Innovative electronics Manufacturing Research Centre (IeMRC) launched
Innovative electronics Manufacturing Research Centre (IeMRC) launched
Keywords: Electronics industry, Manufacturing, Research
In October 2004 the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC) gave approval for the 15th Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre(IMRC) to be funded (£5.5 million over 5 years) and for it to be focussed on electronics manufacturing. Known as the Innovative electronicsManufacturing Research Centre (IeMRC) it is the first IMRC to have a distributed operation as opposed to one being centred at an institute. The IeMRC has a hub at Loughborough University and partners from the Universities of Bath,Brunel, Greenwich, Lancaster, Sheffield and Strathclyde.
The above Universities form the Executive Group, which provides the management function of IeMRC while an Industrial Steering Group (ISG)provides the research direction and strategy. The ISG is comprised of 15 senior engineering managers and scientists from leading UK companies in the electronics-manufacturing sector. It is both the Executive Group and the ISG that enact the centre's aim; “To establish a Centre of Expertise through which UK industry can access and influence research in electronics manufacturing”. Professor Paul Conway from Loughborough University is Director of IeMRC and takes overall responsibility, while the interface with industry is provided through the Industrial Director, Dr Martin Goosey of Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials. To ensure the centre's fairness and transparency of operation a Board of Governors has been appointed.
After the appointment of Dr Robert Horsley as Research Coordinator in January 2005, IeMRC issued its first Call for Proposals in early February. The call had available funds of approximately £1 million with a scope that had been defined by the ISG. The initial response to the call for outline proposals yielded 45 submissions with a total funding request of over £5 million. A number of potential projects have now been selected and invitations given for them to be developed into full proposals. Final selection results will be announced on 3 June 2005 and a copy of the IeMRC's Call for Proposals can be found at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/iemrc/IeMRC%20call%20for%20proposals.pdf
In addition to funding projects selected from the Call for Proposals, IeMRC also funds larger projects known as Flagships. The first of these Flagship projects is in the field of Power Electronics and is led by Professor Mark Johnson of the University of Sheffield. It involves a number of academic and industrial partners who will contribute both technical expertise and resources to the project. Funding of £800,000 has been requested from the IeMRC to support the project throughout its 42 month duration. Final endorsement of the project by the Board of Governors is expected in April with an anticipated launch date of the beginning of May 2005.
Full details of IeMRC operation and its activities can be found on www.iemrc.org
For further information, contact: Email: r.m.horsley@lboro.ac.uk
