Knowledge Exchange
From Astronomy to Biology and Beyond...
The Space Research Centre has a firm and decade-long commitment to technology transfer and as a results has forged strong links with the wider industrial community, providing expertise and consultancy to many industrial sectors both in the local and wider communities. The cornerstone of the technology transfer activity of the Space Research Centre is the Bioimaging Unit, established in 1999. Interdisciplinary research between Physicists and Biologists is a growth area of great potential and the University of Leicester aims to be at the forefront of this developing field. The imaging of radiolabelled biological samples began in the Physics and Astronomy Department in 1995, with the use of high resolution, low background, large area Microchannel Plate (MCP) detectors originally developed for NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory.
Expanding upon the initial work carried out by the Bioimaging Unit, the SRC now has various technologies which have been developed for space applications and have been successfully applied to other industries. Numerous examples of techniques and technology transfer from the space industry can be identified as having evolved from the Space Research Centre. A Technology Audit carried out by Qi3 Ltd. for the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) in October 2007 identified over thirty techniques and technologies which together had commercial potential of order £100 million. Two spin-off companies - BioAstral Ltd. and Gamma Technologies Ltd. - have recently emerged from the SRC and its collaborators.
- BioAstral Ltd.
- Gamma Technologies Ltd.
- Bioimaging Unit
- Spectral ID
Past Knowledge Exchange Events
The following Knowledge Exchange Events have been organised by, or with the participation of, the Space Research Centre. Follow the links for further information and downloads (where available) from each event.
Star Trek style sick bay featured on BBC’s The One Show
