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This impact case concerns the stimulation of public discourse, informing the awareness, attitudes and understanding of the public as to the potential for automating science, and the consequences that then arise regarding ethics, rights and the acquisition of knowledge. It also concerns debate among legal practitioners.
The Robot Scientist was the first system to fully automate the process of scientific investigation. This work showed that it was possible. The idea was immediately picked up by the popular press and covered worldwide (the fourth most significant discovery in 2009 according to TIME magazine, reported by TV, radio, national newspapers and magazines, and bloggers). It engaged the public in debate about AI, robotics, lab automation, and science.
Research and Development activity at Cardiff University's Astronomy Instrumentation Group (AIG) has been commercialised and made available to the international market. Sales have been made to fields including bio-molecular spectroscopy for health science, plasma fusion diagnostics for sustainable energy, and remote atmospheric sensing. This has resulted in economic impact through:
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.
The Unit is a pioneer in the field of americium-based radioisotope space nuclear power systems, referred to as radioisotope thermoelectric generators or RTGs, and has established key partnerships with industry in the UK and US. Americium-241 has been chosen as a solution given the global shortage of supply of plutonium-238. This research has made rapid progress, developed the first working prototype system for the European programme and shaped government policy resulting in an announcement in November 2012 of the decision by government to invest £18.4 million in innovative space technologies including space nuclear power as part of the next 4-year cycle of UK investment in the European Space Agency (ESA). As a direct result, prioritisation of space nuclear power systems is now part of a new UK strategy of investment in enabling technologies for space applications with technology transfer opportunities for the terrestrial energy sector. High value jobs have been created and sustained in UK industry and academia with the investment of >£4 million in the UK.
The University of Southampton's distinguished body of work on the design of technology for gamma-ray detection and imaging has informed new counter-terrorism practices. Technological advances arising from the research have been crucial to delivering significant benefits in the fields of homeland security and nuclear safety — the latter particularly in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. A spin-out company, Symetrica, currently employs 26 people in the UK and the USA, has a forecast turnover of more than £10 million for 2013-14 and has been recognised as an example of best practice. It is a technological leader in the field of radioactive isotope identification.
Researchers at the University of Reading have developed and implemented ground and satellite-based techniques that improve the monitoring of impending volcanic eruptions and their aftermath. Our systems have been mainly used in collaboration with the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) and the local government civil protection committee on Montserrat. In July 2008 the early rescinding of a precautionary evacuation was made possible by these techniques, thereby minimising disruption and lost economic revenue. The deployment of a permanent, operational ground-based instrument on Montserrat provides a capability that will reassure inhabitants and the island's commercial sector of future timely warnings, thereby enhancing their quality of life and allowing companies to return to the island.
UCL's research and development programme in space science and engineering enabled it to complete four major contracts with European and Canadian space companies between 2009 and 2011. These contracts were for the supply of equipment that will fly on European and Indian space missions, and for support of the ground testing of those space missions. The fact that these contracts were won by UCL in a competitive environment against low-cost industrial providers demonstrates that customers value the capability that UCL possesses. By acting as a specialist provider within the UK space sector supply chain, UCL enabled the prime contractors European Astrium Aerospace and Canadian Routes AstroEngineering Ltd. to deliver substantial commercial contracts with space agencies. Its provision of specialist input into these major contracts enabled UCL to also directly support the growth of the commercial space sector.
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.
Space science and medicine share a fundamental requirement for radiation sensors of the highest possible sensitivity. The development of imaging detectors for major X-ray observatories such as the European XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra provided the impetus for a broad-based, intensive programme of deliberate technology transfer from the Unit's Space Research Centre (SRC) into the life sciences and medicine. The resulting impact now extends far beyond the exploratory provision of prototype sensor technologies for biomedical researchers into the full-scale commercial exploitation of those technologies with industry partners in the UK and Europe and, in three separate cases, to early-stage patient trials. Impact is being delivered in clinical specialisms from oncology to ophthalmology; from neurotoxicology to emergency medicine. The impact delivery mechanisms — the hospital-based Diagnostics Development Unit (DDU) and the campus-based Bioimaging Unit — are themselves novel and have achieved national prominence as examples of best practice in the drive for economic return even from established blue skies research.
Space has been identified as an area of economic growth by the UK Government as a direct result of the 2010 Innovation and Growth Strategy (IGS) for Space. This study has resulted in a transformational change with the formation of the UK Space Agency, significantly increased investment and new opportunities. The Unit contributed critically to the IGS and resulting actions by stressing the underpinning nature of academic space research and providing academic lead on key recommendations of the IGS and its subsequent technology plan. The research has also significantly impacted a number of companies increasing their research and development and economic bases e.g. a Leicester based SME Magna Parva Ltd.