The University of Southampton

Published: 10 December 2014
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Students from the University of Southampton are aiming to put the first life on Mars.

LettuceOnMars, a student project from the Mars One, to land experiments on Mars. It is now one of the ten short-listed university projects, and the only UK entry, that was selected for technical feasibility and popularity. The winning payload will arrive on Mars in 2018 together with the official Mars One experiments.

The aim of the Southampton project is to send a small greenhouse to Mars in which lettuce will be grown using the atmosphere and sunlight on Mars.

The team now need the votes of the general public to be chosen as the winner and realise their plan to grow lettuce on Mars. Voting is open now and closes on 31 December 2014.

The Spaceflight Society is an interdisciplinary team of under and postgraduate students including Hector Hamilton, a third year MEng student in Electronics and Computer Science, studying Electronic Engineering with Nanotechnology.

Lettuce on Mars’ Project leader Suzanna Lucarotti, says: “To live on other planets we need to grow food there. No-one has ever actually done this and we intend to be the first. This plan is both technically feasible and incredibly ambitious in its scope, for we will be bringing the first complex life to another planet. Growing plants on other planets is something that needs to be done, and will lead to a wealth of research and industrial opportunities that our plan aims to bring to the University of Southampton.

“We have tackled diverse sets of engineering challenges, including aeroponic systems, bio filters, low power gas pressurisation systems and failsafe planetary protection systems and then integrated them all into one payload on a tight mass, power and cost budget. We can build this here and now, the only step now is to win the public vote.”

To vote for the team, vote #LettuceOnMars - details are on the team website www.lettuceonmars.com

You can also follow them on twitter @MarsOneProject or @lettuceonmars, on Facebook www.facebook.com/lettuceonmars and on Google+.

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Published: 12 December 2014
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A special imaging system has been delivered to the British Museum and the Louvre. The "reflectance transformation imaging" domes use 76 LED lights and a high quality digital SLR camera to capture unique images of ancient artefacts. The images allow researchers to read the cuneiform tablets more easily as well as study small surface details. The systems were designed and built in ECS by Dr Kirk Martinez and Dr Philip Basford with help from Mark Long in the ECS mechanical workshop. An ongoing collaboration with Jacob Dahl and Klaus Wagensonner from Oxford University has led to the mass capture of cuneiform tablets (over four thousand) which will have a positive impact on historical studies around the world.

A third system has been used in the Schøyen Collection in Sweden to image thousands of tablets. That system is due to move to Pensylvania in 2015.

Partners: Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative and the University of Oxford: Dr Jacob L. Dahl, Associate Professor of Assyriology & co-PI, CDLI

Louvre Museum: Béatrice André-Salvini, Director, Department of Near Eastern Antiquities

Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative and UCLA: Robert K. Englund, Professor of Assyriology & Director, CDLI

Dr John Cupitt, Imperial College

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Published: 15 December 2014
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Scientists from Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton are part of a consortium launching a new systems engineering framework, set to revolutionise the design, verification and validation of complex cyber-physical systems.

The result of the EU-funded “ADVANCE” project, the framework provides an engineering process and a free-to-use toolset that addresses safety and correctness at the earliest possible development stage. The ADVANCE toolset has been launched as an upgrade to the existing open-source Rodin platform, extending the capabilities of Rodin with more powerful and innovative verification and simulation capabilities.

Current engineering practices mean that designing cyber-physical systems to high assurance levels is often prohibitively expensive. Three years in the making, the newly launched features will help engineers to reduce the costs of system development by providing accurate models that simulate system behaviour. This means that issues can be identified and design errors eliminated as early in the development lifecycle as possible. The toolset’s new formal verification features will also help engineers to more efficiently test critical systems in ensuring suitable safety-assurance levels.

The upgraded platform has already demonstrated its ability to improve the designs of “event-driven” systems, such as those controlling railway interlocking functions and low-voltage smart grids, and is capable of supporting the development of systems from a broad range of industries. At “Industry Days” held in Southampton and Düsseldorf, the platform’s capabilities were demonstrated by industrial users in the railway, smart energy and defence sectors.

Professor Michael Butler, of the Electronic and Software Systems research group and Scientific Coordinator of the ADVANCE consortium, said: “It is widely recognised that development costs will become prohibitive for future systems unless significant improvements are made in the methods and tools used for systems engineering. The Rodin toolset is unique in addressing both simulation and formal verification within a single framework, in a cost-effective way.”

José Reis, Principal Consultant Engineer at Critical Software Technologies Ltd, added “Rodin’s new visualisations and simulations will be clear even to non-specialists, allowing engineers to efficiently understand the technical details and consequences of the system they are working on, more effectively fixing errors well in advance of any commitments to a final design.”

The new features are freely available as part of the Rodin open-source platform, which can be downloaded at www.event-b.org/install.html

Following the success of the project, the ADVANCE consortium is now looking for further funding streams to continue to develop Rodin’s capabilities, which will enable the platform to handle even larger system-modelling capabilities while introducing further features. In addition to the University of Southampton, the consortium includes CRITICAL Software Technologies, Alstom Transport, Selex ES, Systerel and the University of Düsseldorf.

Further details of the ADVANCE project are available on the project website: www.advance-ict.eu.

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Published: 18 December 2014
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The University of Southampton has come out top in the UK for Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) results. The REF also shows 100 per cent of the impact of our Computer Science research activity is world-leading or internationally excellent.

The 2014 REF assesses the quality and impact of research submitted by UK universities. The results will be used by higher education funding bodies in the UK to allocate almost £2 billion of research funding per year from 2015-16.

Results from the REF 2014 have confirmed the volume and quality of our research in Electrical and Electronic Engineering as being the best in the UK with 97 per cent of our research outputs rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Additionally, the volume and quality of our Computer Science research is in the top 10 in the UK with 100 per cent of its impact being recognised as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton, said “This is an excellent achievement and a superb recognition of our commitment to research work that is world-leading and transformative. Our staff, industry partners and research funders can take pride in these outstanding results and our students can be assured of the research-led education they take part in.”

Read about the impact of ECS’ research on web science, energy, agent technologies, open data and more in our case studies.

Cutting edge research into engineering at the University of Southampton is further recognised with General Engineering also being ranked as first in the UK by the 2014 REF.

Overall, Southampton is ranked 11th in the UK based on the volume and quality of its research. Over 97 per cent of the University’s research environment has been assessed as world-leading and internationally excellent. Nearly 90 per cent of its research has been assessed as having world-leading and internationally excellent impact.

The University’s full REF results are available at: www.ref.ac.uk.

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Published: 19 December 2014
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The University of Southampton is to share in £20 million of funding to advance the UK’s manufacturing capability. It will lead two of ten new research projects announced today (19 December) by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The project ‘Novel manufacturing methods for functional electronic textiles’ project will receive £2.8 million to develop novel manufacturing methods for wearable technology. It will be led by Professor Steve Beeby from the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Group within Electronics and Computer Science. It also involves Nottingham Trent University and a number of industry partners.

Professor Beeby says: “This project presents a fantastic opportunity to further the developments we have made towards the practical integration of electronics and sensing functionality in textiles. Nottingham Trent bring highly complementary expertise in yarn and textile manufacture to the project and, with the assistance of our industrial partners, we hope to achieve some real impact from this research.”

The other project is the Chalcogenide Advanced Manufacturing partnership (ChAMP); a partnership between the University’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and the Universities of Exeter, Oxford, Cambridge and Heriot-Watt, along with 15 industrial partners. Southampton will receive £3.1 million to revolutionise the manufacture and use of specialised glass, called chalcogenides, in a range of products from optical fibre and infrared lenses to electronic devices, including logic and memory. The University’s Composite Material Facility, unique to the UK, will also help to develop and manufacture radically new and advanced materials.

Welcoming the announcement Business Secretary, Vince Cable, said: “Working with academia and industry to support game-changing manufacturing projects like these is at the heart of the Government’s industrial strategy. By supporting the jump from the manufacturing lab to the market place, we are driving innovation, creating valuable new jobs and delivering economic growth that will secure the UK’s global leadership for decades to come.”

Professor Philip Nelson, EPSRC’s CEO and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton, said: “These grants for Functional Materials research will take advantage of the excellent capability that exists across the UK. The level of partnership between universities and industry means they are well positioned to advance the exploitation of the knowledge and discoveries of our pioneering scientists and engineers. These are really exciting projects that can add to the long term prosperity of our country.”

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Published: 22 January 2015
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Students at the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering already have an excellent record for their success in the jobs market, and with 85 leading companies and organizations attending the 2015 Engineering and Technology Careers Fair, this looks set to continue.

With 25 per cent of the companies attending for the first time and more companies than ever wanting to take part, there is no shortage of choice for students who are aiming to work in some of the UK’s leading and most innovative companies. The Fair takes place on Tuesday 10 February at the University’s Highfield Campus and runs from 11 am to 3.30 pm in the Garden Court and Mountbatten Buildings. The companies attending will be offering graduate jobs, summer internships and industrial placements, and aiming to build awareness of their opportunities with students who may not be entering the jobs marketing until 2017 or beyond.

‘This is a great opportunity for students to get a really wide-ranging view of the engineering and technology industry,’ said Joyce Lewis, Careers Fair Director, ‘as well as to find out about specific careers and opportunities in many different sectors.’

This year there is particularly strong representation from the energy industry, with companies such as Centrax Gas Turbines, EDF Trading, EdifERA, Opus Energy and Schneider Electric taking part. Security and defence companies make a strong showing, as well as communications, specialist software consultancies, design consultancies, management consultancies, and some of the world’s leading electronics companies. A new feature of the Fair this year is The Innovation Zone, which highlights some of the leading technology being produced by companies based at the University of Southampton Science Park at Chilworth. Eleven companies, all affiliated to the SetSquared consortium of southern universities, will be looking for the brightest students to join their high-tech ventures.

‘We are very pleased with the high quality of companies coming to Southampton to employ our students', said Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science. 'They are taking part in the Fair because they are aware of the quality of our students and their ability to innovate and support the development of future technologies. There are very exciting careers to be built in these industries and we value our strong links with companies and the excellent relationships built up over time. Many of the stands will include Southampton alumni, demonstrating the contribution that our students and graduates are making to the UK’s industrial and business success.’

The Fair is the centrepiece of the annual careers and employability programme at in the Faculty. Students attending the Fair can expect strong interest from leading employers across the technology industries and from companies that are seeking excellent graduates with high-level competence in technology, including computer science, engineering, and the physical sciences.

‘The environment we have created here continues to ensure that companies want to promote their opportunities to our students,' said Professor White. 'For our part we do our best to increase our students’ awareness of career opportunities, right from their very first week at the University. We want to prepare them to find the job they want, and raise their aspirations of future achievement.’

Companies and organizations attending this year’s event are: Acano, Accenture, Altera, Amadeus Services, ARM, ASH Wireless Electronics, Avalon Sciences, Babcock, BAE Systems, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, Betfair, Bloomberg, Cambridge Consultants, Captec, Centrax Gas Turbines, Chemring Technology Solutions, Cirrus Logic, Connectus, Davide Leone and Partners Investment, Deloitte, Dialog Semiconductor, ECM Selection, EDF Trading, EDT: The Year in Industry, EMC, Edif ERA, Ericsson Television, European Information Service Centre, FactSet, FDM Group, Fidelity Technologies, Fidessa, G-Research, Gradcracker, Haseltine Lake LLP, IBM, Institution of Engineering and Technology, IG, Imagination Technologies, ITDev, J P Morgan, Kongsberg Maritime, Lascar Electronics, Mayden, Micro Focus, Montagu Olsen Associates, MWR Infosecurity, National Instruments UK, National Microelectronics Institute/UKESF, Netcraft, NewVoiceMedia, Ocado Technology, OpenMarket, Opus Energy, Oxford Computer Consultants, PwC, QinetiQ, Schneider Electric, SCISYS UK LTD, Selex ES, SETsquared (The Innovation Zone), Snowflake Software, Sparx, SPI Lasers, STFC Technology, Sungard Financial Systems, Surface Technology International, TARGETjobs, Thales, Towers Watson, TTP Group, Ultra Electronics Nuclear Control Systems, Unboxed Consulting, Winton Capital Management

Innovation Zone - Mountbatten Building: Blupoint, Cascoda, ECS Entrepreneur, Korusys, Nquiring Minds, Parabola Research, REAPsystems, Redlux, Softiron, Tekever, Triggered Messaging, Xylostream

The Fair is open to all students and graduates of the University of Southampton. For further information about the Fair, or about the FPSE Careers Hub activity, contact j.k.lewis@ecs.soton.ac.uk; tel.+44(0)23 8059 5453.

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Published: 26 January 2015
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Researchers from Electronics and Computer Science have developed a new app to help share world-class research and to find out the latest research news through your phone or tablet.

One of the biggest problems facing researchers is the best way to share their research. In fact, it’s this important part of research impact, or how academic research makes a contribution to wider society, that is used as one of the yardsticks to judge the success of a research project.

The Software Sustainability Institute, a collaboration between the Universities of Southampton, Oxford, Edinburgh and Manchester, aims to spread the word about its work in promoting greater use of software in research.

The Institute’s website, features regular blogs written by researchers from across a wide range of disciplines, all of whom have used software to enhance and develop their work. To make all this fascinating material and the researchers’ output even more accessible, the Institute’s Software Consultant - Devasena Inupakutika, ECS researcher within the Web and Internet Science group - has developed an Android phone app, which is available to download free from Google Play.

Content available includes blogs about making dinosaurs and ancient spiders walk again, Google Glass in the operating theatre, tracking the spread of epidemics through social media, artificial intelligence and simulating the brains of bees, and even treating blindness in the developing world with a smartphone.

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Published: 26 January 2015
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Four Academics within the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering have been named in the prestigious Debrett’s 500. Published in association with The Sunday Times, the Debrett’s 500 recognises the most influential and inspiring people living and working in Britain today.

Digital: Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Inventor of the World Wide Web and president of the Open Data Institute, Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee features in the list’s Digital category. He is noted for his work as leading the Alliance for Affordable Internet which aims to make it more accessible to the developing world.

Engineering and Technology: Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Professor Sir David Payne, Liam Maxwell

Professor Dame Wendy Hall is one of the most respected computer science academics in the UK; last summer she was also named as the most influential woman in UK IT by Computer Weekly. A Professor of Computer Science within Electronics and Computer Science, Dame Wendy is a fellow of the Royal Society and recognised in the list as ‘a leading light in the development of web services’.

Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre, Professor Sir David Payne is described in the Debrett’s 500 list as ‘a colossus in the science behind internet development’. A world class pioneer of technology, his work has had a great impact on telecommunications and laser technology over the last forty years.

A Visiting Professor within Electronics and Computer Science, Liam Maxwell is HM Government’s Chief Technology Officer. He is recognised within the Engineering and Technology category of the Debrett’s 500 list for his work in leading innovation in digital public services.

"It is a tremendous recognition of the influence of Engineering at the University of Southampton that so many of our academics are included in this distinguished list," said Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering. "Our success in the recent Research Excellence Framework system gave a clear indication of the industrial and societal impact of research in the faculty; the Debrett’s 500 list further indicates the influence our extraordinary team has in inspiring others."

Compiled in consultation with independent expert practitioners and commentators in each of the categories, The Debrett’s 500 is published in association with The Sunday Times to identify and celebrate the most influential people in British society. All the people in the Debrett’s 500 were scrutinised for their level of influence in shaping the lives, choices and ideas of others.

The Engineering and Technology category also features Andrew Wolstenholme OBE, chief executive, Crossrail. Former army officer and now in charge of one of the most ambitious engineering projects of any age, Wolstenholme will deliver a Distinguished Lecture at the University of Southampton in February around Moving the Construction Industry Forward.

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Published: 29 January 2015
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Academics at the University of Southampton are collaborating on a multidisciplinary project that could see a major advance in environmental sensing.

Dr Kirk Martinez, from Electronics and Computer Science, and Professor Jane Hart, from Geography and Environment, will be using innovative combinations of technologies from the Internet of Things (IoT) – smart Internet connected devices – in a sensor network system to develop a concept for environmental sensing in remote mountain settings.

The project is being funded through a £174,000 technology proof of concept grant from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Kirk and Jane will be working with colleagues at the University of Dundee on the two year project set in the Cairngorm Mountains and aims to use cutting-edge technology to observe hydrological, peatland and frozen ground processes.

Mountain environments are among the most sensitive to climate change and the Cairngorm Mountains contain some of BritainÂ’s most vulnerable habitats.

The trials will be carried out in an area that is already being monitored by researchers from the University of Dundee and provides an ideal combination of scientists and challenges to test the new technology.

Kirk said: “IoT inspired sensor networks offer a revolutionary new way of investigating the environment. By embedding sensors into the landscape, many remote or hazardous environments can be measured live for the first time throughout the whole year.”

Wireless sensor networks have already been used for environmental science and over the last few years a number of small-scale sensor network projects have focused on a range of environments. These have shown that systems tailored specifically to earth and environmental sciences needs generate the most useful data. However, traditionally these have been very research based and difficult to manage.

Jane said: “The next phase in sensor network research is to revolutionise their user-friendliness to increase their use by environmental scientists. We will be carrying out research into turning this new technology into a sensor network that is robust and reliable enough to be used in environmental monitoring.”

This latest projects builds on a ten-year history of wireless sensor networking that has been carried out by the University of Southampton.

Previous projects have seen researchers from ECS and Geography and Environment exploring the use of these sensor networks in Norway and Iceland. For more information see the http://mountainsensing.org website.

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Published: 30 January 2015
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Joulo, a spin-out from the University of Southampton, has been acquired by Quby, Europe’s leading developer of smart thermostats and energy displays.

Joulo, co-founded by Dr Reuben Wilcock and Professor Alex Rogers from Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, develops smart energy monitoring technology that delivers insight into heating systems, allowing customers to save money on their energy bills and make their homes more comfortable. Joulo was tipped as the UK’s brightest home tech startup when it won first place at the 2013 British Gas Connecting Homes competition.

Through the acquisition of Joulo, Quby adds advanced algorithms, developed by world experts in artificial intelligence, to its portfolio. At the same time Quby acquires a simple and elegant hardware product, the Joulo USB temperature logger. The Joulo logger enables utility companies to engage both existing and new customers in discussions about heating, energy savings, insulation and comfort.

Dr Reuben Wilcock said: "Quby is a great match for Joulo and I am delighted about this acquisition. I am confident that Quby will have great success taking Joulo to international markets whilst continuing to develop the underlying algorithms. In Quby’s hands, I have no doubt that Joulo will soon make an appearance in millions of homes across the world."

Professor Alex Rogers added: "It’s very exciting to see our fundamental research being developed into a consumer product. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Quby grows Joulo in the home energy market over the coming years."

Joris Jonker, CEO of Quby, commented on the deal: “We are excited to announce this acquisition. The founders of Joulo have developed a great product, and we are proud to have the opportunity to bring it to market. At the same time, this is a great opportunity for Quby to become more active in the UK by using Joulo as a springboard for our smart thermostat offering.”

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

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