The Bath-based management team of the EPSRC Directed Assembly Grand Challenge Network are spreading a little pre-Christmas joy amongst UK researchers in Materials Chemistry this month.
Network Principal Investigator, Professor Paul Raithby, and Network Coordinator, Dr Jenny Woods, both from our Department of Chemistry, have just handed out 11 awards to promote collaborative research towards producing materials with particular properties and function.
Paul Raithby explained: “Over the past two years we’ve worked with the UK research community to determine where the key areas for targeting research efforts in this field should be, drawing up a strategic roadmap to advise our funders, EPSRC.
“In October we were awarded another four year grant to continue with that strategic visioning, but this time it included money to target at collaborative groups looking to take forward the research programme in the roadmap.”
Jenny Woods added: “I’m particularly pleased to have funds to award to Early Career Researchers to help them build the collaborations they’ll need for successful research as their careers progress.
“Our funders tasked us with looking at research requirements decades into the future – these young scientists will be carrying that future challenge for us.”
The Directed Assembly Network organises community meetings where researchers can meet, share their knowledge and build collaborative connections. It offers a range of awards, from small travel and seed fund grants to larger pump-priming projects. Grants are awarded every 3 months.
One of December’s pump-priming grants was awarded to Bath Prize Fellow in Smart Nanomaterials, Dr Valeska Ting from the Department of Chemical Engineering. Valeska put together a programme of research with collaborators in Liverpool and Bristol on “Self-assembled hybrid framework materials for energy storage and delivery applications” following a meeting for Early Career Researchers held at the Bath Innovation Centre in October.
More details of the Directed Assembly Network’s activities can be found on the Network website www.beyondthemolecule.org.uk