Summary of the impact

Effective industrial design and simulation require efficient and versatile computing systems. As a result of research performed by our team experienced in High Performance Computing (HPC), novel software structures and aligned hardware architectures have led to significant benefits to the energy supply industry and to microprocessor manufacturers.

As a result of our research with supercomputing, simulation times for electric field patterns in power components have reduced more than 30-fold, with accurate complex 3-D outputs for an increased range of configurations, thereby enabling our partner company to achieve results not possible with commercial software and to reduce product development costs by $0.5M - $5M p.a.

Our research has been incorporated by Intel into their numerical libraries and now made available to the general public supported by their latest processor architectures. Intel now has a 82% share of processors, according to the November 2013 Top500 list.

Summary of the impact

The research has enabled industrial simulation users to investigate and develop larger scale systems faster and cheaper and thus to explore a wider variety of cost-saving options with more precision, and industrial simulation providers to offer new high-performance simulation (HPS) products and services. As a direct result of this work: Ford has made £150,000 cost savings in consultancy and significant process improvements to engine manufacture globally; Saker Solutions (UK SME) has created the first ever HPS system for production and logistics; Sellafield PLC has used this system to make significant process improvements and savings in the management of nuclear waste reprocessing of around £200,000 per year; and Whole Systems Partnership (a UK SME) used a spin-off from this research to generate a £200,000 per year revenue stream from interoperable healthcare decision support systems. Globally, several other companies are adopting the standardisation efforts and other outcomes of the research as the foundation for future innovation.

Summary of the impact

Optimisation tools developed in the UoA have significantly advanced the ability to find the best designs for complex systems in cases where these were previously unobtainable. These optimisation tools have been implemented in several companies to shorten design times, reduce costs and reduce CO₂ emissions. This has brought about new multi-million pound revenues, long-term contracts, increased employment and contribution to sustainability targets.

Summary of the impact

Fluid modelling approaches devised by the Materials and Engineering Research Institute's (MERI's) materials and fluid flow modelling group have impacted on industrial partners, research professionals and outreach recipients. This case study focuses on economic impacts arising from improved understanding which this modelling work has given of commercial products and processes. These include: metal particulate decontamination methods developed by the UK small company Fluid Maintenance Solutions; liquid crystal devices (LCDs) manufactured by the UK SME ZBD Displays; and an ink-droplet dispenser module originally invented at the multinational Kodak. Additionally, the modelling group's computer simulation algorithms have been adopted by industrial research professionals and made available via STFC Daresbury's internationally distributed software package DL_MESO. Finally, the group has developed, presented and disseminated simulation-based materials and visualisations at major public understanding of science (PUS) events.

Summary of the impact

The development of microelectronic sensor arrays for biological applications, pioneered at the University of Glasgow, is central to a unique gene sequencing system developed by Ion Torrent. The Ion Torrent personal genome machine is a bench-top system that, compared to optically mediated technologies, is cheaper and easier to use. Ion Torrent was founded in 2007 and bought by Life Technologies in 2010 for $725M; they, in turn, were bought by Thermo Fisher for $13Bn, citing Ion Torrent as a motivation. Ion Torrent now has 62% of the bench-top sequencing market, estimated to be worth $1.3Bn in 2012.

Summary of the impact

The Computational Mechanics and Reliability Group at the University of Greenwich has been developing computational methods for predicting material behaviour and component reliability since the late 1990s. This case study details economic and environmental impacts and impacts on practitioners. In particular it shows how our expertise has:

• substantially aided companies to predict reliability of new electronic systems before physical prototyping providing significant cost savings;
• enabled companies to assess impact of new materials that address environmental legislation;
• provided information to the Cutty Sark Trust in help maintain this national maritime treasure.

Summary of the impact

Fifteen years of research in advanced Lab-on-a-Chip technologies at the University of Glasgow has led to three spin-out companies: Mode-Dx, Clyde Biosciences and SAW-Dx. Since 2008 these companies have developed a range of products and services for the diagnostic screening of chronic diseases, for the detection of acute infections and for improving the drug discovery process. The three companies have secured a total of £2.3M in venture funding and secured key strategic collaborations with stakeholders including industry partners and the NHS.

Summary of the impact

Loughborough University's (LU) interdisciplinary model based systems engineering (MBSE) research (2001-2010) has directly enabled life-saving operations by i) Developing synthetic vision systems to improve the safety of emergency services helicopter operations involving low level flight during day, night, all weather and conditions of zero visibility, and ii) Saving lives through a reduction in morbidity and mortality of babies born with congenital heart defects.

The impact translates directly into significant cost savings and safety risk reductions in expensive flight trials costing millions of pounds by BAE Systems [5.1], and in supporting clinical practice/surgical interventions by University Hospital of Rennes [5.2] with a reduction in the morbidity and mortality of babies born with congenital heart defects in Brittany, France.

Summary of the impact

This case study describes the impact of the EnCore microprocessor, and the associated ArcSim simulation software, created in 2009 by the Processor Automated Synthesis by iTerative Analysis (PASTA) research group under Professor Nigel Topham at the University of Edinburgh. Licensing to Synopsys Inc. in 2012 brought the EnCore and ArcSim technologies to the market. Synopsys Inc. is a world-leading Silicon Valley company. It is the largest Electronic Design Automation (EDA) company in the world, and the second largest supplier of semiconductor IP. EnCore is achieving a global impact through this worldwide channel. The commercial derivatives of the EnCore technology provide manufacturers of consumer electronics devices with an innovative low-power, high-performance microprocessor that they can customize to their specific application requirements, enabling the next generation of electronic devices.

Summary of the impact

The Computational Mechanics and Reliability Group at the University of Greenwich has been developing design and materials modelling expertise and tools for electronic manufacturing and reliability since the late 1990s. This case study details economic and environmental impacts and impacts on practitioners. In particular it shows how our expertise has:

• substantially aided companies to assemble miniaturised electronic systems using environmentally friendly materials;
• aided companies to predict reliability of new electronic systems before physical prototyping providing significant cost savings;
• led to formation of spin out companies by our academic partners.