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Nine research projects at the cutting-edge of science and technology have been successful in securing grants from the University’s Zepler Institute Research Collaboration Stimulus Fund. The winners each received a share of the £100,000 Fund launched in October 2013 to support research of industrial relevance carried out in the Zepler Institute Cleanroom Complex. Supported by the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) allocated to the University by HEFCE, the grants provide seed funding for researchers to carry out fundamental proof of concept work in preparation for large scale research grant applications in collaboration with industry.

The nine successful projects saw partnerships formed between Zepler Institute researchers based in the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering and academics from across the University and organisations worldwide to pursue research with applications in fields as diverse as telecommunications, life sciences, energy security, and metrology.

Despite being the Fund’s first year of operation, a total of 22 applications were received, seeking support in excess of £300, 000. The quality of proposals and level of competition exceeded expectations and the award panel, comprising academic members of the Zepler Institute’s Executive Board, was faced with difficult decisions in allocating the funding available. Chair of the panel and Institute Director Professor Sir David Payne commented:

I am delighted by the response to this new stimulus fund call – 22 very high quality bids from across the University in areas as diverse as medicine, transport and communications. All were exciting and judged fundable, but after some tough choices, we chose nine of the best. It is clear that inventive thinking is alive and flourishing at Southampton.

Special recognition was also given to individuals showing exceptional performances in rising to the challenge of the call. Dr Gilberto Brambilla (ORC), Professor Jayanta Sahu (ORC) and Professor Ajit Shenoi (SMMI) were recipients of the prize for Highest Ranked Proposal for their project ‘Meter-long Silica Nanowire Bundles for Enhanced Performance Composites’ whilst Professor Sahu and Dr Francesco Poletti, both of the Fibres and Lasers Group, were joint winners of the prize for Highest Number of Successful Applications, each acting as Principle Investigator on two successful projects involving collaborations with ship science, engineering, and life sciences.

The Zepler Institute will be reporting on the progress of all the research funded throughout the year. Details of the nine successful projects are below:

1. Meter-long Silica Nanowire Bundles for Enhanced Performance Composites

• PIs: Dr G. Brambilla (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC), Professor J.K. Sahu (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC) and Professor R.A. Shenoi (Ship Science, SMMI)

2. Broadband Hollow Core Fibre for In Vivo Nonlinear Spectroscopy Study of Living Systems,

• PIs: Dr F. Poletti (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC), Dr J.H. Price (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC) and Dr S. Mahajan (Chemistry, IfLS)

• Co-Is: J.R. Hayes (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC), Professor P.J. Smith (IfLS) and Professor R. Oreffo (Medicine)

3. Ge Lasers for Si Photonics-Electronics Integration

• PI: Professor S. Saito (Nano Research Group, ECS)

• Co-Is: Dr M.K. Husain (Nano Research Group, ECS), A. Al-Attili (Nano Research Group, ECS), Dr F. Gardes (Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors, ORC), Dr Y. Tsuchiya (Nano Research Group, ECS), Dr M. Charlton (Nano Research Group, ECS), Dr R. Chen (Nano Research Group, ECS), Dr M. E. Pollard (Nano Research Group, ECS), Dr D. Thomson (Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors, ORC), Dr G. Mashanovich (Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors, ORC), Professor G. T. Reed (Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors, ORC), Professor H. Rutt (Nano Research Group, ECS), Professor H. Mizuta (Nano Research Group, ECS)

4. Photonic Bandgap Fibre for Metrology

• PIs: Dr R. Slavik (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC), Dr M. Petrovich (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC), Dr F. Poletti (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC), Dr G. Marra (Senior Research Scientist, NPL) and Professor D. Richardson (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC)

5. 3D Printing of Optical Fibre Preforms

• PIs: Dr S. Yang (Engineering Sciences, FEE) and Professor J.K. Sahu (Fibres and Lasers Group, ORC)

6. Custom Engineered Nanoparticles for Superior Nanocomposite Materials

• PI: Professor AS Vaughan (Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ECS)

• Co-Is: Professor P.G.R. Smith (Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors, ORC), Dr J.C. Gates (Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors, ORC), Dr M. Praeger and Dr L.G. Carpenter (Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors, ORC)

7. Silicon Nano-Lego for Multi-Dimensional Quantum Systems

• PI: Dr Y. Tsuchiya (Nano Research Group, ECS)

• Co-Is: Professor S. Saito (Nano Research Group, ECS), Professor H. Morgan, Professor H. Mizuta (Nano Research Group, ECS), Professor M. Spearing (Engineering and the Environment), Professor S. Beeby (Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ECS), Dr N.G. Green (Nano Research Group), Professor H.M.H. Chong (Nano Research Group, ECS), Dr H. Ulbricht (Quantum Light and Matter Group, Physics), Dr L. Jiang (Engineering and the Environment), Dr M.K. Husain (Nano Research Group, ECS), Dr F. Alkalil (Nano Research Group, ECS), S. Ye (Nano Research Group, ECS) and T. Zelai

8. Boosting the Efficiency of Single-Photon Sources for Silicon-Based Quantum Information Technology

• PIs: Dr L. Sapienza (Quantum Light and Matter Group, Physics), Professor D.C. Smith (Quantum Light and Matter Group, Physics) and Dr K. Srinivasan (Project Leader, National Institute of Standards and Technology USA)

9. Investigation of CVD-grown MoS2 Thin Films for Optoelectronic Devices

• PIs: Dr K.C.C. Huang (Novel Glass and Fibre Group, ORC), Professor H.M.H. Chong (Nano Research Group, ECS), Professor Q. Wang (NTU, Singapore), Professor Z.X. Shen (NTU, Singapore) and Professor D. Hewak (Novel Glass and Fibre Group, ORC)

For more information on the Zepler Institute, please visit www.zeplerinstitute.com