Lancaster University was rated in the top ten research institutions in the most recent RAE and leads pioneering work in science, technology and management on a global scale.
Lancaster has invested £200m into its estate and centres of excellence around environmental science, leadership, ICT and business outreach.
Recent high profile appointments around health, medicine and leadership have been made and the University is currently recruiting senior academics in the areas of bio-medicine, management and design.
Lancaster University is pleased to be working with its N8 partners in the delivery of the 5 initial themes.
Sustainable Water Use
Lancaster is co-ordinating the theme for sustainable water use and is home to the Centre for Sustainable Water Management (CSWM) based in the Lancaster Environment Centre, a joint venture between the Natural Environment Research Council's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the University. The CSWM delivers cross-disciplinary science in water-related areas to build solutions to current and future problems such as flooding, diffuse agricultural pollution, and the medium-term impact of climate change on water resources and water quality. This sits alongside other centres in sustainable energy, agriculture, environmental informatics and chemical management.
Micro-engineering
Our strengths in nano-science and nano-technology at Lancaster allow us to design, develop and engineer materials down to the atomic level.
Lancaster scientists from Physics, Engineering and Biology disciplines lead many cutting edge international collaborations involving numerous universities, research institutes and industrial partners world-wide.
Research projects include: the study of nano-science to detect abnormal cells in cancer and other diseases, the development of future nanoscale electronic devices, the behaviour of superfluids at ultra-low temperatures, development of high resolution scanning probe microscopy techniques, fabrication of novel semiconductor lasers and photodetectors for use in sensors and imaging, as well as design for micro and nano manufacturing.
Developments in Health Research and Medicine contribute to the ageing theme
The Institute for Health Research (IHR) exists to conduct highquality health-related research and leads in areas such as public health, mental health and end of life care. It has an important role in Medical Education that has just begun on campus.
The UK's first professor of Hospice Studies is based in the International Observatory on End of Life Care and will lead on important new research to help improve the lives of the many thousands of patients and families who depend on hospice care every year.
The Observatory – part of Lancaster University's Institute for Health Research - is an International research centre specialising in the development of hospice and palliative care.
Business, Enterprise and Innovation
Lancaster blends the traditional university focus on teaching, research and scholarship with business, enterprise and innovation and is a leader in the world's knowledge driven economy.
InfoLab21 is a world class Centre of Excellence for research, development and commercialisation of ICT. The University is internationally respected for its work in ICT ranging from signal processing and coding, through wired and wireless computer networking including Internet, Web and multimedia technologies and ubiquitous and mobile computing, to software systems engineering and human-computer interfacing. Through Infolab21's Knowledge Business Centre, spin-outs and start-up companies are fully supported together with an active commitment to the transfer of knowledge and technology into regional companies.
The Lancaster Leadership Centre is based in Lancaster University's world-class Management School and is the host for the Northern Way's Northern Leadership Academy, a collaboration between Lancaster, Liverpool and Leeds Universities. Its work is pioneering new ways of building leadership capability in organisations across the world. The Academy, a key component of the Northern Way Growth Strategy, aims to build a more entrepreneurial North by providing new opportunities for leadership development for existing leaders and those with leadership potential throughout the North, in business and within communities.
Lancaster Environment Centre
A third phase of expansion to the LEC will enable a significant, measurable impact on the economic development and prosperity of the North West by providing office and laboratory facilities for the physical co-location of new ventures and established businesses and collaborative research with larger national and international organisations. This new development will focus on collaborative working with companies working in a range of sectors including: environmental technology, chemicals management, sustainable energy systems, water and wastewater management, agri-business, nuclear decommissioning and contaminated land assessment and remediation.
Science Park
Plans for development of a new Science Park adjacent to Lancaster University's Bailrigg campus are moving forward. The Science Park, of great importance to the local and regional economy, would build links to the University's major centres of expertise in information technology, environmental research and business leadership and enterprise development, and create opportunities for the University's cutting edge research, consultancy and other services to benefit businesses of all sizes.