Reporter

Transfering the source of knowledge

28 July 2010

Imperial has always sought to bring practical benefits to society through the transfer of knowledge; indeed its founding charter of 1907 emphasised the importance of undertaking research which has ‘application to industry’. Today more and more organisations are turning to universities to access their wealth of knowledge and specialised expertise which often cannot be found elsewhere. Reporter speaks to researchers across the College who are expanding the reach of their work through consultancy.

Communicating research

Dr Sunday Popo-Ola, a research and teaching fellow (Civil and Environmental Engineering), has been at Imperial for over 15 years and a consultant since he completed his PhD. He has worked on a range of consultancy projects from testing concrete structures to advising on bridge design.

Sunday is passionate about using consultancy to take his structural engineering research to a wider audience. “What’s the point of research being hidden away in universities when it could be much more relevant out in the real world, potentially changing people’s lives?” he asks. And with over 600 Imperial staff members actively consulting alongside their research, Sunday’s not alone. Last year Imperial Consultants, which connects external organisations with experts at the College, worked with over 300 companies, including household names such as Shell, Coca-Cola and Unilever, and achieved a turnover of £15.2 million.

Working on real-life problems

Mr Dave Taylor, from the Medical Media and Design Laboratory in the Faculty of Medicine, is working with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York on a consultancy project involving the popular three-dimensional virtual world, Second Life. Dave and his team are experts in using virtual environments for healthcare education and collaboration, working under Professor Lord Ara Darzi to redefine the way new digital media is used in healthcare. Working with the cancer centre, they have been building a Second Life imitation of a real chemotherapy clinic being constructed in Brooklyn. The clinic will approach chemotherapy treatment in a completely different way to traditional hospitals, and the digital version will help staff and patients get used to the novel concepts it will use.

“Typically, staff only have a few days to get used to a new hospital building before it opens to the public,” explains Dave. “By replicating the building in Second Life, staff can train for much longer beforehand in the virtual hospital, testing their operating procedures and planning their daily routines.”

What’s the point of research being hidden away in universities when it could be much more relevant out in the real world

Dave hopes that their research into Second Life can be used by hospitals across the world to test out new buildings, as well as prepare for evacuations and fires, something not usually possible in a busy hospital with vulnerable patients. Providing experience for PhDs Dr Emile Greenhalgh, a reader in composite materials (Aeronautics), is a leading expert in fractography – the study of fracture surfaces of materials, often used to determine the cause of failure in engineering structures. Emile has written one of the only books in the field and worked for many years at QinetiQ in composite materials research and testing – all of which makes him a prime candidate for consultancy work. His consultancy projects involve evaluating two material specimens (supplied by the client) to identify differences in properties and find out, for example, why one material is under-performing compared to the other.

Emile particularly values his consultancy projects as they expose the Department’s PhD students and postdocs to real-life problems. “They get the chance to get involved with the testing and get paid for it. The consultancy work also helps them to develop knowledge and skills relevant to the industry. It also benefits the Department when the income from the consultancy work goes back into research funds, studentships and new equipment.”

Furthering research

The majority of consultancy placements Imperial Consultants manages are generated by researchers who develop contacts with industry. For example, lecturer Dr Michael Templeton (Civil and Environmental Engineering), often comes into contact with water industry representatives through his research into drinking water treatment technologies and contaminants. Michael says he always makes sure that any consultancy project links to his research interests and is likely to lead to publishable results.

Recently he worked with DEFRA, to make recommendations about potential nitrogen by-products in UK drinking water, which will lead to funding for further research in this area. By undertaking consultancy work Michael is able to apply his research to reallife problems which could affect us all.

—Katie Weeks, Imperial Consultants

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Tags: Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial Consultants
Posted in College, Research | 1 Comment »

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