The need for a technological breakthrough in high voltage power transmission lines for resilient and environmentally friendly urban grids, as well as for the transport of power over long distances from renewable energy sources to load centers, is an undeniable reality that needs to be addressed today. Of course, this is the case if we want to cope with the demand of electric power and massive electric vehicle use expected in the next few decades. SUPERFEM responds to this need by proposing a new set of novel metamaterials which brings together the outstanding electric characteristics of High Temperature Superconducting materials (HTS) with, the shielding magnetic properties of Soft Ferromagnetic layers (SFM), introducing them in the design of power conductors for HVDC and three-phase HVAC networks with nearly zero magnetic leakages and power losses. It is already known that although the HTS conductors offer unbeatable performance features for each one of these networks, their benefits are certainly true when single cables or isolated current-phases are considered, as the large inductive losses produced by any neighbouring cable can be neglected. However, as the electric utility industry for generation and end usage are almost exclusively AC, for three phase power systems or DC systems which will have to share the right of way with them, the reality is that the major factor contributing to the operational costs of HTS networks is the losses produced by the magnetic field created by each one of the other cables, a situation that can only be understood by the numerical modelling of these kind of applications, as the occurrence of hysteretic power losses needs to be calculated to the fore. For the modelling of real power applications of HTS single- and three-phase power transmission lines, a conductor is more than just the HTS material, and in this sense two major types of insulation schemes for retrofitting underground power transmission lines with HTS conductors, the Warm dielectric (W-) and Cold dielectric (C-) designs will be considered, with the novel feature of adding HTS/SFM metastructures to reduce the hysteretic losses of the entire system. In a first stage, we will embed a multifilamentary HTS cable into SFM sheaths, such that the magnetization losses produced by the concomitant action of co-axial cables is reduced or, virtually eliminated, without the need of having further HTS shields which also serve as an additional source of power losses. Similar metastructures have been demonstrated to enhance the mechanical properties of HTS cables, but its electromagnetic behaviour for different superconducting and ferromagnetic composites and their overall performance under three-phase or DC multiconductor configurations is unknown. We aim to study different magnetic sheaths for HTS/SFM warm conductors into the actual commercial market of SFMs for power applications. In this sense, 33 different SFM materials with relative magnetic permeability ranging from ~1 to 35000 will be considered as part of this project, leading to the world's first map of AC-losses for single phase HTS/SFM transmission lines. This will be then extended to triaxial and triad designs of warm and cold dielectric transmission lines, finding the best route of investment for this technology with a significant cost reduction and efficiency gain as the primary targets. The research proposed in this project is the first of its kind on the search of energy-efficient and resilient transmission networks, which in the long term aims to mitigate costs of grid reinforcement, replacement and upgrade of fault limiters and other power management devices, with greater levels of public acceptance and lowering of installation costs, due their reduced need for use of the right of way in highly populated areas.

Cancer will claim 27.5 million lives worldwide annually by 2040 (cancerresearchuk.org). Current cancer treatment options include surgical intervention, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a combination of these options. With Da Vinci surgical robots, which, amount other things, are used for minimally invasive tumour removal (6000 units in clinical use worldwide, wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com), robotics-assisted interventions have reached a maturity level to play an instrumental role in the fight against cancer. The current trend in medical robotics is toward device miniaturization. This is achieved by wireless transmission of power. Last few years, miniaturized robots (micro/nanoscale) performed endovascular interventions like drug delivery (e. g. microswarms with 200-micrometre lengths). Although magnetic actuation is one of the favoured wireless power transmission methods, the magnetic field affects all microrobots simultaneously. As the microrobots receive the same actuation input, individual or collective steering is challenging. In many applications, including targeted drug/stem cell delivery for cancer treatment, we need to steer a microswarm - that is, a collection of drug carriers (e.g., drug-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs)). A magnetic field affecting all magnetic particles in the microswarm simultaneously makes precise capturing and steering of the microrobots challenging. We will develop a robotics architecture to control the magnetic field in multi-domains (controlling fields in different areas) within a region of interest using an intelligent magnetic field (designed based on a data-driven approach). Therefore, the microrobots can be controlled individually, which makes collective control possible. We will also demonstrate the adaptation of this technology to microswarm capturing applications (InTarget). Capturing microswarm can lead to deep region targeting within the body (e.g. targeting inoperable brain tumours).

The UK has recently become the first major economy in the world committed to bring all greenhouse gas emission to net zero by 2050. The emphasis of the metal industry, a vital part of the UK's foundation industries, but a challenging area to deep decarbonise, is to develop new ways to produce and recycle metallic materials in an energy-efficient, low-cost and sustainable manner. Solidification is an important route for manufacturing and recycling of metals and alloys. Use of magnetic fields to control solidification has been researched for several decades with a variety of applications ranging from metal purification to advanced liquid metal processing. Successful examples include removing ceramic particles from aluminium melts and improving the internal quality of cast steels. There is huge potential for magnetic fields to be used in new applications such as metal recycling and advanced processing. Magnetic fields have a strong interaction with molten metals and alloys. The interaction is governed by the induced Lorentz force, which modulate the flow of the liquid molten alloys. My recent article [1] demonstrated that the interaction between magnetic fields and molten alloys can be controlled , paving the way towards novel methods for optimizing how magnetic fields can be used in industrial-scale manufacturing and recycling processes. I believe this technology will produce substantial improvements over the current state-of-the-art in process efficiency and materials performance. My recent patent (WO2020/012199A1) using this concept has shown that contaminated iron element in aluminium alloys can be driven out by magnetic fields when aluminium alloys are at the molten state, and subsequently the impurity can be removed effectively, a challenge that metallurgists have struggled to overcome after 40 years of research. The overarching aim of the Fellowship is to develop innovative magnet assemblies for materials manufacturing and recycling. This work will be underpinned by fundamental studies to uncover key underlying mechanisms. Based on my previous discovery and feasibility studies, in this Fellowship, I will develop patentable techniques utilizing magnetic fields for (1) the purification of recycled Al alloys, (2) the property improvement of high temperature alloys and (3) the microstructure control of metal additive manufacturing (3D printing). The Fellowship will accelerate the process of bringing the innovation from the lab to the market, as it provides unique opportunities to work with key industry partners. I will also address the underlying mechanisms for MHD control using a multidisciplinary approach, building upon my Turing Fellowship, coupling synchrotron based 4D (3D plus time) observation, data-driven analytics, and multi-physics modelling. This will not only lay strong foundations for process optimization, but also accelerate the development of entirely new solutions for incorporating MHD in manufacturing and recycling. The success of the Fellowship will increase the competitiveness of the UK's metal industries including aluminium recycling, casting, and additive manufacturing. [1] Cai et a. Acta materialia, 2020(196): 200-209 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.06.041

Quantum technologies exploit the intriguing properties of matter and light that emerge when the randomizing processes of everyday situations are subdued. Particles then behave like waves and, like the photons in a laser beam, can be split and recombined to show interference, providing sensing mechanisms of exquisite sensitivity and clocks of exceptional accuracy. Quantum measurements affect the systems they measure, and guarantee communication security by destroying cryptographic keys as they are used. The entanglement of different atoms, photons or circuits allows massively powerful computation that promises complex optimizations, ultrafast database searches and elusive mathematical solutions. These quantum technologies, which EPSRC has declared one of its four Mission-Inspired priorities, promise in the near future to stand alongside electronics and laser optics as a major technological resource. In this 'second quantum revolution', a burgeoning quantum technology industry is translating academic research and laboratory prototypes into practical devices. Our commercial partners - global corporations, government agencies, SMEs, start-ups, a recruitment agency and VC fund - have identified a consistent need for hundreds of doctoral graduates who combine deep understanding of quantum science with engineering competence, systems insight and a commercial head. With our partners' guidance, we have designed an exciting programme of taught modules to develop knowledge, skills and awareness beyond the provision of traditional science-focused PhD programmes. While pursuing leading-edge research in quantum science and engineering, graduate students in the EPSRC CDT for Quantum Technology Engineering will follow a mix of lectures, practical assignments and team work, peer learning, workshops, and talks by our commercial partners. They will strengthen their scientific and engineering capabilities, develop their computing and practical workshop skills, study systems engineering and nanofabrication, project and risk management and a range of commercial topics, and receive professional coaching in communication and presentation. An industrial placement and extended study visit will give them experience of the commercial environment and global links in their chosen area, and they will have support and opportunities to break their studies to explore the commercialization of research inventions. A QT Enterprise Club will provide fresh, practical entrepreneurship advice, as well as a forum for local businesses to exchange experience and expertise. The CDT will foster an atmosphere of team working and collaboration, with a variety of group exercises and projects and constant encouragement to learn from and about each other. Students will act as mentors to junior colleagues, and be encouraged to take an active interest in each other's research. They will benefit from the diversity of their peers' backgrounds, across not just academic disciplines but also career stages, with industry secondees and part-time students bringing rich experience and complementary expertise. Students will draw upon the wealth of experience, across all corners of quantum technologies and their underpinning science and techniques, provided by Southampton's departments of Physics & Astronomy, Engineering, Electronics & Computer Science, Chemistry and its Optoelectronics Research Centre. They will be given training and opening credit for the Zepler Institute's nanofabrication facilities, and access to the inertial testing facilities of the Institute of Sound & Vibration research and the trials facilities of the National Oceanography Centre. Our aim is that graduates of the CDT will possess not only a doctorate in the exciting field of quantum technology, but a wealth of knowledge, skills and awareness of the scientific, technical and commercial topics they will need in their future careers to propel quantum technologies to commercial success.

The acoustics industry contributes £4.6 billion to the UK's economy annually, employing more than 16,000 people, each generating over £65,000 in gross value added across over 750 companies nationwide. The productivity of acoustics industry is similar to that of other enabling technologies, for example the UK photonics industry (£62k per employee in 2014). Innovation through research in acoustics is a key to its industry success. The UK's acoustics industry and research feeds into many major global markets, including the $10 billion market for sound insulation materials in construction, $7.6 billion ultrasound equipment market and $31 billion market for voice recognition. This is before the vital role of acoustics in automotive, aerospace, marine and defence is taken into consideration, or that of the major UK industries that leverage acoustics expertise, or the indirect environmental and societal value of acoustics is considered. All the four Grand Challenges identified in the 2017 UK Industrial Strategy require acoustics innovation. The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF, https://www.ukri.org/innovation/industrial-strategychallenge-fund/) focuses on areas all of which need support from acoustics as an enabling technology. The future of acoustics research in the UK depends on its ability to contribute to the Four Grand Challenges. Numerous examples are emerging to demonstrate the central role of acoustics in addressing the four Grand Challenges and particularly through more focused research. The acoustics-related research base in the UK is internationally competitive, but it is important to continue to link this research directly to the four Grand Challenges. In this process, the role of UK Acoustics Network (UKAN) is very important. The Network unites over 870 members organised in 15 Special Interest Groups (www.acoustics.ac.uk) who represent industry, academia and various non-academic organisations which success relies on the quality of acoustics related research in the UK. UKAN was funded by the EPSRC as a standard Network grant with the explicit aim of pulling together the formerly disparate and disjoint acoustics community in the UK, across both industry and academia. UKAN has been remarkably successful. Its success is manifested in the large number of its members, numerous network events it has run since its inception in November 2017 and contribution it has made to the acoustics research community. Unfortunately, UKAN has not been in the position to fund new, pilot adventurous or translational projects nor has it any funding support for on-going research or knowledge transfer (KT) activities. The purpose of UKAN+ is to move beyond UKAN, create strategic connections between acoustics challenges and the Grand Challenges and to tackle these challenges through pilot studies leading in turn to full-scale grant proposals and systematic research and KT projects involving a wider acoustics community. There is a great opportunity for the future of the UK's acoustics related research to move on beyond this point, build upon the assembled critical mass and explore the trans-disciplinary work initiated by UKAN. Therefore, this proposal is for UKAN+ to take this community to the next stage, connect this Network more widely in the UK and internationally to contribute through coordinated research to the solution of Grand Challenges set by the government. UKAN+ will develop a new roadmap for acoustics research in the UK related to Grand Challenges, award exploratory (pilot) cross-disciplinary research projects to the wider community to support adventure research and knowledge transfer activities agreed in the roadmap and support the development of develop full-scale bids to the government research funding bodies which are aligned with the Grand Challenges. UKAN+ will also set up a National Centre or Coordination of Acoustics Research, achieve full sustainability and support best Equality, Diversity and Inclusion practices.