The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), alongside the UK’s other Research Councils and Innovate UK, is supporting the Year of Engineering — a year-long campaign to celebrate UK engineering and inspire a new generation into engineering careers.

Throughout 2018, hundreds of organisations across the UK will showcase the world of engineering and look to inspire
the next generation of engineers by bringing young people face-to-face with engineering experiences and role models.

EPSRC (www.epsrc.ac.uk) has announced an investment of £6.6 million through the Engineering for a Prosperous Nation call to support projects with potentially transformative impact in fields ranging from autonomous vehicles to energy storage and health-care technology.

As part of this initiative, EPSRC encouraged bids for creative engineering research projects; this resulted in 28 projects at 17 different universities being supported, with grants awarded to researchers at all career stages and representing a diverse range of fields.

Research areas include: the development of ‘intelligent’ driver seats to act as co-pilots in autonomous cars; the use of diamond quantum technology to investigate neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s; the use of novel materials to create ‘artificial leaves’ for use in solar-power generation; and the investigation of new solutions to antimicrobial resistance in waste-water systems.

EPSRC’s chief executive, Philip Nelson, said: “Engineers are creators, innovators and problem solvers; their pioneering work creates a better future for us all.

"EPSRC continues to invest in this vision by supporting the engineers of tomorrow, and the projects we have announced are testament to our firm belief that novel transformative research will help to make the UK a more prosperous nation.”