The aim of this research is to investigate, in an interactive programme involving several mutually supportive computational approaches and paradigms, the feasibility of achieving sustained and economically worthwhile frictional-drag reduction at flight Reynolds numbers using cross-flow wall forcing. While the emphasis of the programme is on the fundamental turbulence physics and the prediction of its interaction with wall drag, in general, the programme is closely associated with an important civil aviation goal, namely the reduction in emissions per passenger km by 50% by 2020. The programme will combine studies involving direct numerical simulations and highly-resolved large eddy simulations with two approaches based on linearised streak modelling, one developed by Chernyshenko (Imperial College) and the other by Lockerby (Warwick). The general strategy is to use the full-resolution schemes to gain insight into the near-wall turbulence mechanisms associated with frictional drag, to generate calibration-related input into the linearised streak modelling and to investigate the validity of this modelling for a range of actuation parameters examined with the full-resolution approaches. The proposed research is fundamental in nature and complements well EPSRC's Active Aircraft programme, which is practically-oriented. The ultimate objective is to derive a prediction procedure, based on linearised streak modelling that allows the effect of different configurations of cross-flow wall forcing on drag at flight Reynolds numbers to be quantified. The programme is financially supported by EADS.

The scope of this project is to define, analyse and quantify the technologies which will enable the conversion of the kinetic energy of a landing aircraft, via a suitable electromechanical interface via transient energy storage into long term energy storage or the electrical grid network. Any technologies which are identified as having potential will be analysed not only in terms of power conversion efficiency, but also ranked against practical performance metrics such as weight, robustness, cost, and ultimately energy/carbon savings. The project will primarily be conducted in simulation, however the novel nature of the approach will require some basic experimentation to be conducted to support and confirm the simulation results.Power conversion in terms of this application is predicted to rely upon three basic technology areas to be researched:1. Electromechanical energy conversion of the aircraft motion into electrical energy, via linear or rotary machine.2. Power electronic energy conversion, transient energy storage, conditioning and distribution to long-term storage or the grid.3. Structural stress analysis of the viability of the runway and conversion components to the forces generated.There are two directions for the energy flow generated by the aircraft motion to be harvested. Firstly through a linear-type electromagnetic interface between the aircraft landing gear and the runway. Secondly, by a rotary electromechanical interface to energy storage on board the plane. In both cases, energy conversion, conditioning, energy storage and mechanical stress analysis is crucial. Although power regeneration into the aircraft has been dismissed in the past as being inefficient due to additional energy storage, it is proposed to analyse this method in the light of the developments associated with the More Electric Aircraft which has significant transient and long-term energy storage as part of its power systems structure. In addition, the next generation engines with embedded motor/generators on the engine shafts could possibly be used as a transient inertial energy storage when the engines are switched off. This is a prime example of the study not being restrained by contemporary thought, but looking forward to engage future technologies. This analysis will also draw upon experience by Prof. Stewart in electrically assisted aircraft braking performed in association with Messier-Bugatti, and More Electric Aircraft developments in collaboration with Airbus.The requirements of this project are to identify a family of potential solutions, and rank them according to a cost function based upon realistic performance metrics. In particular the strictures of 'real' aircraft operational constraints will be foremost in the performance analysis. The steering committee will be an important constituent of this approach, helping in the early stages to quantify this cost function.

Humans are highly adaptable, and speech is our natural medium for informal communication. When communicating, we continuously adjust to other people, to the situation, and to the environment, using previously acquired knowledge to make this adaptation seem almost instantaneous. Humans generalise, enabling efficient communication in unfamiliar situations and rapid adaptation to new speakers or listeners. Current speech technology works well for certain controlled tasks and domains, but is far from natural, a consequence of its limited ability to acquire knowledge about people or situations, to adapt, and to generalise. This accounts for the uneasy public reaction to speech-driven systems. For example, text-to-speech synthesis can be as intelligible as human speech, but lacks expression and is not perceived as natural. Similarly, the accuracy of speech recognition systems can collapse if the acoustic environment or task domain changes, conditions which a human listener would handle easily. Research approaches to these problems have hitherto been piecemeal and as a result progress has been patchy. In contrast NST will focus on the integrated theoretical development of new joint models for speech recognition and synthesis. These models will allow us to incorporate knowledge about the speakers, the environment, the communication context and awareness of the task, and will learn and adapt from real world data in an online, unsupervised manner. This theoretical unification is already underway within the NST labs and, combined with our record of turning theory into practical state-of-the-art applications, will enable us to bring a naturalness to speech technology that is not currently attainable.The NST programme will yield technology which (1) approaches human adaptability to new communication situations, (2) is capable of personalised communication, and (3) takes account of speaker intention and expressiveness in speech recognition and synthesis. This is an ambitious vision. Its success will be measured in terms of how the theoretical development reshapes the field over the next decade, the takeup of the software systems that we shall develop, and through the impact of our exemplar interactive applications.We shall establish a strong User Group to maximise the impact of the project, with a members concerned with clinical applications, as well as more general speech technology. Members of the User Group include Toshiba, EADS Innovation Works, Cisco, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and the Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research. An important interaction with the User Group will be validating our systems on their data and tasks, discussed at an annual user workshop.

Sustainability is defined as "the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Achieving sustainable development is the key global challenge of the 21st Century. It can only be met with the adoption of a range of new sustainable technologies. Sustainable chemical technologies are those involving chemistry as the central science. They span a wide range of areas, many of which make major impacts on society. Key sustainable chemical technologies include: use of renewable resources and biotechnology (e.g., making fuels, chemicals and products from biomass rather than petrochemicals); clean energy conversion and storage (e.g., solar energy, the hydrogen economy and advanced battery technologies); sustainable use of water (e.g., membrane technologies for water purification and upcycling of nutrients in waste water); developing sustainable processes and manufacturing (e.g., making production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and plastics more energy-efficient and less wasteful through developing sustainable supply chains as well as through technological advances); and developing advanced healthcare technologies (e.g., developing new drugs, medical treatments and devices). To address these needs, we propose a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Sustainable Chemical Technologies. The £5.08m requested from the EPSRC will be supplemented by £2.0m from the University and a £4.13m industrial contribution. The CDT will place fundamental concepts of sustainability at the core of a broad spectrum of research and training at the interfaces of chemistry, chemical engineering, biotechnology and manufacturing. This will respond to a national and global need for highly skilled and talented scientists and engineers in the area as well as training tomorrow's leaders as advocates for sustainable innovation. All students will receive foundation training to supplement their undergraduate knowledge, in addition to training in Sustainable Chemical Technologies. Broader training and practice in public engagement and creativity will encourage responsible innovation and attention to ethical, societal, and business aspects of research. They will all conduct high quality and challenging research directed by supervisory teams comprising joint supervisors from at least two of the disciplines of chemistry, chemical engineering, biotechnology and management as well as an industrial and/or international advisor. The broad research themes encompass the areas of: Renewable Resources and Biotechnology, Energy and Water, Processes and Manufacturing and Healthcare Technologies. Participation from key industry partners will address stakeholder needs, and partner institutions in the USA, Germany, Australia, and South Korea will provide world-leading international input, along with exciting opportunities for student placements and internships. The CDT will utilize dedicated physical and virtual space for the students as well as a supervisory base of more than fifty academics. Building on the success of the current Doctoral Training Centre and evolving to keep pace with the growing importance of biotechnology and manufacturing to UK industry, the centre will provide a dynamic and truly multidisciplinary environment for innovative PhD research and training.

The ACCIS CDT will continue to address the EPSRC's goal of Developing Leaders in the key area of advanced materials under the EPSRC priority area of Materials Technologies. The underpinning philosophy will be to train the next generation of pioneers in composites technologies at the interface between engineering, life sciences, physics and chemistry, noting that within ACCIS, composites are defined as synergistic combinations of materials which may exhibit multifunctional attributes. The need for the ACCIS CDT is now even more important strategically than was the case for the initial award. The utilisation of composites is growing at an unprecedented rate, as illustrated by the significant UK technological contribution to both the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 with composite airframes, the need for rapid development of renewable energy (wind turbine blades) and the nascent interest in large scale production of automotive components by organisations such as McLaren and BMW. The need for lightweight, high performance, multifunctional materials is a key element in meeting the goals of a sustainable future. Thus, industrial usage is within a period of exponential rise. Furthermore, composite materials has been recognized as one of the key industries by which the UK can seek to rebalance the economy towards export driven high value manufacturing. We intend to build upon our strong existing platform by further increasing our international engagement and by attracting elite home and overseas students to widen the pool of highly skilled labour for UK industry, supported by a combination of industrial and scholarship funding.