, FACE Recording and Measurement Systems. This, in turn, has led to a patent application. FACE recently received an offer of $5m (US) for a product based upon the tool.
Through Tallant's consultancy, research led to important changes to the development of an online calendar/event planner tool, developed by a Canadian software company—Time.ly. It also led to Time.ly being able to engage a wider audience. The financial value of such a company depends upon the number of users they can engage. Time.ly were recently valued at $8.4m (CAN).
Between them, Mumford and Tallant have made significant contributions to companies or products valued at over £8m.
Research conducted within the Department of Space and Climate Physics at UCL has had a significant impact upon e2v Ltd., a manufacturer of charge-coupled devices (CCDs). Through working collaboratively with e2v, UCL has helped the company to secure major contracts and business [text removed for publication]. This includes two contracts for the supply of CCDs for the European Space Agency (ESA) missions Gaia (€20 million) and Euclid (€10 million). Furthermore, the symbiotic relationship has contributed to the establishment of e2v as Europe's leading supplier of high-quality CCDs for space science applications and has underpinned an improved understanding of device design and optimisation within the company.
This case study describes impacts arising from pioneering UCL space syntax research by Hillier, Penn et al, funded principally by the EPSRC. Impacts have been achieved particularly through the establishment and subsequent activities of a technology transfer spin-out company, Space Syntax Limited (SSLtd), which works closely with UCL researchers to provide strategic, evidence-based consulting services in architectural and urban design, planning, transport and property development. Since 2008, SSLtd has informed the development of 147 projects in the UK and 73 projects abroad. The impacts of these projects, along with over 400 others undertaken before 2008, include significant and measurable economic, social and environmental improvement to urban environments in the UK and internationally, with important follow-on impacts on the quality of citizens' lives.
Research conducted at the University of Cambridge yielded a theory for the energy of hair arrays and a differential equation for the shape of the envelope of a bundle ("Ponytail Shape Equation"). It enabled Unilever to address quantitatively a number of "what if" questions about how properties of individual hairs are reflected in those of bundles, an important component of product development. Novel imaging techniques have been developed that allow for quantitative studies of hair properties. Finally, the story of this research generated worldwide attention, in its original announcement and also through the award of the 2012 Ig Nobel Prize in physics to this team. It has featured on international radio programs (Canada, Germany, UK), on worldwide press, and has led to invited presentations in schools and universities internationally.
The University of Southampton's research into space debris has made a vital contribution to space policy by addressing an issue identified by the United Nations (UN) as having important implications for all humanity. This research has played a key role in advising policymakers "on how best to manage the orbital environment in a sustainable manner for generations to come" (page 52, UK in Space, British National Space Centre, 2009). Challenging prevailing theories, researchers influenced Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) Space Debris Mitigation (SDM) guidelines, resulting in the implementation of sustainable practices by satellite operators in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) requiring an investment by them of an estimated £1 billion since 2008.