news 2022

2022 was another packed year for news from the Faculty Science and Engineering. From dinosaurs, to robots and amazing students to distant stars, here are some of our highlights: Palaeontologists working on the Ichthyosaur skeleton found at Rutland Water August 26 2021 Matthew Power Photography www.matthewpowerphotography.co.uk 07969 088655 matthew@matthewpowerphotography.co.uk @mpowerphoto In January we kicked the year off with a colossal story.

Silvia Massini, Mabel Sanchez-Barrioluengo, Xiaoxiao Yu have published a report exploring the key findings from ADiTS survey, in collaboration with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. High costs and a lack of access to people with the relevant skills are significant barriers to businesses adopting digital technologies across Greater Manchester, according to a major new AMBS report.

A new and more efficient way of modelling and designing power electronic converters using artificial intelligence (AI) has been created by a team of experts from Cardiff University and the Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult. The method has reduced design times for technology by up to 78% compared to traditional approaches and was used to create a device with an efficiency of over 98%.

Five teams of undergraduate students have had the opportunity to develop impactful new technologies in Imperial labs this summer. The Faculty of Natural Sciences' Make A Difference (FoNS-MAD) competition, which is open to all undergraduate students from across the College, gives students the resources to develop low-cost technologies that will have a positive impact on society.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replace optical and mechanical components, researchers have designed a tiny spectrometer that breaks all current resolution records. We see light and colours around us every day. However, to analyse the information it carries, we must analyse light using spectrometers, in the lab.

Global science research serves the needs of the Global North, and is driven by the values and interests of a small number of companies, governments and funding bodies, finds a major new international study published today. As such, the authors find, science, technology and innovation research is not focused on the world's most pressing problems including taking climate action, addressing complex underlying social issues, tackling hunger and promoting good health and wellbeing.

A new system of flying drones working together to 3D print material, has been developed by a team involving researchers at UCL and Imperial College London. It's the first time flying drones have been coordinated like this to 3D print an object. The system, called Aerial Additive Manufacturing (Aerial-AM), is a new approach to 3D printing using collaborative flying robots to transport and deposit building material.

Materials researchers have developed a new technique to successfully determine the recycled contents of plastic products. To encourage more recycling, some countries are taxing single-use plastic products containing less than 30% recycled plastic material. But aside from a manufacturer's word, there isn't an easy way to verify this.

Imperial College London and researchers have created a fleet of bee-inspired flying 3D printers for building and repairing structures in-flight. The technology could ultimately be used for manufacturing and building in difficult-to-access or dangerous locations such as tall buildings or help with post-disaster relief construction, say the researchers, who publish their work in Nature .

Using X-rays, artificial intelligence and 3D printing, two UCL researchers reproduced a "lost" work of art by renowned Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, 135 years after he painted over it. PhD researchers Anthony Bourached (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and George Cann (UCL Space and Climate Physics), working with artist Jesper Eriksson, used cutting edge technology to recreate a long-concealed Van Gogh painting.

Using X-rays, artificial intelligence and 3D printing, two UCL researchers reproduced a "lost" work of art by renowned Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, 135 years after he painted over it. PhD researchers Anthony Bourached (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and George Cann (UCL Space and Climate Physics), working with artist Jesper Eriksson, used cutting edge technology to recreate a long-concealed Van Gogh painting.

Engineers have created intelligent 3D printers that can quickly detect and correct errors, even in previously unseen designs, or unfamiliar materials like ketchup and mayonnaise, by learning from the experiences of other machines.

Is AI our only hope for the future of humankind? Professor Sami Kaski explores how this powerful tool could help meet the challenges facing our world. But how do we ensure that the human is present in the machine? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all around us. From the smart watches we wear everyday collecting our personal biodata to helping medical professionals prescribe to patients, this technology has the potential to greatly advance global health services, to name just one area, in the future.

Researchers have designed smart, colour-controllable white light devices from quantum dots - tiny semiconductors just a few billionths of a metre in size - which are more efficient and have better colour saturation than standard LEDs, and can dynamically reproduce daylight conditions in a single light.

Using digital devices, such as smartphones, could help improve memory skills rather than causing people to become lazy or forgetful, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , showed that digital devices help people to store and remember very important information.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow have developed a new type of heat pump, a flexible heat pump technology, which could help households save on their energy bills and contribute towards net-zero emissions goals. Heat pumps are a low-carbon alternative to gas boilers. They draw energy from external low temperature sources, most commonly outdoor air, in order to heat indoor spaces.

A new form of flexible photodetector could provide future robots with an electronic skin capable of 'seeing' light beyond the range of human vision. A team of engineers from the University of Glasgow are behind the breakthrough development, which involves a newly-developed method of printing microscale semiconductors made from gallium arsenide onto a flexible plastic surface.

Even if global temperatures begin to decline after peaking this century because of climate change, the risks to biodiversity could persist for decades after, finds a new study by UCL and University of Cape Town researchers. The paper, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , models the potential impacts on global biodiversity if temperatures increase by more than 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels, before beginning to decline again.

Using sound to levitate something when there are other objects in the way has been shown for the first time by UCL researchers and could lead to advances in the manufacturing and entertainment sectors. The findings open up possibilities for more advanced interactive entertainment through virtual reality and mixed reality at theme parks, arcades and museums.

Current measures of digital technology use are not fit for purpose, say researchers. Questionnaires and scales measuring how we interact with smartphones, social media and gaming should not be used to demonstrate links with mental health and wellbeing, according to research from the Universities of Bath and Lancaster.