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Schemes for Engineers in Research and Development
Engineering Enterprise Fellowships
2013–2014
Dr Damian Gardiner, University
of Cambridge
Printable lasers for anti-counterfeit
applications
Dr Damian Gardiner is a Research
Associate in the Department of Engineering at the
University of Cambridge. He has substantial
industrial and academic experience in the
development of functional organic materials for
optics and electronics. The support offered by the
Fellowship will enable Damian to establish a
spin-out company based on a recent key development:
printable laser technology, which offers truly
unique optical signatures combined with scalable
print processing. The focus will be on developing
innovative solutions to combat the $500 Billion
global annual cost of counterfeit products. Damian
will be supported by colleagues in CMMPE and the
Inkjet Research Centre with commercialisation
support from Cambridge Enterprise.
Dr Ruchi Gupta,
University of Manchester
µNaut Technologies: A novel
optical system for label-free assays
Dr. Ruchi Gupta
is a Research Associate in the University of
Manchester. She has experience in instrumentation,
microfluidics, optics and electroseparations.
Detection of analytes without tagging them with
labels (i.e. label-free assays) is a growing area
for drug discovery and disease diagnostics. In
Europe alone, pharmaceutical companies and
government spend ~£30 billion and ~£8 billion in
research and development of new drug molecules and
biotechnology respectively every year. µNaut
Technologies will provide a novel solution
consisting of a common readout instrument and a low
cost disposable plastic device that can be
fabricated using current low-cost methods and
tailored to the assay being performed and return
more information than current methods.
Professor
Janice Kiely, University of the West of England
Magneto immuno-assay technology for food safety
testing
Professor Kiely is currently Director of the
Institute of Bio-sensing Technology at UWE, Bristol.
Her key research interest involves the development
of novel bio-sensing instrumentation. She
specialises in immunoassay based measurement systems
using paramagnetic particles as labels. The
Enterprise Fellowship will enable her to
commercialise the Magneto Immuno-Assay technology to
bring to market instruments and associated test kits
for the automated, rapid detection of pathogens such
as Salmonella, E. Coli and Listeria, and other food
contaminants which are harmful to human health. She
holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from
Sheffield University and a PhD from Cardiff
University.
Dr Adar Pelah, University of York
Asuuta:
Medical & consumer technology for gait analysis,
rehabilitation & training
Dr Adar Pelah has been
awarded an Enterprise Fellowship to commercialise
StroMoHab, an advanced motion capture and
visualisation platform that significantly improves
treatment outcomes and diagnostics in gait-impairing
conditions including stroke, the largest single
cause of disability. The Fellowship will support the
launch of Asuuta, a university spinout company, and
to develop an international business providing
medical rehabilitation solutions and cloud-based
diagnostic services. Based on fundamental research
and development by Dr Pelah and his colleagues, the
system presents the patient with motivating
biofeedback in real time, which assists recovery
through neuroplasticity as the patient performs (and
corrects) natural interactive activities tailored to
their abilities, whilst providing the clinician with
accurate metrics and advanced analytics for
assessing the patient’s condition and rate of
recovery over the course of a treatment programme.
Dr Pelah previously held positions at Cambridge
University and Harvard Medical School and is
currently Reader in the Department of Electronics at
the University of York.
Dr Stephen Smith, University
of York
Diagnosing, differentiating and monitoring
neurodegenerative diseases
Dr Stephen Smith of the
Department of Electronics at the University of York
has been awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering
Enterprise Fellowship, to commercialise the use of
novel evolutionary algorithms in diagnosing and
monitoring a range of neurodegenerative conditions.
The evolutionary algorithms are trained to recognise
the symptoms of disorders such as Parkinson's
disease and Alzheimer's disease, using data from
special sensors worn by the patient. The Fellowship
year will allow Dr Smith to focus on clinical
validation of the technology at medical centres in
the UK, USA and Australia, and to commence
commercial distribution of the technology.
2012–2013
Dr Peter Köllensperger.
Imperial College London
A diagnostic test platform for clinical use and
home monitoring
Dr Peter Köllensperger is a
Research Associate in the Optical and Semiconductor
Devices Group at Imperial College London. He is
interested in making diagnostic technologies more
easily accessible and is working on e-Gnosis, an
electrical bio-detection technology that can
directly read out diagnostic tests on computers or
smartphones without the need for expensive optical
systems. Prior to this, Peter was a Senior Analyst
in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at
Jefferies & Company, working on M&A and financial
advisory for pharma, biotech and medical device
companies. He holds a degree in Biochemistry and a
PhD in Biomedical Engineering, both from Imperial
College.
Dr Daniel Elford,
Loughborough University
Novel noise barrier technology
Dr Daniel Elford is a Research
Associate in the Department of Physics at
Loughborough University. He specialises in acoustics
and will be working with a team to drive the process
of commercialisation on his Novel Noise Barrier
Technology. This innovative noise barrier technology
has been pioneered through a new area of physics
called Sonic Crystals – a periodic array of wave
scatterers which demonstrates severe and possibly
total reduction of sound waves in specific frequency
ranges. The immediate impact of the technology is to
enable, in a cost effective and less intrusive
manner, sound attenuation systems to be deployed
throughout industry and alongside major transport
links.
Dr Susannah Clarke,
Imperial College London
Low-cost, high-accuracy surgical instrumentation
for acetabular cup alignment
Dr Susannah Clarke is a design
engineer specialising in medical devices at Imperial
College. She has been awarded the Fellowship to
establish a spin-out company from Imperial College
London offering patient-focussed solutions in
orthopaedic surgery. The Enterprise Fellowship will
enable her to develop product-based solutions to
improve surgical accuracy. Susannah's engineering,
design and research background ideally places her to
build upon academic research findings and translate
them into commercial products. She will be
developing these solutions with Professor Justin
Cobb, chair in orthopaedic surgery at Charing Cross
Hospital, Imperial College NHS trust.
Dr Neil Buchanan, Queen's
University Belfast
Flish - The flat satellite dish
Dr Neil Buchanan of Queen’s
University - Belfast has been appointed a Royal
Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship for
“Flish” - the flat satellite dish. This innovation
has the potential to replace bulky satellite dishes,
with a simple flat antenna that finds the signal
automatically, without need for accurate alignment.
There are many opportunities for the technology,
such as affordable satellite communications on the
move anywhere in the world. . The Enterprise
Fellowship will be used to facilitate working with
satellite service providers and antenna
manufacturers to produce working prototypes
compatible with active satellite communication
systems.
Dr Joshua Reiss, Queen Mary
University of London
Automatic music production system
Dr Josh Reiss of Queen Mary,
University of London, has recently been awarded an
Enterprise Fellowship to commercialise his research
on Automatic Music Production Systems research.
These systems replicate the large numbers of
decisions and actions that sound engineers make when
creating professional-grade audio output. They use
state-of-the-art signal processing and intelligent
systems design to create a high quality mix from
multiple audio channels in real-time. The technology
may be used in mixing consoles to increase the
productivity of sound engineers, or used by
musicians to produce a high quality mix of their
music without the need for a trained engineer. The
plan is to validate user-requirements, explore
market potential, develop a suite of products and
establish a spin-out company to widely exploit the
technology.
Professor Rhodri Williams,
Swansea University
New test for early detection of blood clotting
abnormalities
Professor Rhodri Williams of
Swansea University works in rheology and cavitation.
He has established a test which provides new
biomarkers for blood clotting abnormalities. This
technology will be utilised by implementing it in a
device capable of operation by non-expert users at
the point of care (POC) - within pharmacies, in GP
clinics/surgeries or homes. The test is presently
performed by rheologists using sophisticated
rheometers in operating theatres, wards and
treatment rooms. An opportunity exists to develop an
automated instrument for non-expert operators. The
Fellowship will allow Professor Williams to
establish the business around a potentially world
leading product.
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