This proposal seeks funding to create a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Connected Electronic and Photonic Systems (CEPS). Photonics has moved from a niche industry to being embedded in the majority of deployed systems, ranging from sensing, biophotonics and advanced manufacturing, through communications from the chip-to-chip to transcontinental scale, to display technologies, bringing higher resolution, lower power operation and enabling new ways of human-machine interaction. These advances have set the scene for a major change in commercialisation activity where electronics photonics and wireless converge in a wide range of information, sensing, communications, manufacturing and personal healthcare systems. Currently manufactured systems are realised by combining separately developed photonics, electronic and wireless components. This approach is labour intensive and requires many electrical interconnects as well as optical alignment on the micron scale. Devices are optimised separately and then brought together to meet systems specifications. Such an approach, although it has delivered remarkable results, not least the communications systems upon which the internet depends, limits the benefits that could come from systems-led design and the development of technologies for seamless integration of electronic photonics and wireless systems. To realise such connected systems requires researchers who have not only deep understanding of their specialist area, but also an excellent understanding across the fields of electronic photonics and wireless hardware and software. This proposal seeks to meet this important need, building upon the uniqueness and extent of the UCL and Cambridge research, where research activities are already focussing on higher levels of electronic, photonic and wireless integration; the convergence of wireless and optical communication systems; combined quantum and classical communication systems; the application of THz and optical low-latency connections in data centres; techniques for the low-cost roll-out of optical fibre to replace the copper network; the substitution of many conventional lighting products with photonic light sources and extensive application of photonics in medical diagnostics and personalised medicine. Many of these activities will increasingly rely on more advanced systems integration, and so the proposed CDT includes experts in electronic circuits, wireless systems and software. By drawing these complementary activities together, and building upon initial work towards this goal carried out within our previously funded CDT in Integrated Photonic and Electronic Systems, it is proposed to develop an advanced training programme to equip the next generation of very high calibre doctoral students with the required technical expertise, responsible innovation (RI), commercial and business skills to enable the £90 billion annual turnover UK electronics and photonics industry to create the closely integrated systems of the future. The CEPS CDT will provide a wide range of methods for learning for research students, well beyond that conventionally available, so that they can gain the required skills. In addition to conventional lectures and seminars, for example, there will be bespoke experimental coursework activities, reading clubs, roadmapping activities, responsible innovation (RI) studies, secondments to companies and other research laboratories and business planning courses. Connecting electronic and photonic systems is likely to expand the range of applications into which these technologies are deployed in other key sectors of the economy, such as industrial manufacturing, consumer electronics, data processing, defence, energy, engineering, security and medicine. As a result, a key feature of the CDT will be a developed awareness in its student cohorts of the breadth of opportunity available and the confidence that they can make strong impact thereon.

The extremely narrow bands of localised shear deformation known as Adiabatic Shear Bands (ASBs) appear in metals and alloys subject to intense, high strain rate loading such as ballistic impacts or high rate manufacturing. Despite their reduced dimensions, the bands act as dramatic weak spots because their microstructure and morphology is radically different from the surrounding material. ASBs form suddenly and unexpectedly, and predicting them is difficult. Their sudden appearance while in-service invariably leads to the catastrophic failure of aerospace and defence systems (turbine blades, armour,...). Equally, ASBs dominate high rate manufacturing (machining, additive manufacturing, forming): efficiency calls for the sort of high rate, fast loads that tend to introduce undesired ASBs, greatly weakening the manufactured piece be- low specification. Owing to the huge volumes of manufactured pieces and to the high cost of design cycles in the defence and aerospace industries, predictive methodologies able to address ASB formation would lead to vast cost savings and efficiencies. Despite decades of research, the micro- and mesoscopic processes that cause ASB remain elusive. Whereas their growth and ultimate failure are relatively well-understood as thermomechanical instabilities, ASB initiation takes places at pico- and sub-micron scales that fall beyond current experimental measurement capabilities. Equally so, the inherently dynamic (time-dependent) loading conditions under which ASBs form have hitherto precluded the theoretical modelling of the phenomenon. Across three work packages (WP), this project addresses the inherent difficulties in modelling the initiation of ASBs by developing an ambitious, truly dynamic, multiscale modelling protocol with which to study and predict the conditions (loading, composition, microstructure) that promote the onset of ASBs in cubic and hexagonal metals. WP1 Microscale delivers a fundamental understanding of the physical source of the instability that gives rise to ASBs, by employ atomistic models (MD & lattice dynamics) with which to study sources of dislocation generation and dislocation motion under loads known to promote ASB. WP2 Mesoscale develops an entirely new formulation of thermo-elastodynamic dislocation dynamics (DD) with which to model ASB initiation and emergence at the mesoscale; this formulation addresses all current modelling limitations unable to account for the materials' inertia and thermal effects long since postulated to play a dominant role in the initiation of ASBs. WP3 Multiscale then combines WP1 and WP2 to develop a predictive multiscale model for ASB with which to study formation conditions (loading, composition, microstructure) in target metallic systems (Ti6Al4V, W, Al) of high scientific interest and industrial relevance. The resulting modelling protocol will enable the study of ASBs at the mesoscale for the first time, and produce a methodology with which to (1) predict and diagnose ASB failure in metallic systems, and (2) guide materials selection so as to select the most desirable microstructures with which to avoid or promote ASB formation. These tools will streamline the design cycle of aerospace and defence pieces subject to impacts, and optimise manufacturing operations reliant on minimising ASB formation (additive manufacturing, machining).

Sensors permeate our society, measurement underpins quantitative action and standardized accurate measurements are a foundation of all commerce. The ability to measure parameters and sense phenomena with increasing precision has always led to dramatic advances in science and in technology - for example X-ray imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), interferometry and the scanning-tunneling microscope. Our rapidly growing understanding of how to engineer and control quantum systems vastly expands the limits of measurement and of sensing, opening up opportunities in radically alternative methods to the current state of the art in sensing. Through the developments proposed in this Fellowship, I aim to deliver sensors enhanced by the harnessing of unique quantum mechanical phenomena and principles inspired by insights into quantum physics to develop a series of prototypes with end-users. I plan to provide alternative approaches to the state of the art, to potentially reduce overall cost and dramatically increase capability, to reach new limits of precision measurement and to develop this technology for commercialization. Light is an excellent probe for sensing and measurement. Unique wavelength dependent absorption, and reemission of photons by atoms enable the properties of matter to be measured and the identification of constituent components. Interferometers provide ultra-sensitive measurement of optical path length changes on the nanometer-scale, translating to physical changes in distance, material expansion or sample density for example. However, for any canonical optical sensor, quantum mechanics predicts a fundamental limit of how much noise in such experiment can be suppressed - this is the so-called shot noise and is routinely observed as a noise floor when using a laser, the canonical "clean" source of radiation. By harnessing the quantum properties of light, it is possible reach precision beyond shot noise, enabling a new paradigm of precision sensors to be realized. Such quantum-enhanced sensors can use less light in the optical probe to gain the same level of precision in a conventional optical sensor. This enables, for example: the reduction of detrimental absorption in biological samples that can alter sample properties or damage it; the resolution of weak signals in trace gas detection; reduction of photon pressure in interferometry that can alter the measurement outcome; increase in precision when a limit of optical laser input is reached. Quantum-enhanced techniques are being used by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) scientific collaboration to reach sub-shot noise precision interferometry of gravitational wave detection in kilometer-scale Michelson interferometers (GEO600). However, there is otherwise a distinct lack of practical devices that prove the potential of quantum-enhanced sensing as a disruptive technology for healthcare, precision manufacture, national security and commerce. For quantum-enhanced sensors to become small-scale, portable and therefore practical for an increased range of applications outside of the specialized quantum optics laboratory, it is clear that there is an urgent need to engineer an integrated optics platform, tailored to the needs of quantum-enhanced sensing. Requirements include robustness, miniaturization inherent phase stability and greater efficiency. Lithographic fabrication of much of the platform offers repeatable and affordable manufacture. My Fellowship proposal aims to bring together revolutionary quantum-enhanced sensing capabilities and photonic chip scale architectures. This will enable capabilities beyond the limits of classical physics for: absorbance spectroscopy, lab-on-chip interferometry and process tomography (revealing an unknown quantum process with fewer measurements and fewer probe photons).

The magneto-optic effect is the core part of optical isolators and widely used in optical sensors. The market of optical isolators was estimated to be $0.7B in 2016 and is expected to grow at 5% per annum while that of optical fibre sensors has grown continuously in the last two decades and from $3.38B in 2016 it is expected to reach $5.98B in 2026. To date fiberized devices and sensors based on the magneto optic effect have relied on simple telecom fibres or hybrid solutions with expensive crystals. This project proposes new manufacturing technologies for high performance optical isolators and current/magnetic field sensors aimed to replace the traditional hybrid approach based on crystals with novel glasses/fibres. This approach relies on our recent discovery that slightly-doped Gd-doped glass fibres exhibit a giant magneto-optic coefficient, similar to crystals, yet maintaining low-cost, low loss and high compatibility with fibres. This proposed programme spans from the investigation of giant magneto-optic effect in slightly doped glasses to the manufacture of specialty silica fibres, through the design of fiberized isolators and novel fibre based frequency conversion devices, and their combination in suitable systems for applications in security, industry and medicine. Although the initial effort will relate to the fabrication and characterization of novel glass compositions for glasses and fibres with giant magneto-optic response, the newly developed fibres will then be used to manufacture novel sensors and devices for selected practical industrial implementations in optical isolators and magnetic/current sensing.

Synthetic Biology is the underpinning discipline for advances in the UK bioeconomy, a sector currently worth ~£200Bn GVA globally. It is a technology base that is revolutionising methods of working in the biotechnology sector and has been the subject of important Government Roadmaps and supported by significant UKRI investments through the Synthetic Biology for Growth programme. This is now leading to a vibrant translational landscape with many start-ups taking advantage of the rapidly evolving technology landscape and traditional industries seeking to embed new working practices. We have sought evidence from key industry leaders within the emerging technology space and received a clear and consistent response that there is a significant deficit of suitably trained PhDs that can bridge the gap between biological understanding and data science. Our vision is a CDT with an integrative training programme that covers experimentation, coding, data science and entrepreneurship applied to the design, realisation and optimisation of novel biological systems for diverse applications: BioDesign Engineers. It directly addresses the priority area 'Engineering for the Bioeconomy' and has the potential to underpin growth across many sectors of the bioeconomy including pharmaceutical, healthcare, chemical, energy, and food. This CDT will bring together three world-leading academic institutions, Imperial College London (Imperial), University of Manchester (UoM) and University College London (UCL) with a wide portfolio of industrial partners to create an integrated approach to training the next generation of visionary BioDesign Engineers. Our CDT will focus on providing an optimal training environment together with a rigorous interdisciplinary program of cohort-based training and research, so that students are equipped to address complex questions at the cutting edge of the field. It will provide the highly-skilled workforce required by this emerging industry and establish a network of future UK Bioindustry leaders. The joint location of the CDT in London and Manchester will provide a strong dynamic link between the SE England biotech cluster and the Northern Powerhouse. Our vision, which brings together a BioDesign perspective with Engineering expertise, can only be delivered by an outstanding and proven grouping of internationally renowned researchers. We have a supervisor pool of 66 world class researchers that span the associated disciplines and have a demonstrated commitment to interdisciplinary research and training. Furthermore, students will work directly with the London and Manchester DNA Foundries, embedding the next generation bioscience technologies and automation in their training and working practices. Cohort training will be delivered through a common first year MRes at Imperial College London, with students following a 3-month taught programme and a 9-month research project at one of the 3 participating institutions. Cohort and industry stakeholder engagement will be ensured through bespoke training and CDT activities that will take place every 6 months during the entire 4-year span of the programme and include multi-year group hackathons, training in responsible research and innovation, PhD research symposia, industry research days, and entrepreneurial skills training. Through this ambitious cohort-based training, we will deliver PhD-level BioDesign Engineers that can bridge the gap between rigorous engineering, efficient model-based design, in-depth cellular and biomolecular knowledge, high throughput automation and data science for the realisation and exploitation of engineered biological systems. This unique cohort-based training platform will create the next generation of visionaries and leaders needed to accelerate growth of the UK bioeconomy.