The EPSRC funding, which began this week, will enable researchers from around the UK to use the electron beam lithography system in the David Bullett Nanofabrication Facility which is capable of producing tiny structures – smaller than one thousandth the diameter of a typical human hair.

This latest funding is for a renewal of a previous cycle of the access scheme which operated at Bath from 2007 to 2012. During this period, the University worked with over 44 users from 17 different leading UK academic institutions. The latest support is also part financing new equipment, a direct laser writer, to significantly enhance the package of services that can be offered to users.

Already well-established and widely used in the physical sciences and electronic engineering, one of the main aims of the access scheme at Bath is to promote the use of nanolithography in new interdisciplinary areas, such as biophysics. Prior work performed under the scheme involved the development of arrays of electrodes for making electrical measurements on individual STEM cells, as well as nanopatterned silicon substrates for studies of cell movement and differentiation.

New Head of the Department of Physics and project leader, Professor Simon Bending, commented: “We are delighted that one of the main UK funders of research in the physical sciences and engineering has again chosen to support this access scheme. We are very excited at the prospect of working together with external users to realise their research goals, especially those working in highly interdisciplinary areas at the interface with biological and medical science.”

For more information about the scheme see http://www.bath.ac.uk/facilities/nanofab/.

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Dr Nina Parish, who lectures in French Studies, has joined forces with Dr Chiara O’Reilly, of the University of Sydney, to put on ‘Suitcases, Boats and Bridges: Telling Migrant Stories in Australian Museums’ at Sydney’s Australian National Maritime Museum on 2 August.

The conference is part of a project, funded by an Erasmus Mundus grant and an International Researcher Mobility Award, which aims to help UK and EU museums learn from Australia’s experience of representing multicultural societies within the museum space.

Speakers on the day also include Dr Aurelien Mondon, who lectures in French Studies. His work focuses on the extreme right and the impact of neo-racist and right wing rhetoric on liberal democracies both in Europe and Australia. Also speaking on the day is Padmini Sebastian, Director of Melbourne’s Immigration Museum, Kim Tao, Curator at the Australian National Maritime Museum, and Dr Gwenda Tavan, from La Trobe University.

“The conference brings together academics, museum professionals and Museum Studies students to discuss our research questions and to disseminate our findings. The day will promote provocative and thoughtful discussion about multiculturalism and museums which will be relevant to museum practice and scholarship in this area in both Australia and Europe,” explained Dr Parish.

“Today four out of every 10 Australians are either migrants or the children of migrants. The challenges this has brought about in constructing identity coupled with long-running debates around the value of a multicultural society are highly relevant to debates in Europe as the EU deals with its expansion and growing immigrant population.

“A crisis of confidence in multiculturalism has been expressed at many levels of European society. Moreover, many EU member-states have a colourful history of failing to deal with migrant stories. Examples from Australian museums are instructive with regard to representing integration and different communities within the museum space. Much can also be learnt from Australian museological experiences in articulating an often traumatic history with indigenous peoples.

“Building on a series of interviews conducted last summer in New South Wales and Melbourne, the next step of the project investigates further how migrant stories (in particular European post-WWII but not exclusively) have been collected, constructed and articulated in museums in New South Wales, ranging from large institutions with governmental support to smaller regional and suburban, and sometimes volunteer-run, museums.”

As part of her research project Dr Parish will now travel to travel to Adelaide to visit the first Migration Museum and interview its current curator as well as the key players when it was set up. She will also return to Canberra and Melbourne to continue work on the relevant museums in these cities. She and Dr O’Reilly are then planning a number of papers and to write a book based on their findings.

Sixteen scientists and engineers from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil, Ohio State University (OSU), USA, Stellenbosch University, South Africa and the University of Bath attended the event earlier this month.  

The event was led by professional facilitators Knowinnovation who used an intensive residential workshop technique known as the ‘sandpit’.  

The technique involved devoting three full days to the task, as well as working, eating and playing together. This led to the team quickly breaking down barriers, developing strong relationships and exploring exciting projects involving partners from all four institutions. 

Professor Igor Polikarpov from the São Carlos Institute for Physics, USP said: “I am really excited about the projects conceived during this event.

“The ‘sandpit’ way of catalyzing thinking is a perfect framework for innovative proposals, particularly in a multinational environment.”

Dr Rueben Pfukwa from the Department of Chemistry & Polymer Sciences at Stellenbosch University added: “Many areas of collaboration were identified and I look forward to participating in collaborative research efforts with my ‘sandpit’ partners.”

Professor Jon Parquette from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at OSU said: “This facilitated format fostered the collaborative creation of three new projects and produced appropriate action plans to pursue the envisioned solutions. 

“I personally found this method of creating solutions to important problems uniquely effective.”

The team now plans to hold virtual meetings to further develop the projects identified and to put in place sub-projects that can start immediately, such as joint supervision of PhDs and student exchanges.

A second ‘sandpit’ event is planned within the year.

The international sandpit participants