Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde are to have its research centre into numerical algorithms and intelligent software for the evolving HPC platform. Lead Professor is (right) Nigel Brown, Pro Vice Chancellor, Edinburgh and co-Investigators are Professor D Duncan, Heriot-Watt and Professor M Ainsworth, Strathclyde.

The aim of this centre is to narrow the gap between the peak performance that high performance computers (HPC) are theoretically capable of and the actual performance that can be achieved with current software. Improvements must keep pace with advances in computing technology if new hardware investment is to be fully exploited for the benefit of society.

By bringing mathematicians and computer scientists and HPC specialists into close collaboration with HPC specialists, this initiative will address key issues in energy, health sciences, nanoscience, and the digital economy. The centre will foster knowledge exchange partnerships with major computing companies (HP, IBM, SGI) as well as industrial users of HPC algorithms (Schlumberger, Orange/France Telecom, SAS).

Connections to national laboratories such as Daresbury and Rutherford Appleton are also planned. The project is further enhanced through funded connections with Cambridge University, the University of Warwick, and the Wales Institute for Mathematical and Computational Science.

Next generation internet and interaction
In a separate development a  £29m partnership for computer science research has been set up by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and ten Scottish universities. The Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance will look at the next generation of the internet and develop new ways for users to interact with computers.

The five-year project will create 37 new research posts and 20 new PhD posts per year, and the organisers hope to create a graduate academy to offer advanced postgraduate training.

To fund the alliance, the universities of Aberdeen, Abertay Dundee, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, Robert Gordon, St Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde will match the £14.5m  provided by the SFC.

Exeter University & University of Bath will centre on graphene research with fundamental research and applications into nano-electronics, photonics and bio-sciences. Lead Professor (left) is Roger Kain, pro-vice chancellor, Exeter with co-investigators: Professor SJ Bending, Bath, Professor Kevin Edge, Bath, and Professor Alexander Savchenko, Exeter

This Centre will act as an international focus for graphene science, supporting both academic and industrial research activities. It will create new academic positions and provide a state-of-the-art equipment base, equal to that found in any laboratory worldwide, to attract leading researchers from around the globe.

The Science and Innovation Award will fund staff, infrastructure and top-of-the-range equipment. A broad spectrum of multi-disciplinary and complementary experiments will be supported by theoretical investigations.

Manchester University & Lancaster University have received their £5m grant to research applications of graphene - the new form of 'super carbon', discovered in the UK in 2004 - in areas of material science, chemistry and engineering. Lead Professor (right) is Simon Gaskell, pro-vice chancellor, Manchester and co-Investigators are Professor Andre Geim, Manchester, and Professor Trevor McMillan, pro-vice chancellor, Lancaster

Graphene, discovered in Manchester in 2004, is an isolated atomic plane made from carbon atoms. The electronic properties of graphene have led to research into its use as a possible replacement for sensors, transistors and semi-transistors. Researchers now increasingly believe graphene may have uses in many other areas. This centre will examine possible applications in relation to material science, chemistry and engineering.

Imperial College London & London School of Economics share in the research into synthetic biology. Imperial College London and London School of Economics The Research: Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial College has as (left)  Lead Professor J Wood, and co-investigators: Professor Richard Kitney, Professor Paul Freemont, Professor Nick Rose from London School of Economics.

By 2015 Synthetic Biology is projected to be a rapidly developing industrial sector touching on areas of healthcare, renewable energy, materials, industrial processes and food technology. Imperial's aim is to generate intellectual property for licensing, spinout companies and collaborative research – in order to place them and the UK at the forefront of this research.

Synthetic biology concerns the design and manufacture of biologically-based devices and systems that do not already exist in the natural world. This includes the re-design and fabrication of existing biological systems. It is different from conventional genetic engineering because of the emphasis on foundation technologies, thereby hopefully making the engineering of biology easier and more reliable.

The EPSRC is funding the four programmes with supporting finance from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

Lesley Thompson, EPSRC Director of Research, said: "These awards are part of our continuing work to ensure Britain has the necessary leadership and resources in breakthrough areas of scientific research. These new centres will have the critical mass to make major research progress, stimulate research in the UK and international community and, where appropriate, to encourage innovation in UK business and industry."

Sources: http://www.eurekalert.org/
 http://www.sicsa.ac.uk/