New jobs to boost science at Exeter

The University aims to attract world-leading academics to these posts.

In April 2008 the University of Exeter announced plans to invest £80 million in science, medicine and engineering in five themes, building on existing areas of excellence. The University will spend £30 million of existing funds on new appointments and infrastructure, boosting research and attracting up to £50 million from external sources.

The University has made an initial investment of £6.7 million in new posts, £2 million in equipment and £2.8 million in studentships. During January and February, the University will advertise 29 new positions, including 14 under the theme of ‘Climate Change and Sustainable Futures’, six under ‘Functional Materials’, five under ‘Systems biology’ and four under ‘Translational Medicine’.

The new posts range from lecturer positions to professorships, all involving both research and teaching. This new approach will encourage academics from different disciplines to work together on joint research projects. For example, engineers, physicists and mathematicians will be working with biologists on systems biology projects and social scientists will be working with physical scientists on climate change studies.

Professor Janice Kay, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter, said: “This major recruitment drive will give our science a major boost, helping us compete with the very best universities in the UK. Our £80 million investment represents a new way forward for science at the University of Exeter. We are breaking down barriers between academic disciplines and bringing staff together to tackle twenty-first century issues.”

The five interdisciplinary research themes being supported by the £80 million investment in science are:

• Climate Change and Sustainable Futures: The University will significantly enhance its strengths in climate change impacts and socio-economic interactions. This builds on its world-leading research in climate prediction, adaptation and mitigation, and close liaison with the Met Office Hadley Centre.

• Extrasolar planets: The University is establishing a centre for cross-disciplinary research into the physics of extrasolar planets - planets outside our solar system – which will be unique in the UK. Bringing together mathematicians and theoretical astrophysicists with observational astrophysicists, researchers will directly test their predictions using state-of-the-art equipment.

• Functional Materials: The University will bring together its world-leading expertise in engineering ‘smart’ materials and fundamental physics research in photonics and nanomaterials to create innovative new materials. Exeter’s £120 million science park will capitalise on the near-term high-tech industrial applications of this work.

• Systems biology: Already developing a world-class reputation in biosciences, the University will make further investment to provide state-of-the-art facilities and new appointments to develop models of key biological systems.

• Translational Medicine: Exeter is internationally recognised for clinical and translational research in diabetes, mood disorders and interventions to achieve behavioural change for health. The University will invest significantly to enhance novel research opportunities to accelerate the translation of clinical research to health gain.

The University is already attracting significant funding to support these themes. In December, it was awarded a £5 million Science and Innovation Award from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council with the University of Bath. This will fund a Centre of Graphene Science, supporting the University’s functional materials research. The Southwest Peninsula Clinical Research Collaboration, a partnership between the Peninsula Medical School, NHS South West and the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, was recently awarded £20 million to conduct research and improve care in major conditions including heart disease, diabetes, mental illness, childhood disability and age related conditions. This new research centre will further the University’s research in translational medicine, personalised healthcare and public health.