Funding for a CDT in Modelling of Heterogeneous Systems (HetSys) was announced by EPSRC on 4th Feb. The Centre will attract top research talent from across the UK and internationally to Warwick. Fifty new PhD students will tackle pressing societal challenges ranging from nanoscale devices, new catalysts, superalloys, smart fluids and energy from fusion thanks to an investment of £5.5 million in funding from the EPSRC, complemented by over £1 million from the University and external partners plus a further £3 million of in-kind support.

The unique cohort experience and bespoke training programme, which includes transferable computing skills, will enable students to work across the University’s departments of Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG). HetSys will train enthusiastic students from engineering and the physical sciences who enjoy using their mathematical skills and thinking flexibly to solve complex problems. Engagement from 14 industrial and 12 international partners keen to collaborate with HetSys shows the fresh approach has already resonated beyond academia.

Professor Julie Staunton from the Department of Physics, who directs the new Centre, said: “The message from our partners is that HetSys is very timely and ideally positioned to have a big impact. Most importantly the key players are the PhD students who will drive the success of HetSys. They will inspire new ideas, approaches and innovation and become future leaders in extending and developing new technologies of national importance.”

The HetSys core team includes five academics from the full breadth of the School of Engineering: Peter Brommer (M&P), James Kermode (HetSys co-director, M&P), Duncan Lockerby (M&P), Neophytos Neophytou (EE) and Mohad Mousavi Nezhad (Civil) as well as colleagues from Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and WMG, building on the strong interdisciplinary roots of the Warwick Centre for Predictive Modelling (WCPM) and Centre for Scientific Computing (CSC).