Data science consultancy Tessella has been selected by the University of Liverpool’s Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) to support critical scientific data systems. The ?68million Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) - which will host the largest concentration of lab robotics for materials science in one research facility – will open in 2017 and aims to become a world leader in Computer Aided Material Science (CAMS) by 2020. The facility will enable academics and industry alike to further their research efforts, in a space that brings together a unique combination of a secure place to work, the finest equipment and the opportunity for collaboration.
The Materials Innovation Factory is a unique public/private partnership between the University and Unilever supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and will contain some of the most advanced tools available for materials research today which will be available to industry as well as available to academics from all universities.
Tessella will provide support to the critical scientific data management system. The system enables those who are using the facility to record traceable and robust data that can be used when needed. It also helps to improve existing modelling in order to help create new materials, and consequently speed up the research process. It is designed in such a way that newer developments can also be incorporated to collect information from multiple sources of data that are generated by academics, opening up even more research possibilities in the future.
Dr Simon Longden Managing Director of the Materials Innovation Facility explains the significance: “The Materials Innovation Factory was developed to enable a different way of research that caters to the evolving needs of both industry and academia. The flexibility of the service means that anyone can come in and create their own personalised intellectual environment.
“There is an open access site where people can work in collaboration or independently in a shared environment, however our ‘research hotel’ is also available for companies looking to collocate on site, so they can bring their private labs to work in these, but still work in the open access site if they want. Tessella’s input helps us to develop our systems to ensure that research data is kept safe. This has acted as a backbone to the service we will be launching, and they’re a great partner to have on board.”
Professor Andy Cooper, Academic Director of the Materials Innovation Facility adds: “With the launch of the site we hope to facilitate a new culture in the materials science community. We initially developed the Liverpool model, and over time we’ve aimed to build on our successes to help the community more and more, for example previously opening our Centre of Materials Discovery. We’ve aimed to continue adapting to new trends and considerations, and through the MIF we’re aiming to continue driving research and innovation. The MIF will provide world-leading, multi-disciplinary research expertise, unparalleled facilities and dynamic support infrastructure that will revolutionise research and development in the UK.”
Dr Keith Norman, Consumer Industries Sector Director at Tessella said: “It’s an exciting time for materials research, and the Materials Innovation Factory will certainly play a key part in the next steps for innovation in the UK. At Tessella we constantly strive to help drive innovation, drawing from the unrivalled mixture of expertise we have at our disposal in our team. Working with University of Liverpool to help them to bring their vision of the Materials Innovation Factory to life has been a proud moment for us and we’re looking forward to continue supporting the facility for years to come.”
