INTERCONNECTS

The details of a multi-million pound investment programme to develop large-scale research facilities throughout the UK were announced yesterday by the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS). Almost £400 million is being made available through the Government's Large Facilities Capital Fund to provide support for the development of nine multidisciplinary research projects focusing on a variety of areas, including long-term studies of economic, health and social development; the construction of new neutron beams to test the physical behaviours of structures such as turbine blades or the design of new drugs; and the development of modelling software to simulate future climate scenarios and cell interactions. The funding will enable the UK's Research Councils to meet the costs needed to build new infrastructure and where necessary redevelop existing research facilities, to provide world-leading research environments. Ian Pearson, Science and Innovation Minister, said: "Investment in the development of cutting edge research facilities will help retain existing talent and attract some of the world's best scientists to the UK. Once completed, the facilities given the go-ahead today will rival those of our main international competitors such as the United States and Japan. "Today's £397million in funding represents a fraction of the Government's overall commitment to science and research which totals almost four billion, a figure which has doubled over the last 10 years. The projects approved for funding represent a total commitment of over half a billion pounds of public money. "By increasing public funding for science, the government is sending a strong message to the research community that it is serious about the long-term future of science research and innovation in this country. "Investment in our scientific infrastructure will pay dividends in advancing research in key areas, but also allowing research to be commercialised and translated into business ventures." The approved projects are:

• £67 million for the re-development of a new Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge.
• £28.5 million for a research facility for Birth Cohort Studies -- supporting the development at the interface between biomedical and social sciences.
• £50 million for a new computational sciences centre at the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus.
• £24 million for a new imaging solutions centre to develop new imaging technologies at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.
• £30 million for a new detector systems centre to be based at Harwell and Daresbury to research, design and produce sensors.
• £25 million for ISIS stage 2. To complete the development of the UK's world leading neutron source at Harwell.
• £92.5 million for Diamond Light Source, to complete the third phase of the facility.
• £15 million for the Square Kilometre Array, the first prototype phase of the next generation global radio telescope.
• £65 million towards a next generation supercomputer.

A large number of the approved projects are collaborations with other partners. For example, the approved Engineering and Physical Science Research Council's supercomputer project is proposing to form part of a network of European computer systems, providing an internationally competitive resource available to researchers all over Europe. Mr Pearson added: "Collaboration is a key element in the approved projects. It will not only improve links with our international counterparts, it will no doubt produce results more rapidly." In addition to the nine projects announced for funding today, a further six projects have been identified for future funding. These include the modernisation of the Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright, support for the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation -- currently being developed at King's Cross -- and the establishment of an Institute of Materials Design which will research and develop new materials using innovative techniques.