Through our work on transformation in STEM Education and Research, five overarching Research Themes have been identified that encapsulate the expertise of current staff, the recognition of our core research, the priorities of funding agencies and the opportunities for future growth as part of the STEM Connect Programme at Warwick:

• AI, Digital and Smart Applications
• Energy and Environment
• Frontier Science and Engineering
• Health and Medical Technologies
• Molecules, Materials and Structures

Recognising Sustainability overarches across all our themes.

Each of these Themes encompasses a broad spectrum of research that ranges across the technology readiness levels (TRL) and includes both disciplinary excellence and interdisciplinary activities from across all faculties of the institution.

The thematic research will be delivered by research projects of individual academics and research students, through research groups within departments, via cross-disciplinary Research Centres, Centres for Doctoral Training, and highly networked GRPs. The research will be supported by world class infrastructure and services, included shared and centralised facilities.

For each Theme, a research champion brought together colleagues across the institution to consider the future direction of our research and helped shape a shared vision for development. Development will come from the continued application of existing expertise and resources, as well as investment in new talent and facilities, together with realising additional opportunities that become available.

The Themes overlap strongly with those identified by BEIS for priority support – tackling climate change and delivering net zero; unleashing innovation in AI, life sciences, space, emerging technologies and clean energy.

An overview of each of our Research Themes is provided below:

AI, Digital & Smart Applications

The digital revolution has dramatically changed our world and will continue to do so in ways that we cannot yet imagine. People across the globe are more connected than ever before; the way we live our lives is captured in huge data sets; decisions can be made by machines faster, and based on far more information, than the human brain can process; processes of discovery, design, manufacture and operation can be fully automated. Universities can be at the heart of this transformation from the most basic data science, through development of smart applications, to interpretation of data, and consideration of ethical and policy implications.

Energy and Environment

Human society functions by consuming vast amounts of energy for heating, cooling, technology, communication, food supplies, lighting, transport, health, manufacturing and just about every other human activity. All of these activities impact upon the environment and the ecosystems it supports, affecting the capacity to sustain future life as well as impacting on current human well-being. Establishing a sustainable way of life is essential for the long-term habitation of billions of people on Earth. One aspect of this is to achieve net zero emission of greenhouse gases associated with human activities. Achieving sustainability will require a combination of technological innovations and behavioural change.

Frontier Science and Engineering

Fundamental, basic science tackles the big questions at the frontier of knowledge; it underpins the long-term development of applications and technology, not necessarily in a predicable way; it satisfies the academic quest for answers and excites the public. Our science is incredible - from the infinitesimally small world of sub-atomic structure, via the complexity of life, to the inconceivably vast scale of cosmological phenomena. Frontier science occurs in individual laboratories, massive international facilities, and in space beyond the confines of Earth. Warwick has expertise and international leadership in many areas of frontier science, with high visibility greatly enhancing the University’s global reputation.

Health & Medical Technologies

Health research is based on a fusion of technologies across sectors, is data-rich and relies on advances in an astonishing range of fields, from molecular and structural biology to population health. It also requires expertise and discoveries in social science, physics, maths, engineering and humanities.

Advances in medical technology mean that previous untreatable conditions can now be addressed with routine procedures. But this has raised societal expectations and, with a globally aging population, there are no limits to the demand for further advances in healthcare. As well as core life science and medical research, the mathematical and physical sciences can make a major contribution to medical advances through the understanding of epidemiology, sequencing and interpreting the genetic code, development of imagining and diagnostic tools, personalised health plans, to building replacement body parts and technologically enhanced humans.

Molecules, Materials & Structures

Stone, iron, glass, plastic, concrete, silicon, cellulose, lycra – development of materials and what can be made from them has defined the technology of society throughout history. Future advanced materials promise new, disruptive opportunities that will impact on society worldwide. Warwick has very strong, interdisciplinary activity and an excellent reputation in fields of advanced material discovery, synthesis, analysis and manufacturing, which will continue to expand and form the central core of STEM activity.