Photonic Manufacturing Research Hub bid shortlist success

The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) is pleased to announce that its outline bid for a High-Value Photonic Manufacturing Research Hub has been short-listed to proceed to the next stage of full proposal evaluation.

Future Manufacturing Research Hubs are EPSRC’s next generation of flagship centres to support UK manufacturing. Twenty £million will be invested in two hubs over 7 years, each starting in July 2015 with 'a programme of innovative research in the engineering and physical sciences, related to the challenges in commercialising early stage research. The hubs will feature high quality, multidisciplinary research, strong engagement with relevant manufacturing industries and will take a leadership role in their national network'.

The High-Value Photonic Manufacturing Research Hub will focus on the challenges on integrating photonics to improve manufacturability and accelerating the wider adoption of photonics technology.

ORC Director and EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Photonics Principal Investigator, Professor Sir David Payne, explained: "In bidding for this hub, photonics is competing against the full range of UK industry sectors, from digital to regenerative medicine and metal engineering. Support from industrial users, developers and integrators of photonics is vital to securing a hub focused on photonics for the benefit of the photonics industry and improving access to improved manufacturing processes for lower-cost, higher-performing integrated sensors, lasers and photonics sub-systems. We welcome enquiries from prospective industry partners who would like to support this bid."

The deadline for confirmed industry support is Friday 6th March 2015.

Please contact us before the deadline, should you wish to participate.