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Full details of older news items can be found in our News Archives |
4th July 2008
WILLIAM LAWRENCE BRAGG Building
Stephen Bragg names Brunel University's William Lawrence Bragg building, after the X-ray crystallography pioneer and Nobel laureate. Housing the Experimental Techniques Centre and the Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, both departments operate X-ray analysis of materials, pioneered by the building's namesake, who received the Nobel prize in 1915 for his work on determining the molecular structure of crystals using X-rays. William Bragg was professor of physics at the University of Manchester, and Director of the National Physical Laboratory, before moving to Cambridge to become Director of the Cavendish laboratory, where he founded research groups on the study of molecular structure in biology, where Francis Crick and James Watson did much of their groundbreaking work on the structure of DNA. Professor Bragg contuinued his work in association with the Royal Institution of Great Britain and founded the famous Christmas Lecture series. ETC is honoured to be associated with William Lawrence Bragg, and delighted that the opening ceremony was conducted by his son, Stephen Bragg, a founding influence of ETC as Brunel University's second Vice-Chancellor.
15th August 2008
SURFACE SCIENCE
ETCbrunel is pleased to extend its instrument suite, with the addition of a First Ten Angstroms tensiometer, allowing measurement of surface hydrophobicity, surface tension of liquids and surface energy of solids. With applications in both biomedical and forensic science research, purchase of this instrument has been supported by AWAF and the UK Home Office.
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Above: Hydrophobicity of modified silicon surface
Right: Stephen Bragg and Brunel Vice Chancellor Prof Chris Jenks, at the opening of the William Lawrence Bragg building. |
4th September 2008
MATERIALS RESEARCH
Dr Ben Jones presented ETCbrunel work at Electroceramics XI, international biennial conference in Manchester, UK. These works, presenting electronic properties and microstructure of tin and indium oxide materials for microelectronics, have been produced in collaboration with workers from Mexico and the Ukraine, with the support of the Royal Society.
11th October 2008
MICROSTRUCTURE
Prof Gossett Oliver, of the University of Technology, Jamaica presented research at the Caribbean Academy of Sciences biennial conference (right). Prof. Oliver's paper, the result of a collaborative project with ETCbrunel, focuses on microstructure of steels and applications in tribology.
19th December 2008
RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
Research Assessment Exercise 2008 results are announced. ETCbrunel is delighted to have contributed to making General Engineering at Brunel fifth in the UK in research power. Brunel’s performance in the 2008 RAE confirms not only our status as a research-intensive university, but also our arrival as a university of international standing. More details
16th February 2009
MULTIDISCIPLINARY IRON RESEARCH
ETCbrunel research is on show this week at the World of Iron Conference in central London. Archaeometallurgist Lorna Anguilano presents work on early iron smelting activity in Ireland, in association with Connaught and Mayo County Council. Dr Alan Reynolds presents studies of iron uptake in biological tissue, investigating plant growth on ancient mining sites.
20th January 2009
FORENSICS RESEARCH
ETCbrunel forensics research is in the news this month. American magazine Biophotonics features forensic microscopy and highlights Dr Jones' and Dr Reynolds' work on fingerprint analysis, as well as collaborative work with UCL on data extraction from mobile phones.
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Scanning electron microscopy image showing nanostructure of fingerprint-development powder |
23rd April 2009
WEAR of MATERIALS
ETCbrunel Director Dr Robert Bulpett and EngD student Sander Podgoric present work at the Wear of Materials conference in Las Vegas this week, showcasing ETCburnel research on novel aerospace materials and metallurgical microstructure. Our study shows the development of multilayer processes to replace environmentally unsustainable materials, and is published in the journal Wear
24th May 2009
ISAMBARD SCHOLARSHIPS
Brunel is pleased to announce the expansion of its research scholarship scheme for 2009 to fully fund up to 30 PhD studentships across the full range of academic disciplines. The prestigious Isambard Scholarships will be awarded to Home/EU students who demonstrate the potential for research excellence. More information is available here
ETCbrunel has a number of opportunities for applicants to this scheme, in topics including:
* Thin film engineering, enhanced diamond-like carbon.
* Biosciences and environment, absorption of heavy metals in biological tissue
* Forensic science, fingerprint detection methods.
Please contact research co-ordinator, Dr Benjamin Jones for more information or to discuss further opportunities.
2nd July 2009
ETCbrunel STUDENT in NATIONAL AWARDS FINAL
Jaya Nemchand, PhD student in ETCbrunel, presents her work at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Jaya's research, Smart implants for measurement of fracture healing reaches the last three for the Orthofix prize for best medical engineering project.
17th September 2009
MEDICAL DIAMOND
Diamond-like carbon assists with the development of new surgical tools, the Diamond2009 conference in Athens was told this week. Dr Jones presented ETCbrunel / Diameter collaborative work on the enhancement of DLC coatings for a novel device to facilitate keyhole surgery, and its successful use in gall bladder operation. Dr Jones also highlighted the mechanisms in enhancing adhesion of the thin film coating to steel.
26th October 2009
FORENSIC DEVELOPMENT
ETCbrunel work, in association with the UK Home Office, shows surface effects on development of latent fingerprints. Dr Jones utilised surface metrology techniques to investigate the interaction of iron oxide fingerprint powder and substrate features on common crime scene plastics, to help improve the success of forensic examination. The work, presented at the ECASIA conference, is shortly to appear in a special forensic science edition of Surface and Interface Analysis.
19th February 2010
ETCbrunel EXPANSION
The Experimental Techniques Centre is delighted to welcome Dr Jesus Ojeda as a new lecturer in surface analysis. Dr Ojeda joins ETCbrunel from Sheffield University and brings expertise in TOF-SIMS and use of spectroscopic techniques for characterisation of cells and bacteria.
This appointment comes at an exciting time for the Centre, we are celebrating our 30th birthday with increased strength, expanding into new premises, with new members and upcoming enhanced instrumental capability.
