Departmental news

Researchers from Warwick and Manchester finally solve long-standing puzzle of why graphene is so much more permeable to protons than expected by theory.

Professor Paul Goddard has been announced as the winner of the 2023 Brian Pippard Prize from the Institute of Physics (IOP) Superconductivity Group.

The Pippard Prize is named in honour of Professor Sir Brian Pippard, and is awarded on an annual basis by the IOP Superconductivity Group to a scientist working in the UK who has made a significant contribution to the field of superconductivity in the last few years.

The SME Group at WMG, University of Warwick, has embarked on two major projects with Bellagio Stone and Radius Systems thanks to over £200k in funding from Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme.

A KTP is a three-way collaboration between a company, an academic institution (in this case WMG at the University of Warwick) and a graduate or postgraduate. KTPs are designed to help businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity through shared knowledge, technology, and skills.

Bellagio Stone’s two-year project will create a new cultural management and leadership framework within the business following a recent merger, enabling it to push productivity and prepare for future expansion. Bellagio will transform its operations in the stonemasonry industry, capitalising on a range of long-term growth ambitions.

Radius Systems manufacturers of innovative plastic pipeline solutions will work on a two-year project with WMG to analyse, design and implement a process control system to reduce process variation in the continuous manufacture of water, gas and hydrogen infrastructure pipes.

Simon Broome, Innovation Manager at WMG who works with SMEs to secure KTP funding said: “We are delighted to announce these major new KTP projects. Both Bellagio Stone and Radius Systems have showed a fantastic appetite to grow their businesses and engage with the University to achieve their goals. We are excited about the potential ahead and are now in the process of recruiting the KTP Associates who will deliver the projects in the businesses.”

Mike Boyden, Operations Director at Bellagio Stone Ltd said: “We are really excited to have been awarded the funding to begin the KTP project in conjunction with WMG. We have worked on a number of really successful projects with WMG in the past and feel the KTP has great potential to help develop our business further. Having recently completed a business merger, this targeted approach of supporting specific hurdles we are facing, will help unite both businesses and really drive improvements in productivity, purchasing power and overall efficiencies. We are really grateful to all the team involved with supporting the application and look forward to getting started.”

Allen Clarke Technical Director at Radius Systems Ltd said: “We are delighted to be awarded the funding through Innovate UK and the opportunity to further work with WMG. We have many ideas and initiative to further enhance our manufacturing processes and drive or business to the next level. The scheme will give us great insight into our chosen technical subjects whilst enhancing our World class manufacturing and Industry 4.0 philosophy. Thank you to all involved with this venture and looking forward to getting started in Autumn 2023.”

Find out more about WMG’s SME programmes here: WMG SME Group | How can we help you? (warwick.ac.uk)

Last month, the Met Office reported that July was the UK’s sixth wettest on record, and unsurprisingly the UK had 19% fewer hours of sunshine than average over the month, with 140.3 hours in total.

Researchers at Warwick Medical School say that light is the most important environmental cue for synchronising our biological clock and regulating sleep, which if interrupted can have a detrimental effect on our mood and wellbeing.

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Congratulations to the first apprentices to complete a Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship at WMG, University of Warwick, who graduated at the end of July. Of the 68 graduates, an impressive 44% achieved a first class degree.

Established in 2019, the BSc Digital and Technology Solutions (DTS) Degree Apprenticeship has been developed in collaboration with employers in the engineering sector. The programme brings together academia and industry to empower early talent to become confident technology solutions professionals.

As technology advances and the digital skills gap in the UK widens, employers are seeking new ways to innovate and adapt. Apprentices on the DTS Degree Apprenticeship spend four years studying and working, developing the high-quality skills that companies need for business growth. Apprentices graduate with the ability to deliver technology solutions to develop new products and services, and increase productivity using digital technologies.

WMG is passionate about supporting organisations with their workforce strategies, whether that be upskilling employees or recruiting new talent. The Degree Apprenticeship team has built strong employer partnerships to provide programmes that equip employees with the specialised skills that businesses need now, and for the future.

Edward Stone, Senior Careers Cohort Lead at JLR, commented on the impact of DTS apprentices on the business: “At JLR we have been involved from the inception of the DTS Degree Apprenticeship programme, working closely with WMG in its development and application for our business. The knowledge and skills being developed by our apprentices play a key part in closing a critical skills gap fundamental to the ongoing success of JLR as we undertake the transformation of our business to meet the ever-changing challenges of the automotive industry.”

Reflecting on this important milestone for our graduates and for the DTS Degree Apprenticeship programme, Professor Gill Cooke, Pro-Dean (Education) at WMG said: “I am delighted that DTS has had its first graduating cohort; WMG colleagues have completed some incredible work to enable our students to graduate on the course across various discipline streams. Well done to our first graduates!”

Associate Professor and Course Lead for the DTS Degree Apprenticeship programme, Dr Alaa Al Sebae, added: “I was filled with joy when witnessing the first cohort of graduates walking across the stage with smiles and pride. Their dedication and hard work over the past four years studying while working have set an exceptional standard for future learners. We are truly proud of their accomplishments and have no doubt that they will continue to shine brightly in their current and future careers.

“We hope to maintain close connections, and that they visit frequently as guest speakers to inspire future cohorts. Congratulations once again to our graduates, and may you move forward to make a positive impact in the world!”

Associate Professor and DTS Degree Apprenticeship Founding Course Leader and Course Designer, Dr Freeha AzmatLink opens in a new window, said: “It was a huge pleasure to welcome the first DTS cohort to WMG four years ago, and I am so excited to see all of them progressing to the next stage of their careers now.

“The continuous effort and hard work of apprentices, close collaboration between employers and the University team from course inception to the delivery phase has made this programme successful. Congratulations to all.”

For more information about WMG Degree Apprenticeships, please contact the team or visit the website.

We are pleased to announce that Dr Teddy Cunningham has been awarded a Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (SEM) PhD Thesis Prize. Each year, the SEM Faculty funds a prize for the best PhD/EngD thesis entered into the competition. Each department nominates a winner out of the applications received after a judging process as determined by the Faculty.

Teddy’s thesis is titled “Generating and Sharing Differentially Private Spatio-Temporal Data Using Real-World Knowledge”, and was supervised by Prof Hakan Ferhatosmanoglu. The thesis includes solutions for sharing trajectory data using local differential privacy, and incorporating constraints and relationships of data records into differential privacy that improves their utility while preserving the theoretical privacy guarantees. An example application is using road network information for improving the quality of privately shared location datasets.

Dr Maryna Utkina, Associate Tutor at Warwick Law School and British Academy Fellow received one of 10 scholarships to participate in the Liverpool Summer School on the Law of the Council of Europe.

The Churchwardens' Accounts of England and Wales on the My-Parish virtual platform, co-ordinated by the History department's Professor Beat Kümin, have been updated and are as complete as can be.

This will be of particular interest to the Parish Scholars Community. Follow My-Parish on Twitter for updates.

Our 2023 Summer Graduation took place on Thursday 20 July, celebrating the fantastic achievements of our very first cohort of undergraduate BSc Health & Medical Sciences students, our MB ChB, Master's and PhD students.

Find out more.

A new international standard has been published which lays the foundations for safe deployment of self-driving vehicles by creating a common approach to define the operating conditions of self-driving vehicles, which is also known as the Operational Design Domain (ODD) (i.e., operating conditions).

Led by Professor Siddartha Khastgir from WMG, University of Warwick, UK, and supported by an international group of experts, the very first international standard for safe operation of self-driving vehicles, Road Vehicles — Test scenarios for automated driving systems — Specification for operational design domain – ISO 34503 has been published. This standard will be relevant to every self-driving vehicle developed and manufactured anywhere in the world. The new standard is based on BSI PAS 1883, developed by BSI the UK National Standards Body.

In simplistic terms, ODD is a definition of where your self-driving vehicle is going to operate. This standard provides specifications for defining these operating conditions in a common manner.

The standard classifies ODD into three key categories:

· Scenery elements: non-movable elements (e.g., roads, bridges, traffic lights),

· Environment conditions: weather and other atmospheric conditions; and

· Dynamic elements: all movable objects and actors.

The importance of the concept of ODD is highlighted in the latest European Union’s Act on Automated Driving System (adopted in Aug 2022) which puts the concept of ODD as a cornerstone of the safety assurance process of an automated vehicle. Similar approaches are being considered at the upcoming regulations at United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

This international standard is a big step to facilitate the commercialisation of self-driving vehicles in a wider global society while also safeguarding the safety of this emerging technology. International organisations and local governments or regulatory agencies can use this standard as a guide to develop their regulations and policies on self-driving vehicles. Autonomous vehicle developers and manufacturers around the world can now design and test their technology based on internationally aligned safety benchmarks, create accurate marketing and communication materials, and build societal trust in the technology.

WMG in collaboration with BSI committee AUE/15 Safety related to vehicles, worked with global partners in countries such as United States, Germany, Japan, China, France, Austria, Canada, Israel, Sweden, Finland, South Korea, Australia, to develop and finalise the ISO standard for the safety of automated vehicles.

Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Verification & Validation, Intelligent Vehicles said:

“Defining the Operational Design Domain is the first step in designing a safe self-driving vehicle. Furthermore, due to the diversity in stakeholders in this ecosystem (e.g., developers, regulators, local authorities etc.), it is essential we have a common way to define such a fundamental concept of safety.

“Successful standardisation efforts are only possible with true international collaboration. I am grateful to experts from various countries worldwide who have engaged and contributed actively to this standard. I am pleased to see more efforts kick-starting which building on the concept of ODD and this standard.”

This standardization activity is underpinned by strong research outcomes from the CCAV and Innovate UK funded OmniCAV research project by WMG; and also, by the research conducted as part of Professor Khastgir’s UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

Nick Fleming, Associate Director, Transport and Mobility, BSI said:

“It’s exciting to see the launch of this new international standard, given the potential benefits that can be realized by testing automated vehicles so they can operate safely on our roads. Having a common language to describe the Operational Design Domain (ODD) of an automated vehicle, with the ODD effectively describing the environment and conditions that an automated vehicle is capable of operating in, will be valuable to test and deploy these vehicles safely.

“This new ISO standard has been inspired by the UK document, BSI PAS 1883:2020, the first taxonomy for ODDs developed in conjunction with UK experts and the government’s Centre for Connected and Automated Vehicles (CCAV).

“BSI would like to thank Professor Khastgir for his effort in helping to lead this work at the international level which, along with BSI PAS 1883, shows the leadership the UK is having in the development of global standardization for automated or self-driving vehicles.”

Sarah Gates, Director of Public Policy at Wayve, said:

“We’re pleased to see the launch of this new international standard. The concept of ODDs is the basis of deploying self-driving vehicles safely. A common way of describing ODDs across industry is therefore vital for creating the highest safety standards, bolstering public trust and supporting the regulatory frameworks required to commercially deploy self-driving technology on a global scale.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with WMG to ensure that safety standards for self-driving technology are rigorous, and to increase confidence in the exciting technology we’re developing here at Wayve, which will unlock a safer, smarter and more sustainable transport system.”

ISO 34503 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 22/SC 33 Vehicle dynamics, chassis components and driving automation systems testing.

It can be purchased from your national standardisation body or through the ISO Store.

This standardisation activity is underpinned by strong research outcomes from the CCAV and Innovate UK-funded OmniCAV research project by WMG; and also, by the research conducted as part of Professor Khastgir’s UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Link to ISO 34503: https://www.iso.org/standard/78952.html

Media contact: Annie Slinn, Communications Officer (Sciences), Annie.Slinn@warwick.ac.uk | Caitlin Evans, WMG Marketing and Communications Executive, Caitlin.Evans@warwick.ac.uk