TEAM-A: The tailored electromagnetic and acoustic materials accelerator

This five-year Prosperity Partnership programme will build upon and deepen the successful relationship that exists between the University of Exeter and QinetiQ. We will develop advanced materials that can be used to control and manipulate the propagation of electromagnetic and acoustic energy in a highly tailored, bespoke fashion, and develop innovative techniques for their cost-effective manufacture. Materials that have the ability to fully control and manipulate the flow of electromagnetic (e.g. radiated heat, light, radiowaves) and acoustic (e.g. sound, vibration, shock) energy have the potential to transform, and enable, a large and diverse range of technologies. Exeter and QinetiQ have long been at the forefront of the science and engineering of such materials, with recent examples being: the modification of wind turbines to reduce their interference with meteorological and aviation radar systems, where half of the viable wind-farm sites in the UK are currently blocked for this reason, and the development of new optoelectronic materials for the realisation of beyond ultra-high definition displays. However, there are still significant challenges prohibiting the widespread take up of these new materials in applications. In particular, concepts developed in the laboratory are often incompatible with commercial manufacture, due to their complexity and the nature of the constituent parts. Instead, the basic science that describes the behaviour of these new materials needs to be combined with a detailed understanding of how such materials could be manufactured, so that new materials can be designed and engineered to tackle specific technological challenges using commercially viable approaches. The objective of this Partnership is to bring together leading advanced materials and manufacturing research at Exeter and QinetiQ to address real technology and innovation challenges. Through the exchange of staff, the shared used of facilities and an emphasis on the training of a new generation of entrepreneurial researchers, we will work across conventional discipline and institutional boundaries to accelerate the impact of academic research. The outcome of the programme will be a sustainable, long term partnership, underpinned by revenue created through the creation of products, or the licensing of intellectual property. The resulting research and technology pipeline will underpin future innovation, leading to the creation of additional high tech UK jobs and economic impact through spin-outs and joint ventures.