Departmental news

Writing about web page https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/hrc/confs/territorialbodies/

In the following blog post, organisers Maddie Sinclair and Charlotte Spear reflect on the inspiration behind their upcoming conference Territorial Bodies: World Culture in Crisis.

Students at WMG at the University of Warwick, recently took part in training for Defence Cyber Marvel 2, Western Europe’s largest live-fire cyber exercise. The training was designed to give the students a taste of cyber competitions ahead of the main event due to take place in February.

WMG entered two teams with 21 students in total, and along with three other teams they formed part of an unofficial Blue Team. The Blue Team were faced with the challenge of defending a large network of machines with different operating systems from a Red Team.

The WMG teams had great success in the training competition, placing second and third overall.

Dr Harjinder Lallie, Discipline Group Leader for Cyber Security at WMG, University of Warwick said: “Both teams did really well and should be proud of their performance in the competition. Their approach and attitude was exceptional and acts as a testament to the exceptional students on the degree course.”

The Defence Cyber Marvel 2 training competition was a fantastic opportunity for WMG students, with the University of Warwick being the only university invited to enter.

The students have established themselves as leaders in Capture the Flag (CFT) competitions and their success at the training competition has led to some of our students being selected to take part in the main event for Defence Cyber Marvel. This is an international Blue Team competition (A Network Defence Competition) involving the best cyber defence teams within the UK and NATO. The competition will test the skills of the participants to stop potential cyber-attacks against the UK.

Here are some comments from some of the students who took part:

"We all had a lot of fun, and it was an excellent opportunity to develop blue-team experience".

“It was a great opportunity to test some of the skills and knowledge that we had learnt over the past three years, in a challenging and well-funded environment. We gained invaluable experience and hope to take part in more similar competitions in the future.”

Find out more about the WMG BSc Cyber Security here: BSc Cyber Security (warwick.ac.uk)

Read more about WMG’s latest cyber security news here: Latest News (warwick.ac.uk)

Historic agreement sees the university and Bolivia collaborate on lithium battery project and provide scholarships for Bolivian students  

The University of Warwick is set to help Bolivia become a world leader in renewable energies and electric vehicles, thanks to a historic partnership on lithium battery research with the Bolivian Government.

The partnership, funded by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), will help develop lithium’s application as a power source in everything from electric cars to mobile phones.

Bolivia’s vast salt flats harbour an estimated 39 million tonnes of lithium reserve, positioning the country to be one of the world’s most important suppliers in the coming decades. The projects supports Bolivia’s ambition to provide 40% of the world’s supply of lithium by 2030. It will see Bolivia be at the forefront of lithium value chain, lead to higher paying employment and industry and a transition away from simple extraction and exploitation of raw materials.

Several master’s degree scholarships will also be offered to Bolivian students and the University’s WMG will link up with Yacimentos de Lito Bolivianos, Bolivia’s lithium mining institution in a multi-year research project to improve the understanding and possibilities for lithium battery technology.

David Rutley, Minister for the Americas and Caribbean at FCDO was present at the signing of the agreement and said: “This is a landmark partnership between Bolivia and Warwick – one of our great UK universities. This collaboration will help unlock the possibilities of battery technology in a new era of clean energy. The partnership will also address the drawbacks associated with using fresh water in the extraction process – making the industry more sustainable and less environmentally damaging.”

“This agreement demonstrates the potential for scientific and technological cooperation of our two great nations. It could help see Bolivia become the energy cell of the world.”

Professor Mike Shipman, University of Warwick’s Pro-Vice- Chancellor (International), said: “We are excited to be partnering with the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energies and Yacimentos de Litio Bolivanos. This collaboration will draw on the University’s extensive expertise in battery technologies and build new capabilities in Bolivia and help the global transition to sustainable power solutions through innovative research and training”.

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG at the University of Warwick said: “This opportunity is one that will help ensure WMG stays at the forefront of global battery research and education. It has been a pleasure to share our work with our Bolivian partners and we hope that this is the start of a long and productive relationship.”

Notes to editors:

For more information contact Tania Corbett, Media Relations Manager at Warwick University: tania.corbett@warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window | Mob: +44 (0) 7824 540 727. General and out of hours press office number 02476 151 512

Interviews available in Spanish and English.

The research project between Warwick/WMG and Bolivia’s Yacimentos de Lito Bolivianos YLB will focus of synthesis and characterization of battery cathode materials derived from lithium extracted from the Salar de Uyuni. The partnerships will combine expertise on battery manufacturing and characterization between the two groups. Access to the sources of lithium supplies is critical for the development of active materials within Li-ion battery and requires the UK to develop strategic partnerships internationally.

Writing about web page https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/hrc/confs/homecoming/

In this third blog post for the HRC Conference on Homecoming after war, the co-organiser, Niels Boender interviews the keynote speaker, Professor Kate McLoughlin, Fellow at Harris Manchester College Oxford.

Researchers at WMG at the University of Warwick, are part of a unique four-way partnership, with Addionics, technology innovation catalyst CPI and James Durrans Group, which will position the UK as a technology hub for global battery development.

Project Constellation is an extension of Project STELLAR which focused on improving battery power and cycle life. Project Constellation takes the research to the next level addressing improvements to battery performance, which will in turn lower development and production costs.

The team at WMG will use its expertise in pilot scale electrode production, cell manufacturing and electrochemical testing to support and de-risk rapid technology screening and accelerate the route to market.

Farid Tariq Ph.D, CTO and Co-founder of Addionics, explains:" Constellation builds on the success of Stellar taking it beyond basic tests and towards industrially relevant scales. We are excited because it provides a strong integration piece of our technology with world leaders in coating and fabrication, and active material fabrication (WMG, CPI, James Durrans) that can show how our very smartly designed and structured current collectors can fit into a viable battery ecosystem and provide benefits from our technology. This is readily transferable knowledge and will push the creation of new methods to overcome modern limitations of batteries and fabrication."

Mark Copley, Chief Engineer in WMG at the University of Warwick’s Electrochemical Materials and Manufacturing team said: “WMG is delighted to be a partner in the CONSTELLATION consortium. Utilising our experience in scaling up new technologies, from lab to pilot line, we feel that we will be able to further the development of Addionics’ current collector technology whilst coupling in Durrans’ graphite and formulation developments, as derived by CPI.

“The project goals fit very well with the ideals of WMG, which is to work collaboratively with industry to deliver high-quality, applied, research and development. We look forward to the results that will be generated through this funded collaborative effort.

Project Constellation is a two year project, funded by the UK Government’s Faraday Institution’s Faraday Battery Challenge Round 5 Innovation.

About the partners

Addionics

Addionics is a next-generation battery technology company revolutionizing battery performance through its chemistry-agnostic Smart 3D Electrode architecture. The company’s scalable, cost-effective manufacturing process combined with its AI-based optimization software significantly improves the performance of any kind of chemistry, achieving batteries with higher energy density, faster charging, and longer lifetime, at low cost. With the mission to accelerate an electrified economy and decarbonized future, Addionics is unlocking the full potential and accelerating the electrification revolution through its drop-in solutions.

CPI

We take great ideas and inventions, and we make them a reality. Born in the North East of England in 2004, CPI is an independent deep tech innovation organisation and a founding member of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. 

We're a team of intelligent people using advances in science and technology to solve the biggest global challenges in healthcare and sustainability. Through our incredible people and innovation infrastructure, we collaborate with our partners in industry, academia, government, and the investment community to accelerate the development and commercialisation of innovative products.   

Our work ranges from health technologies, advanced drug delivery systems, and medicines manufacturing innovations for multiple modalities including small molecules, biologics, and nucleic acids; to developing sustainable materials for energy storage and packaging, as well as novel food, feed, and nutraceuticals, that are all underpinned by digital technology. We turn the entrepreneurial spirit and radical thinking of our people and partners into incredible impact that makes our world a better place. 

Let’s innovate together: uk-cpi.comLink opens in a new window 

Connect with us: LinkedIn TwitterLink opens in a new window InstagramLink opens in a new window FacebookLink opens in a new window 

James Durrans Group

Long established family owned manufacturing company (1863) based in Penistone near Sheffield but with manufacturing sites across the globe. We provide pro-active solutions to our customer needs. Experts in carbon processing and technology and the manufacture of heat resistant coatings and graphitic dispersions.

www.durransgroup.com

In Spring 2023, Beat Kümin (Food GRP academic lead) & Pierre Purseigle from the Department of History will represent the University of Warwick as Fellows of BrIAS, the Institute for Advanced Study run jointly by the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where they will research projects, present talks and run workshops relating to its current theme of 'The Past, Present and Future of Food, Climate Change and Sustainability'. Full details of the Institute, programme and events appear on the Brias Homepage.

hereThe Department of Sociology Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (SAT), led by Professor Nickie Charles and Dr Maria do Mar Pereira, has received the inaugural "Excellence in Gender Equality Award", given by the University to recognise individuals and teams doing outstanding work to promote gender equality at Warwick. More information on the award can be found here.

Professor Paul Raffield's new book 'Shakespeare's Strangers and English Law' was published by Hart/Bloomsbury on 26 January 2023, his third sole-authored book on the subject of Shakespeare and the Law. Through analysis of five plays by Shakespeare (Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, Troilus and Cressida, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear), Paul Raffield examines what it meant to be a ‘stranger’ to English law in the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean period.

Applications are open for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Applications are open for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. The successful applicant will work closely with the Primary Investigator, Professor Sharifah Sekalala, to provide research support and to deliver project objectives across data collection, analysis, and the dissemination of outputs on the Wellcome Trust funded project, ‘There is no app for this! Regulating the migration of health data in Africa,’ at the University of Warwick’s School of Law. Closing date: 26 February 2023. Find out more and apply nowLink opens in a new window