Issued by University of Leicester Press Office on 17 January 2011

Jpeg images available from pt91@le.ac.uk

Universities and Science Minister David Willetts highlighted the University of Leicester’s exceptional success when he launched a new space research facility on campus.

And he paid tribute to the national contribution to the development and reform of higher education by the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Bob Burgess.

Following a tour of the University’s Space Research Centre in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Mr Willetts said:

“The character of this University is very widely recognised.  You have been described as being Elite Without Being Elitist, which is something to be very proud of.

“I am here for the opening of this fantastic new annexe and I know you have just celebrated 50 years of space science here at Leicester.  The University of Leicester is also represented on the space leadership council that I co-chair which is evidence of the government’s continuing commitment to space, both as an intellectual research project, but also a very important commercial sector of the British economy.”

Mr Willetts went on to praise the Vice-Chancellor for his work as Chair of the Burgess Group which proposed the HEAR- the Higher Education Achievement Report for recognising students’ achievements at University.

The Minister spoke of the excitement of seeing scientific work at Leicester that would eventually be part of missions to Mars, Mercury and for other scientific research.

“Leicester is famous for its space research. It's advanced stuff – this is where ideas move from science fiction to science reality.

"The expansion of the Space Research Building at the University of Leicester is an impressive development, which represents the growth in scientific research that we are dedicated to supporting and delivering throughout the country.

"The new facilities at the University of Leicester will add new capabilities in laboratory research in important development areas, such as climate change, and will significantly benefit staff undertaking space research projects.”

The 575 sq. m.  building provides an additional five state-of-the-art laboratories all of which will be immediately utilised for new and recently started projects. New office space for 33 staff is also provided. The new building will increase the size of the Space Research Centre's facilities by more than 40%."

The new labs include ones specifically for Earth Observation Science,  High-energy gamma-ray astronomy and High-speed detectors and electronics. A Space Ideas Hub  will also operate from the facility – this  new technology transfer project, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, links to the new national initiatives at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.

Dr John Pye, manager of the Space Research Centre, said: “The new building will provide a substantial and much-needed addition to the Space Research Centre's accommodation, both for staff offices and laboratory activities. We are delighted to have this high-quality building to house our growing programme in space research and in related knowledge-exchange activities.”

Professor George Fraser, Director of the Space Research Centre, added: “The value of the SRC grant and contract portfolio is approximately £20M. The Centre is involved in six current flight hardware projects, with funding from the UK Space Agency, the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, the European Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation, among other agencies. The missions are:

• BepiColombo – leading the MIXS experiment for the European/Japanese mission to  Mercury (2014)

• Exomars –  building three distinct experiments for the European Mars lander (2018)

• James Webb Space Telescope – where Leicester has a lead engineering  role in the Mid-InfraRed Instrument.  James Webb Space Telescope will be the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope

• Astrosat – India’s first national X-ray astronomy mission will carry a Leicester focal plane CCD camera

"Last year we celebrated 50 years of space research at Leicester, always working closely with industry.  Space scientists at Leicester have been instrumental in developing new technologies that have applications in a wide variety of fields, including industrial and health care."

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Bob Burgess said: “We are delighted to have David Willetts, the Minister for Universities and Science, at the University of Leicester to open the new extension to the Michael Atiyah Space Research Centre.  It represents a £1.4M investment by the University and is a very important development that will enable us to build upon Leicester’s success in the field of space research, and in particular further develop our laboratory research into climate change.”