IfM News September 2013No 189

Colour enhanced composite image of carbon nanotube structures created and pictured by Michaël De Volder, who was awarded an ERC starting grant to pursue the development of highly-structured carbon nanomaterials

Focus on: The Centre for Industrial Photonics

Laser quest: Titanium towers built from 0.05mm particles flash welded together after striking a surface at more than 0.5km/second. Right, Professor Bill O’Neill, and 3D printing – additive manufacturing of nylon fabric using selective laser sintering technology

CIP is engaged in a wide range of research and development topics that focus on advancing the state of laser and ion beam manufacturing technologies across length scales from nanometres to hundreds of metres.

It is home to Cambridge arm of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Ultra Precision, the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Laser-based Production Processes, and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Ultra Precision.

Research activities go beyond the traditional application of lasers, like localised delivery of optical energy to perform materials processing operations such as cutting, welding and heat treatment.

Instead CIP focuses on novel laser matter interactions through the application of ultrafast laser pulses, conditioned laser energy profiles that lead to designer materials, efficient production routes and in-process control methodologies.

Its work is supported by national and international firms that compete in sectors including medical devices, packaging, photonics, communications technologies, oil and gas, energy generation, automotive and aerospace. It is well placed to deliver innovative solutions to industry as well as skilled postgraduates that can take new technologies into industry and increase the global competitiveness of the UK manufacturing base.

One of the key activities is to support the wider Cambridge academic community by providing access to state-of-the-art laser production technologies and characterisation laboratories. CIP members have a wide range of academic backgrounds that include material scientists, engineers, physicists and chemists.

New programmes starting this autumn include the development of a low-cost laser 3D printer aimed at the schools market; a laser based underground coal gasification

technology that will extract energy

from coal without

removing it from the ground; offshore decommissioning technology for the safe dismantling of oil rigs; and the development of a new high speed metal build technology for the production of patient specific biomedical implants.

It expects a busy year ahead delivering new and exciting manufacturing solutions. Despite the intensive nature of the CIP research portfolio, the team are always keen to showcase advanced technology and relish the opportunity to develop new exhibits for visitors to the Manufacturing Zone of the Cambridge Science Festival (or so they tell me, says the head of CIP, Professor Bill O’Neill!)

Senior Research Associate Dr Mar-tin Sparkes is an engineer

surrounded by scientists. The long-serving post doc has seen wonder-ful ideas tried, tested and made into commercial

products. His interests are electron and photon based: interfacing and controlling laser systems to provide new capability and maximise performance at low cost.

Dr Andrew Cockburn, Research Associate, above, is a materials scientist. He is a post-doc with a primary interest in material processing, developing processes to control material structure down

to the nanoscale. Andrew has worked on a variety of processes, including the solid state deposition of metallic coatings via supersonic laser deposition and the efficient use of rare earth elements through the creation of nanostructured magnets via laser annealing.

Matt Bannister, a 2nd year PhD student, joined the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Ultra Precision in October 2012. His research is into the removal of ion beam-implanted gallium by use of ultrafast laser conditioning and annealing.

Wenhe Feng, 2nd year PhD student, is researching the application of femtosecond laser irradiation and chemical etching (FLICE) in the manufacturing

of lab-on-chips (LOCs). By two simple steps of interior laser patterning and chemical etching, this technique allows fabrication of glass-based chips.

Karen Yu, another 2nd year PhD student, is monitoring ultra precision processing. Current nano- and micro-manufacturing is not

limited by the processing technology, but the ability to monitor and provide feedback/quality control. This project aims

to provide a solution. Karen likes shooting things with lasers.

Caroline Earl, 4th year PhD student, is studying Laser Surfi-Sculpt, used for applications where an increase in surface area is required without requiring additional material. She is interested in understanding the production mechanism and impact of processing parameters to optimise the production of the features.

David Hopkinson, 3rd year PhD student, focuses his research on

reducing the quantity of rare earth elements required in rare earth magnets. This is done by using the rapid thermal

processing times afforded by laser processing to precipitate nanocomposites of ferrite and Nd2Fe14B from amorphous precursors.

The MRes in Ultra Precision is a part-taught, part research course studying the application of ultra-precision technologies. Modules are split between Cranfield and Cambridge, covering conventional and non-conventional machining precision manufacturing techniques. An industrial context is provided through visits to leading technology firms and international conferences.

The MRes provides a platform from which students can build their PhD studies. Current projects include: residual stress analysis using a focused ion beam, laser beam steering using acousto-optic deflectors, fabrication of holograms on optical fibre, and high-power spatial light modulators. See the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Ultra Precision website at www.cdt-up.eng.cam.ac.uk/

Men in Black: MRes students, from left, Francisco Orozco, Jiho Han, Raham Jahromi and Jon Parkins

There’s precision . . . and then there’s ultra precision

Celebrating an event-ful decade for Jo . . .Jo Griffiths was joined by colleagues past and present to raise a glass of bubbly to mark 10 years since she joined the IfM. As reported in IfM News in September 2003, Jo joined the then ILU as Events and Membership Manager.

. . . and it’s 10 years for BillBill O’Neill also joined that month – congratulations to him. To turn back the clock to September 2003 and read the edition in full, visit http://www-ml.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/03septifmnews.pdf

We’ve got the powerThis month ECS welcomed a new cohort of managers from Caterpillar. This is the fourth group from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East who study a programme called Powering Up. Over four weeks, one each month until December, they work on economics, marketing, finance, leadership and strategy. Between visits they work group projects of strategic value to Caterpillar.Alan Cousens says: “The current cohort has managers from several of Caterpillar’s business divisions – there’s much more to Caterpillar than just big yellow diggers – and from many countries. In addition to managers from most of Caterpillar’s UK locations we have visitors from

Russia, Germany, France, Belgium, and The Netherlands. “An encouraging sign is that one this group has come at the recommendation of his boss – who was a member of a previous Powering Up cohort!”

Latin American visitorsFiona Clouder, the future Ambassador to Chile, visited the IfM this month along with a delegation from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Also from South America, we welcomed members of the innovation centre of the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, Brazil, who wanted to get a better understanding of the IfM. It wasn’t all one-way traffic on the international front – Mike Gregory was part of a visit to Delhi for the inaugural meeting of the Vice-Chancellor’s Circle of Advisors for India on September 11.

The refugee camp where ‘the smiles are priceless’The plight of children displaced by the Syrian conflict prompted Jasser Al-Kassab, former IfM Research Associate and now Visiting Researcher, to act. With his brother Omar, they spent nine days in Jordan, in villages, cities and camps, including the Zataari refugee camp – with 180,000 inhabitants, the country’s fourth largest city. They raised £13,000 before setting off with SCM, a Syrian-US NGO and focused on education for children who had lost one or both parents. The money mainly supports education projects – two teachers for six months for 40 children in an orphanage; a teacher for six months for 11 paralyzed children in a spinal

cord injury clinic; and books and uniforms for luckier children in a Jordanian school.It was also used for emergencies, including buying vitamins for anaemic children and two blood pressure measurement devices.Jasser said: “We are aware this is only a small drop in the ocean. We hope the suffering will soon end.” For those that your donations have helped, he added: “Their smiles were priceless. Thank you.”For more information, or to make a donation, visit syrianrefugeecrisis.blogspot.ch.

Disruptive focus for annual CIM symposium‘Disruptive supply network models in future industrial systems: configuring for resilience and sustainability’ was the title of the 17th CIM Symposium held on 19-20 September. Chaired by Jag Srai, keynote speakers on day one included Ed Mercer, above, VP of global manufacturing engineering at Electrolux, Tom Hebbert, supply chain development director at Tesco, and Nick Wildgoose, below, of the World Economic Forum. Day two provided insights from leading academics from around the world.

Here to help: Jasser, left, and Omar with some of the children

New joinersDr Weon-Vin Lee will be a Visiting Scholar in the Centre for Industrial Sustainability until August 2014. He has been working in the Korea Presidential Committee for two years and the Korean Institute for Industrial Economics for eight years as a Research Fellow. He has a doctorate in economics and has studied a variety of subjects concerning agglomeration externalities of industrial complex and regional economic growth. His research interests include sustainable industrial systems and modern regional development strategy for clustering. He can be contacted at wvl22@cam.ac.uk

Dr Florian Urmetzer will be joining the CSA working with Andy Neely for three month as a Visiting Researcher. He is currently on leave from his job at Accenture in Zürich. He did his PhD at Reading University’s School of Systems Engineering in the area of real-time distributed collaborative IT environments. He has worked for SAP Research as a senior researcher as well as for Volkswagen, IBM and Gartner. His research interest is the use of services in industry.

¡Adios Alfonso!Alfonso Castrejon-Pita is leaving to start his new post as a University Lecturer in Fluid Mechanics at the University of Oxford, held together with a Royal Society University

Research Fellowship. He will be a Fellow of Wadham College. He joined the IfM in April 2011 as a Research Associate working on the EPSRC-funded

Glassjet project at the Inkjet Research Centre. He switched to the KACST-CAMM Research Centre to perform research on liquid drops and their implications to inkjet technologies – 3D printing in particular. During the past couple

of years, Alfonso and his colleagues have published a series of high-impact articles on the mechanisms that dictate the dynamics of drop formation and jet breakup.

Let’s hear it for LeoCongratulations to Kat Harding, whose son Leo Alexander John Robertson was born on 2 September, weighing in at 6lb 15oz.

Best paper at conferenceClare Weiller and Andy Neely won the Best Full Paper award at the British Academy of Management Conference 2013 in Liverpool on 10-12 September. Entitled ‘Business model design in an ecosystem context’, it was submitted to the Inter-Organizational Collaboration: Partnerships, Alliances and Networks track.

Talking the big data talkAs part of the CSA seminar series, Philipp Hartmann presented his preliminary results of his research at the IfM in recent months. In ‘Capturing value from Big Data through Data-Driven Business Models – Patterns from the Start-Up world’, he spoke on

developing a framework to analyse data-driven business models. He investigated 100 start-up companies and identified several business model archetypes. He is visiting from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, to do his master’s thesis.

Wedding bellsImoh Ilevabare and his bride Ayo, above, were married in Nigeria on September 5. They had both a church and a traditional wedding.

CSA wins new grantThe CSA has been awarded a research grant from NEMODE – New Economic Models in the Digital Economy, Network+, for the project ‘The impact of big data on economic models within Complex Service Networks.’ It will set out to address the role of big data in enabling economic and business model innovation, the barriers to be overcome and competences required to generate value from big data in Complex Service Networks. In particular it will address these areas from the perspectives of the start-up and more established companies. Contact Mohamed Zaki mehyz2@cam.ac.uk for more information.

l Also at the CSA, the final preparations are being made for Service Week, on 1-4 October. See www.cambridgeservicealliance.org/events/serviceweek2013.html

Climb every mountainSamuel Short, a PhD

student in the CIS, made solo ascents

this summer of Mont Blanc (4810m, the highest peak in

Western Europe), Monte Rosa,

(4634m) and the Matterhorn (4478m)

Notice boardMeet your librarianNiamh Tumelty, the new Engineering Department librarian, is aiming to visit the West Site every week. Email her Niamh to arrange an appointment at cued-library@eng.cam.ac.uk. The calendar of CUED librarian can be found at bit.ly/17LB9Ug. We will also be welcoming Niamh for the usual first year PhD library session at 11am on Friday 18 October. To attend, contact Janet Lindley ifm-admin@eng.cam.ac.uk

Inspiring research‘Inspiring Research through Industrial Collaboration’ is restarting its series of events on

how to design and manage research to achieve the greatest industrial

impact. The first of these, Selling for Researchers, is a full-day course at the Hauser Forum on Tuesday 8 October and is a re-run of a successful event first run in 2012 by Marcel Dissel, an IfM alumnus. For more see www.engineerimpact.info and to reserve a place email Charles Boulton cb683@cam.ac.uk

Bright ideas at i-TeamsInterested in how new inventions are commercialised? Looking for some hands-on business skills and experience? Join an i-Team and work for a term with students from across the University and a dedicated industry mentor, gaining hands-on skills and experience. For details visit www.iteamsonline.org – the closing date for applications is September 30.

Courses and eventsl Service Week

1 - 4 October

l Open Innovation Forum Food & FMCG Pitching Event

Monday 14 October

l Strategic Roadmapping

Tuesday 15 October

l Technology Intelligence

Wednesday 16 October

l The Fundamentals of Manufacturing Management

Six evening workshops, starting Wednesday 16 October, ending on Wednesday 11 December

l Michaelmas seminarsThe Production Processes Group (PPG) seminars in Michaelmas term take place on Friday 1 November, 22 November and 13 December. All are at 5.30pm at the IfM.

CADMC welcomes leading thinkersAlmost 100 delegates attended the two-day event on 4-5 September, chaired by James Moultrie. It reflected on what has been learnt so far and speculated as to future directions. The keynote speakers were Alan Topalian, of Alto Design Management, and Natalie Nixon, of Philadelphia University.

Award for two top authorsDavid Probert and Rob Phaal have been recognised by the International Association of Management of Technology (IAMOT) as being in the top 50 authors in the field of technology and innovation management over the last five years, based on a quantitative analysis of research from 2008-2012. A formal awards presentation takes place at the annual IAMOT conference in May.

New company is fit for purposeSinéad Hurley’s husband Kevin has started up his own company, Hurley Fitness, in Cambridge, specialising in personal training. For more information, talk to Sinéad or see www.hurleyfitness.co.uk

You don’t have to run through fire to prove your fitness to play 5-a-side football – but director of football Nick Mann, above left, expects this kind of commitment.Forget Sky Sports Super Sunday – come along to the IfM’s Magic Mondays instead. The international mix of players has produced a blend of ‘tika-taka’ short passing possession football with the odd hoof into Row Z. Man of the match from a recent game

went to Jae Hwan, above – nearly unbeatable between the posts as this photo of one of his diving saves shows.Matches are every Monday at 5-6pm. If you want to play, get in contact with Nick Mann nm402@cam.ac.uk

Chariots of Fire – the IfM remix

Recent publicationsAl-Kassab, J, Thiesse, F, and Buckel, T (2013): RFID-Enabled Business Process Intelligence in Retail Stores: A Case Report. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research (JTAER), Vol 8, Issue 2, pp 112-137.Al-Kassab, J, Ouertani, Z, Schiuma, G, and Neely, A (2013): Information visualization to support management decisions. International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific (accepted May 2013).Barlow, C Y, and Morgan, D C (2013): Polymer film packaging for food: An environmental assessment. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol 78, pp 74-80.Barlow, C Y, Maloney, S E, and Woodhouse, J: The role of damping in steel pan manufacture. Proceedings of the 4th Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference 2013, SMAC 2013, pp 543-548, July/August, KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Sweden. Eds Roberto Bresin & Anders Askenfelt.Kumar, M, Srai, J, Pattinson, L, and Gregory, M (2013): Mapping of the UK food supply chains: capturing trends and structural changes. Journal of Advances in Management Research, Vol 10, Issue 2, pp 299-326.Li, J, and Garnsey, E (2013): Building joint value: Ecosystem support for global health innovations. In R Adner, J Oxley & B S Silverman (Eds.): Collaboration and Competition in Business Ecosystems, Advances in Strategic Management, Vol 30, pp 69-96.Masood, M, and Barlow, C Y (2013): Framework for integration of informal waste management sector with the formal sector in Pakistan. Waste Management and Research.doi:10.1177/0734242X13499811Yates, M R, and Barlow, C Y (2013): Life cycle assessments of biodegradable, commercial biopolymers – A critical review. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol 78, pp 54-66.

Read all about it: IfM in the newsHere is a selection of our latest media coverage:Being a solutions provider doesn’t make you specialAndy Neely talks about the global race for servitisation.The Manufacturerhttp://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/212380/

Next Manufacturing Revolution will see savings beyond labourManufacturing the Future report (page 8) published in The Guardian (based on The Next Manufacturing Revolution: Non-Labour Resource Productivity and its Potential for UK Manufacturing, report co-authored by the IfM)The GuardianPrint and online at bit.ly/18uGw8V and http://sites.mediaplanet.com/gb/mp-uk-manufacturing-the-future/

Attention now turning to non-labour costs – the ‘elephant in the room’An examination of best practice in reducing non-labour costs (based on The Next Manufacturing Revolution report)CFOWorld.co.ukhttp://www.cfoworld.co.uk/in-depth/change-management/3467640/discussing-sustainable-cost-reduction/

Engineers hoping to go eastFourth year MET students appeal to companies to get involved in their overseas research trip to Malaysia next year.Cambridge NewsPrint

16 | September 17, 2013 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

Scholars bond over scienceSCIENCE students from all over Europe arrived in Cambridge yesterday.

Taking place at Cambridge University, the Amgen Scholars Programme Symposium met after 77 students spent the summer working in various university laboratories.

With a total of 77 undergraduates taking part, the symposium formed part of a programme inspiring the next generation of scientists.

Sustainable award winnersTHREE winners from Cambridge University have been announced for the winners of Dow Chemical Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award.

The recipients of the prize were Kai Xi, Shuai Cao and Xiaoyu Peng, who beat 50 other students from the university.

Each student will now receive an award grant in support of their research.

Algae growth centre set upA NEW microalgae growth facility opened at the Botanic Gardens last week.

Supported by the University of East Anglia and the Cambridge University, the centre will research how algae can lower carbon emissions and aid to waste management.

It is hoped certain strains of algae could be grown and developed as either health food or as animal feed.

Heaney works go on display THE works of the recently-deceased Irish poet Seamus Heaney have been put on display in the University Library.

An exhibition was mounted in the entrance hall, showing the work he did with artists and printers in a number of small, private and fine-press productions of his poetry.

The display will be on until Saturday, September 28, and is open to the public during the library’s opening hours.

in brief

ENTERPRISING: Manufacturing engineer students from left, James Green, Abigail Bush, Nick Roope and Catriona McGill

Engineers hoping to go eastSTUDENTS from the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) will be seeking out opportunities in the east for a major outsourcing operation.

The 25 engineering students from Cambridge University will travel to Malaysia to examine the country’s potential as an outsourcing destination.

Inviting companies and academics to get involved, the students will spend eight months planning their overseas research project trip in July.

It is hoped the project will provide a thorough understanding of manufacturing in the region.

To find out more, contact Oskar at oek21@cam.ac.uk

Online course calls itself ‘University of Oxbridge’AN online education programme calling itself the ‘University of Oxbridge’ is in hot water after running the risk of legal action by Oxford University.

According to Oxford, talks are currently under way as to whether legal action will be taken against the website for “passing off” the Oxford crest and colours.

Cambridge University, which is also featured in pictures on the London-based company, has also said they would be happy to support whatever action Oxford chooses to take.

The ‘University of Oxbridge’ claims to offer courses, both undergraduate and PhD level, in subjects such as accounting, business consultant and

media and web development. The website, which does not

quite meet Oxbridge’s spelling requirements, states students have the option of taking any of the subjects in English, Arabic or ‘Frensh’.

An unnamed president is quoted on the home page as saying: “Here at Oxbridge Online University we provide comprehensive and in-depth learning materials which break down elements, allowing students to clearly identify the steps and procedures involved in completing tasks.”

When the News contacted the company to inquire how much

a student could be charged for a PhD in ‘science in economics’, the following reply was received: “Thank you very much for your interesting in our degree Programs and we would like to inform you that our Online University degree program will start soon. We are hopefully to start before the Christmas 2013. Kindly send us your full details as it’s required in our website and as soon as possible we will send you the competitive offer price what will be very attractive for your consideration.”

When further pressed for details of fees, no response was received.

A spokesman for Oxford said the website had been flagged up to the university’s legal team, who were

involved in discussions regarding the site.

He said: “Whilst we are aware of the website no decision has been made at this time.”

A spokeswoman for Cambridge University said: “As it is Oxford’s crest and colours that could be seen as being ‘passed off’, we will be leaving it with them to decide what action to take.

“We will work in support of them and are happy to do so should any action be taken. But, we would not lead something ourselves.”

�� ElEanor dickinson

Anglia Ruskin wins funding for graduate employmentANGLIA Ruskin University has successfully secured government funding to link up graduates with business employers.

The university won £155,000 for a scheme to help Cambridgeshire’s small and medium-sized enter-prises (SMEs) recruit and train graduates.

The government fund-

ing will support Anglia Ruskin’s Graduate Recruit-ment Employability And Training Supply programme (GREATS), which launches in October.

GREATS aims to help SMEs access graduate talent, as well as helping graduates acquire necessary workplace skills.

The university’s director of

research, development and commercial services Dr Tony West said: “This funding will allow us to use our expertise in graduate recruitment and work-based learning to establish GREATS as an invaluable service to local businesses.

“Our research shows that SMEs need to fill skills gaps to grow and

innovate, but do not have the resources for the same complex recruitment and selection processes as large businesses. Nor do they have the time to offer the same level of support as graduate fast track programmes.

“We also found that UK graduates are not aware of the benefits of working for SMEs, even though they

provide nearly 60 per cent of all private sector jobs.”

“We look forward to bring-ing local businesses and talented graduates together through this exciting and important programme.”

GREATS can be used by any SME employing a maxi-mum of 250 employees. For more information, contact GREATS@anglia.ac.uk

Would you study at Oxbridge University? Tell us atcambridge-news.co.uk

IfM Writing GroupEvery Thursday, 1345 to 1515hrs, September 26 to December 12

Seminar Room 1

Writing groups provide effective writing time because distractions are minimised and friendly peer pressure encourages a real focus.

Bring a drink and be prepared to focus and write. You will need to have a writing task in mind. After 5 minutes of “free-form” writing, proven to warm up your pen/fingers and mind, the next 60-75 minutes will be uninterrupted, silent group writing time. You will be impressed by how much you achieve.

For further information contact Judith Shawcross jks45@cam.ac.uk