We also work with industry to translate innovative ideas into real-world benefits and share the wonder and importance of what we do with the public, schools and local communities.
This year, Imperial has continued to grow and sustain its local, national and global connections and collaborations with business, academia, non-profit, healthcare and government institutions. We have deepened global links, from laboratories to scholarships, and continued to showcase international collaboration in education.
2022–23 in focus
Imperial-built kit on board space mission
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) successfully launched, carrying Imperial kit on a mission to assess the habitability of Jupiter’s moons. Working with nine other instruments, the Imperial-led technology – the J-MAG magnetometer instrument – will help to characterise Jupiter’s environment and three of its largest moons. During the mission, the team are also partnering with the University of Leicester, who are responsible for radiation analysis, and Kyoto University, Japan, who will support the in-flight calibration of J-MAG.
Grant award for Imperial-led National Wind Tunnel Facility
Imperial will be leading a new network of world-leading university wind tunnels, with the help of funding from UK Research and Investment. The National Wind Tunnel Facility will see the creation of 11 wind tunnels, an experimental database and upgrades to existing facilities. Imperial will receive £2.9m from the £23m fund to host the Wind Tunnel Facility Hub and establish new facilities.
Transatlantic AI partnerships
Imperial and Cornell University have formed a new partnership to cooperate on using AI to accelerate scientific discovery and future technologies. The partnership will create a bridge between world-leading AI centres in London and New York to revolutionise the way scientists carry out research and solve the world’s biggest challenges. Imperial and Cornell will work together to explore ways the technology could be used in scientific and engineering research to improve analysis, increase automation and ultimately lead to faster scientific discoveries.
Future-facing materials facility launched at White City
Imperial’s new Royce facility launched at our White City Campus in March 2023. The facility offers state-of-theart equipment to support research on advanced materials.
Supported by the Henry Royce Institute, the facility forms part of the Royce ‘Atoms to Devices’ theme and will deliver innovation at every stage of fabrication, taking advanced materials from their building-block atoms to fully functional devices. The work will generate new materials for quantum technologies, materials for the energy transition, healthcare and information technologies.
Activities at the Royce facility will be supported over the next five years by funding from the UK government. Imperial will receive around £500,000 per year to support research and innovation in advanced materials, such as biomaterials, smart materials and nano-engineered materials.