"Bristol is best for Chemistry!" - 24/09/08
In the extensive opinion survey of academics and head teachers that underpinned the 2008 Sunday Times University Guide (Sunday Times, 21 September 2008), Bristol gained the best results of any university for Chemistry, a subject for which it has been designated a centre for excellence in teaching and learning.
For postgraduate teaching, the University has been successful in securing FOUR of the 44 EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training. The four centres, which will receive funding totalling over £24 million, are:
- Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science
- Doctoral Training Centre in Functional Nanomaterials
- Holistic Doctoral Training Centre for Chemical Synthesis
- Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems
Chemistry was directly involved in three of the 7 University bids and two of these were funded.
These were:
- Functional Nanomaterials : a joint £6.4M bid with Physics which was led by Dr Terry McMaster (Physics)
- Chemical Synthesis : A £7.3M Chemistry-focussed bid led by Kevin Booker-Milburn
The Centres will each involve 10 x 4yr PhD studentships (and associated support costs) per annum over a 5 yr period, and there will be an opportunity shortly to learn more about the detail of the programmes outlined in the proposals and the consequences in terms of what we will need to deliver. This is a very exciting development that positions Bristol and Bristol Chemistry very firmly in terms of its postgraduate and broader research profile. The Chemical Synthesis proposal also generated a phenomenal amount of industrial interest and over a three week period (the time allocated by EPSRC to deliver the full proposal) Kevin and others secured well in excess of £1M in additional funding.