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Novel bioluminescent bacterial biosensors developed at UWE, Bristol, and commercialised by Randox, have been used by a range of companies to demonstrate effectiveness of drugs and decontamination procedures. This has improved development processes at companies including Clavis Pharma, Purest Solutions and Dycem, leading to new manufacturing processes and quality control test methods. The biosensors are used in novel applications to give pharmacodynamic data on effectiveness of drugs and real time in-situ demonstration of effectiveness of decontamination processes. These biosensors, pioneered and developed by Vyv Salisbury's group, have been commercially adopted and used for evaluation by at least six collaborating companies.
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.
Ultra-precise Bragg grating writing-technology, invented in the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), has led to impacts in the areas of security, safety, detection of bio-hazards and the underpinning laser technology currently being pursued for clean energy generation for future energy security. This case study highlights two aspects of the technology namely: planar-based for optical microchip sensors in areas such as portable detection of biohazards, which has resulted in the spin-out Stratophase, and fibre-based, inside the US National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest laser system, based in California, built for fusion-energy research, which has ORC fabricated fibre Bragg gratings within its laser amplifier chains. These ultra-high precision laser-written engineered gratings have enabled important advances in biosecurity, management of environmental hazards and clean energy research.
Professor Paul Grout has had a significant impact on national policy on the delivery of public services by the private sector in the last five years. His research undertaken at the University of Bristol on private provision by regulated utility companies and public private partnerships, using both economic theory and empirical studies, paved the way for his central involvement in, and directly informed, key regulatory decisions. These decisions impact materially on almost every individual and organisation in the UK. His research also directly led to his appointment in 2012 to the Board of Ofgem (the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority), the UK energy regulator.
This case study refers to research on British drinking cultures and alcohol policy carried out by James Nicholls, Reader in Media and Social Policy, Department of Film and Media Production/HCI (2004-September 2012). In this role, Nicholl's research and his public engagement contributed to shaping the UoA's research reference frame of cultural behaviour, cultural practice and public policy (see Ref5). Following the publication of his book, The Politics of Alcohol (2009) Nicholls developed as a specialist advisor involved in the analysis and planning of alcohol policy at national and regional levels. His work and influence has been cited in key policy documents (including the House of Commons Health Select Committee Report, Alcohol: First Report of Session 2009-10 HC151-1) in 2010. This work has subsequently helped to shape regional and national alcohol policy in both England and Scotland. This case study provides evidence of this impact in regard to the following areas:
Employee relations in Britain have undergone fundamental change in the last three decades. Research by Lewis, Upchurch, Croucher and other colleagues has tracked these changes identifying the decline of collective bargaining and the rise of alternative forms of employee voice. The impact of this programme of research has been evident in influencing the evolution of wider public debate on issues of employee voice and shaping the development of policy frameworks and specific policy initiatives in the UK and abroad, particularly concerning whistleblowing. Impact has been apparent through influencing the development of employment culture and the respective practices of employers, unions, and human resources/industrial relations practitioners.
Defra-funded research at the University of Bristol showed that the water bath stunning protocols commonly used in commercial processing plants resulted in paralysis rather than unconsciousness in chickens during slaughter. This finding led directly to the modification of stunning protocols in a European Union Regulation (1099/2009). Their practical application within slaughter plants has been promoted to the poultry industry in Europe and worldwide via Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) training courses that were developed in Bristol. This has ensured that since 1st January 2013 billions of birds in Europe are now adequately stunned, and therefore unconscious, before they are slaughtered.
The Centre for Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis (CNMPA) was asked in 2004 to apply its expertise in computational reliability engineering, usually used in high technology manufacturing, to help save the Cutty Sark ship and in 2010 to help restore the Medway Queen. This case study details how our computational expertise had impact and in particular:
An artificial cervical joint, designed by Mr Steven Gill, honorary Chair in the University of Bristol and consultant in Neurosurgery at Frenchay Hospital, is widely used for the treatment of degenerative cervical disc disease. Patients who have received the device have retained neck mobility and have experienced less neck pain and better neurological function than patients who have undergone conventional treatment involving fusion of the vertebrae. The device has also yielded substantial long-term savings as far fewer patients require secondary surgery. Gill's device was the first artificial cervical joint approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in 2007. In early 2008, the global medical technology company Medtronic launched the device commercially in the US. The device is now used in 60 countries and has so far generated more than $137 million in sales.
Angela Gurnell's research on the geomorphology, hydrology and plant ecology of urban water courses has led to the development of important new tools for the biophysical assessment and improved management of urban rivers. Known as the Urban River Survey (URS), these tools are accessed by the Environment Agency and River Trusts across London, and their application is supported with workshops and guidance provided by Gurnell and her team. The URS has been used to deliver morphological quality indicators for rivers across London; to appraise river restoration schemes; to develop catchment management plans; and to assess long-term changes in rivers. It is currently being developed to quantify and set targets for river improvement schemes in relation to their impact on river ecosystem services. Gurnell's work has made a distinct contribution to urban river improvements in Britain and Europe, particularly through her leadership in developing a European framework for assessing hydromorphology.