Research centres and research schools
When research activities achieve a certain scale, often as a consequence of a major collaboration with an industrial partner or a consortium of partners, a research centre is created.
In many cases, the research centre will offer specialist or even unique facilities. Typically, these facilities are made possible by grants from EPSRC, the regional development agency or other funding bodies. We also invest significant internal funds to create strategically important laboratories.
Increasingly in the modern world, an inter-disciplinary approach to research is needed with input required from across the engineering disciplines and beyond. At Loughborough, we have formed research schools to meet such challenges with particular strengths in low carbon technologies, sustainability, health and life sciences, materials, and systems engineering.
E.ON working with the Sustainability Research School
Our Sustainability Research School draws upon the expertise of specialists committed to interdisciplinary collaboration with academic and industry partners. CALEBRE (Consumer-Appealing Low Energy Technologies for Building REtrofitting) is one of its projects, jointly funded by Research Councils UK and E.ON, with the aim of reducing UK domestic carbon emissions.
Find out more
Professor Dennis Loveday Director of the Sustainability Research School
- 01509 222635
- Send email
The research involves a partnership of six universities and is specifically targeted at solidwall properties which are classified as ‘hard-to-treat’. Technologies including electric and gas-fired heat pumps, home ventilation heat recovery, energy-efficient vacuum glazing and innovative surface treatments to control temperature and moisture are under investigation.
User perspectives, on issues such as the degree of disturbance that householders are prepared to tolerate during refurbishment, are key. Loughborough provides project leadership and expertise in user-centred needs and occupant thermal comfort evaluation.
E.ON has had a long and successful history of collaboration with Loughborough University. This latest project addresses the complex and difficult issue of our transition to a low carbon society. We need combinations of different technologies working together, particularly on the demand side.
The CALEBRE project represents a particularly significant step towards this aim. We anticipate that Loughborough and its partners will again make an important contribution, bringing valuable expertise and insight to the evaluation of these technology options.
Dr Dave Clarke Head of R&D E.ON Engineering
Rolls-Royce UTC in Combustion Aerodynamics
Formed in 1991, the UTC (University Technology Centre) is a strategic partnership between Loughborough University and Rolls-Royce for advanced technology development and associated research. At any time, around 30 experimental and computational (CFD) research projects cover a range of combustion system and gas turbine internal aerodynamic problems.
As well as direct funding from Rolls-Royce, project sponsors also include EPSRC, TSB and the EU. In 2006, a £3 million investment saw the opening of a state-of-the-art Unsteady Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, exemplifying our commitment to maintaining outstanding experimental facilities.
As part of a recent EU funded project, a novel approach to compressor-combustor interface management was adopted by Rolls-Royce in their design of the Trent XWB engine for the Airbus A350 XWB (to enter service in 2013).
Estimates for the Trent XWB component, designed at Rolls-Royce and validated at Loughborough, indicate a reduction in system pressure loss, which translates into 20,000kg fuel saving per aircraft per year.
The Automation Partnership and the Centre for Biological Engineering
The Centre for Biological Engineering (CBE) is a multi-disciplinary research centre, bridging the fields of engineering and biology and integrating research from Chemical Engineering, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
Find out more
David Williams Professor of Healthcare Engineering
- 01509 227668
- Send email
- lboro.ac.uk/lcbe
The Centre is pioneering the field of regenerative medicine, a science which one day may have the potential to re-grow tissues, eliminate organ donor lists and beat conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Its aim is to enable development of affordable regenerative medicine products that satisfy the healthcare regulator.
The CBE is also host to both the prestigious EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre for Regenerative Medicine, a £6m project to equip 50 PhD students with the cutting-edge skills required to become leaders in this emerging industry, and the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine.
The Automation Partnership (TAP) develops advanced cell culture automation systems and is a major partner of the Centre.
This has been a very important collaboration for TAP. The combination of Loughborough expertise and research capability, alongside TAP’s experience of developing systems for the pharmaceutical industry, will increase the likelihood and reduce the time of cost effective regenerative therapies reaching the market.