UK's EPSRC forms alliance with ICMAC event

The UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, Swindon, UK) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800 million a year ($1,060,000 billion USD) in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. EPSRC’s Future Composites Manufacturing Research Hub, launched in January 2017, is a £10.3 million ($13.6 million USD) investment to expand the national research effort towards delivering a step change in the production of polymer matrix composites, while training the next generation of composite engineers. The Hub is led by the University of Nottingham and the University of Bristol and initially includes 4 other Spokes: Imperial College London, Cranfield University, the University of Manchester and the University of Southampton. Three new academic partners joined the Hub in October 2017 following the first call for Feasibility Study proposals: the University of Cambridge, The University of Edinburgh, and the University of Glasgow.

Supported by four High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centres and 18 leading companies from the composites sector, collectively offering a further £13m ($17.2 million USD) in support, the total portfolio is over £23 million ($30.5 million USD). This forms a key element in the UK’s composites manufacturing R&D strategy. The Hub builds on the solid foundations of CIMComp, the previously-funded EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites, which was set up in June 2011 and ran for 5 years. The Hub aims to become the national center of excellence in fundamental research for composites manufacturing. The Future Composites Manufacturing Research Hub is one of 6 hubs funded by the EPSRC to draw together expertise from 17 universities and 200 industrial partners to strengthen the UK’s manufacturing capabilities and take greater advantage of UK innovation. 

EPSRC recently announced that The Future Composites Manufacturing Research Hub (The Hub) has formed a strategic partnership with ICMAC 2018: the International Conference on Manufacturing of Advanced Composites. ICMAC will be held in Nottingham over two days on July 11-12, 2018. Organized by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, on behalf of the British Composites Society, ICMAC is now in its 11th edition.

The Hub is supporting the event, which promises to provide a forum where all those interested in composites manufacturing from the academic and industrial worlds can meet to interact and discuss their common interests. On July 10th, The Hub will host a one-day conference and table top exhibition. During this event, partners will be invited to highlight progress to date and showcase any project outputs. This free-to-attend event will be a great opportunity for those across the composites manufacturing supply chain to learn about the latest research and developments in this field.