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Schemes for Engineers in Research and Development Senior Research Fellowships: Profiles Dr Bruce Grieve - Syngenta Plc and the University of Manchester Biosensors and Remote Detection Context:
The challenge simply to provide sufficient food to feed the world in 2050 will require major technology advances in several areas. Yields on existing productive arable land need to increase by 50% if the current 400m ha of Amazonian rain forest are to be retained. Population trends, with massive increases in Asia, also show that global trade in agricultural produce must intensify further as Latin America will be providing the shortfall in food for Asia. There are many examples of the application of modern technologies of sensing, telemetry and data interpretation in agribusiness such as satellite imaging and use of Global Information and Positioning Systems in modelling systems and enabling precision agriculture. These have historically been developed opportunistically using technology intended for other areas. The food and fuel challenge must also be met in a sustainable way, protecting scarce water resources and maintaining soil fertility. Efficiency in timing and targeting applications are important, but first practical ways to reduce wastage of agricultural commodities from pest and disease attack and from spoilage in the supply chain and at retailers must be found. To meet the challenges ahead will require new thinking specifically tailored to agricultural produce supply issues. Remote monitoring, sensing, telemetry and reporting coupled to data analysis and application are poised to offer substantial benefits in these areas as scientific advances can be coupled to new business systems. Dr Bruce Donaldson Grieve, BSc(hons), PhD, CEng MIET Dr Grieve is the director of the first Syngenta University Innovation Centre (UIC) and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. This UIC undertakes research into the areas of sensing, communications, datamining and associated physical sciences with respect to how they may influence worldwide agriculture. Dr Grieve is a chartered engineer and has spent 19 years of his career in the field of on-line analysis and measurement R&D within pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Prior to taking on directorship of the Sensors UIC, he was based in Syngenta’s New Business Development unit (Basel, Switzerland) working in close collaboration with the company’s commercial managers to determine how sensors and diagnostics systems may be deployed within new agribusiness activities. Previously Dr Grieve has been the industrial manager on a number of Research Council and DTI supported projects including leading the ProceMon project. He was an author of the DTI’s future vision report entitled “Sensors 2015” and is presently the chair of the Sensors Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). He has held a number of research funding board roles and has been a member of the EPSRC’s peer review college for seven years. Email: bruce.grieve@manchester.ac.uk Tel: +44 161 306 8941 Fax: +44 161 306 4789 About the Syngenta Sensors UIC at Manchester University: Syngenta is a global agribusiness with sales of US$ 8.1Bn and an R&D spend of US$ 822M (2005). Since it’s formation in November 2000, from the merger of the AstraZeneca and Novartis crop science businesses, it has significantly refocused its research activities to meet the projected needs of agriculture and food supply. In the light of this a number of strategic enabling technologies have been identified which can facilitate innovative new approaches to crop growth and non-mammalian biotechnology. Sensor science is one of these technologies which have the capacity to create a paradigm shift in the future of the sector. To realise this potential the Syngenta UIC model has been developed to identify and nurture business opportunities for medium to longer term applied research. The Manchester UIC is forging the precedent in this area and has been structured, following a due diligence phase, from elements of business and technology incubation as employed by other entrepreneurial companies. The centre has been strategically domiciled within the university environment so as to nurture and translate the underpinning sciences, from across the physical and life-sciences interfaces, which will be required to deliver the new products and services. The UIC is based within the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering but is necessarily multidisciplinary due to the nature of the techniques being researched. Though the ultimate objective of the UIC is to deliver systems for commercial use it should be highlighted that the supporting science that is catalysed in order to realise these devices will have broad applicability and be available for spin-out duties elsewhere in academia and industry. A Statement from Syngenta:
“This technology area is likely to have a major
impact as costs and size diminish, and limitation,
for example in battery technology, are overcome. We
will accelerate innovation in this fast-developing
area by building a group in Manchester with critical
mass in skill sets we don’t have within Syngenta.
These include telemetry and acoustic sensing. There
will be a strong linkage to Syngenta business and
technical functions that will direct focus towards
areas of value for us. It will also promote
knowledge transfer and product development. This is
no academic ivory tower.” Selected Publications:
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“World
population will grow from 6.5bn (2006) to 8bn by
2025 and 9.3bn in 2050. By 2020 many governments
intend that substantial volumes of transport fuel
must be derived from agriculture.”|
Updated July 2012 |
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