University of Bath

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

This proposal will establish electrochemistry as the state-of-the-art method to access and utilize privileged alkoxy radical intermediates. This will be achieved by introducing the first broadly applicable approach for the electrochemical generation of alkoxy radicals from unprotected alcohols and applying this to the development of a diverse range of novel electrosynthetic transformations, accessing valuable products whilst addressing an important existing deficiency in the area. The research outlined in this proposal will significantly advance the fields of organic electrosynthesis and radical chemistry in several ways, including: i. The first broadly applicable approach for the electrochemical generation and utilization of alkoxy radicals will be introduced. This area is significantly underdeveloped and remains largely limited to the anodic generation of methoxy radicals from methoxide at high potentials, which precludes general use in synthesis. ii. Electrochemically driven intermolecular PCET processes will be used to access alkoxy radicals for the first time. iii. The utilization of various distinct strategies for the diverse functionalization of C-centered radical intermediates will be employed, including trapping with SOMOphiles, Ni-catalyzed C-C cross-coupling via convergent paired electrochemistry, and trapping with nucleophiles via radical-polar crossover. iv. The application of our new electrosynthetic methods to the late-stage functionalization of (derivatives of) natural products and pharmaceuticals, lignin depolymerization, the direct functionalization of commodity chemicals, and the formation of anisole bioisosteres (bicyclo[1.1.1]pentyl ethers). A comprehensive training programme has been constructed in addition to mechanisms to facilitate a two-way knowledge transfer between host and fellow. The proposed host organisation and primary supervisor are the University of Bath and Dr Louis Morrill, respectively, due to their expertise in this area.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

When devices such as computers, smart phones and batteries are sent for recycling not all of the materials are captured for use in new devices. The metals are most likely to be recycled because they are easy to separate and their methods of recycling are well established. Specialist coatings often made with rare and expensive materials enable our modern electronics to work. However these coatings often cause problems when it comes to recycling, they can mean that the metals are more contaminated and so these coatings are often burnt off, causing pollution and adding cost to the recycling process. It also means that the expensive cleverly engineered coating has been lost and its value not realised. TReFCo aims to develop a low cost method for removing these coatings so that they can be reused to make new devices. This will have multiple benefits; it will mean that valuable raw materials are kept within the supply chain, supporting the UK economy. It will also mean that the materials that they were coated on are cleaner prior to their recycling process ensuring a purer recycled product at a lower cost. The method employed by TReFCo will be to subject the coatings to near infrared radiation to burn the binder (glue) that holds the coating in place without damaging the coating material or the substrate material. TReFCo will also develop new adhesives that will 'unglue' when exposed to near infrared radiation, making it easier (and cheaper) to take devices apart before they are recycled. This could also be used within a repair process. In addition to the technical developments during the project a lifecycle analysis will be undertaken - this will ensure that researchers fully understand the environmental costs of producing materials and recycling them. Identifying any areas that are environmentally damaging in order that they can be avoided by material design or by changing the processing methods. In all the aim of the project is to make the possibility of a truly circular economy one step closer to being a reality.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-08

The rise of China as a global power is a defining feature of world politics in the 21st century, but research on the impacts of a rising China on global development remains at a very embryonic stage. As a flagship foreign policy initiative of Beijing, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched in 2013 has brought fundamental changes to international development through large-scale infrastructure investments in the Global South. While some see the BRI as a new and inclusive model of international development cooperation, others point to significant environmental risks associated with many BRI projects. However, due to the lack of primary data and local expertise, very little research has carefully explored the sustainability impact of Chinese investments on the ground and compare them across national and local contexts. In this UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, I will fill this knowledge gap by investigating sustainability governance of China's global infrastructure investments through in-depth field research across different developing countries. The project will address three sets of research questions, which focus, respectively, on: 1) the design and implementation of sustainability safeguards used by Chinese investors; 2) the sustainability impact of China-funded projects perceived by local stakeholders; and 3) future policies able to align Chinese investments with global and local sustainability goals. By answering these questions, my research will identify the ways in which Chinese investments reshape local politics and societies in different host country contexts. The project takes an interdisciplinary approach by drawing upon theories and methods from different social science disciplines including international relations, political economy, development studies, economics, sociology and geography). I will collect large amounts of primary data from various sources, including semi-structured interviews with practitioners representing different stakeholders, nationally representative surveys in recipient countries, and key informant interviews and focus groups with communities in the areas affected by Chinese investments. As an important innovation, the project will organise deliberative workshops and conduct survey experiments with relevant policymakers, business elites, and civil society leaders in recipient countries to identify feasible policy instruments to leverage Chinese investments for improving sustainable development and climate resilience. My analysis will employ qualitative and quantitative methods to generate comprehensive insights into opportunities and challenges brought by Chinese investments to the Global South. The empirical scope of the project will focus on Chinese investments in the energy and transportation sectors in three large developing countries in Asia - Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. This scope will be expended during the extension stage. The three countries were chosen given the scale of Chinese investments they have received and the important variation in their domestic political economy. I will collaborate with experts based in leading research institutions in the three countries to collect data from relevant stakeholders and organise activities to disseminate findings to policymakers and the public. The project will build a global network of researchers and policy practitioners to advance understanding on China's growing influence on global development and promote sustainable infrastructure development. My research will contribute to the debate on the 'China model' of international development and help policymakers across the world to develop more effective strategies to engage China for supporting global sustainable development.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Thermal sensing and harvesting using pyroelectric materials is an emerging and active research topic with respect to the recovery of low-grade waste heat and infrared detection. However, current pyroelectric materials suffer from poor heat transfer and low efficiency and sensitivity, which limits their practical application. This project targets the modelling, synthesis and characterization of thin-film porous pyroelectric materials that are produced via an aqueous freeze tape casting. While the presence of porosity reduces the permittivity to improve sensing and harvesting performance, the incorporation of plasmonic nanofillers within porous structure will also significantly improve heat transfer. The challenge of this project stems on the control of the directional pores in the thin films and tailoring heat transfer as a result of localized pore heating due to plasmonic fillers. The combination of modelling, materials synthesis and characterization will lead to the development of a high performance multi-functional pyro-photo-thermal material for pyroelectric sensing and harvesting. The experience of the applicant in pyroelectric materials and the skills of the host in pyroelectric composites and plasmonics will be exploited on the design of the pyroelectric materials and the control of the plasmonic nanoparticles. The applicant will gain new expertise in finite element modelling and the preparation of porous pyroelectric composites offered by the host. This fellowship will be a key step in the applicant's career development by expanding her research and academic training. This will be facilitated by a focused training plan and the establishment of new long-term collaborations across the EU, and links with other leading thermal energy sensing and harvesting institutes/industries.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-07

The global energy sector is facing considerable pressure arising from climate change, depletion of fossil fuels and geopolitical issues around the location of remaining fossil fuel reserves. Energy networks are vitally important enablers for the UK energy sector and therefore UK industry and society. Energy networks exist primarily to exploit and facilitate temporal and spatial diversity in energy production and use and to exploit economies of scale where they exist. The pursuit of Net Zero presents many complex interconnected challenges which reach beyond the UK and have huge relevance internationally. These challenges vary considerably from region to region due to historical, geographic, political, economic and cultural reasons. As technology and society changes so do these challenges, and therefore the planning, design and operation of energy networks needs to be revisited and optimised. Electricity systems are facing technical issues of bi-directional power flows, increasing long-distance power flows and a growing contribution from fluctuating and low inertia generation sources. Gas systems require significant innovation to remain relevant in a low carbon future. Heat networks have little energy demand market share, although they have been successfully installed in other northern European countries. Other energy vectors such as Hydrogen or bio-methane show great promise but as yet have no significant share of the market. Faced with these pressures, the modernisation of energy networks technology, processes and governance is a necessity if they are to be fit for the future. Good progress has been made in de-carbonisation in some areas but this has not been fast enough, widespread enough across vectors or sectors and not enough of the innovation is being deployed at scale. Effort is required to accelerate the development, scale up the deployment and increase the impact delivered.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-06

Fundamental transformations across society are required to avoid the worst climate-related risks. At the same time, there are huge opportunities to improve society and wellbeing through these transformations. The need for transformation has grown since CAST launched in 2019, with international progress on climate shown to be off-track and UK climate action falling behind the pace required to meet its targets. There remain major social, political and behavioural barriers to tackling climate change. The last five years have seen landmark scientific and policy reports calling for more social and demand-side action to tackle climate change. We have also witnessed major international crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine invasion, cost-of-living crisis and climatic extremes, that have caused tremendous suffering and hardship, disrupted lifestyles, and shed light on how radical change occurs. Over five years, CAST has become the internationally-renowned global hub for understanding transformation and addressing the fundamental question: how can we live differently – and better – in ways that meet the urgent need for rapid and far-reaching emission reductions? Going beyond disciplinary and theoretical boundaries, we have advanced understanding of how to transform lifestyles, organisations, and social structures in order to achieve a low-carbon, sustainable future. This is still our mission, and the urgency of the need for a new approach to climate policy means we are now particularly focused on translating the weight of evidence into actionable policy and practice. CAST focuses on people as agents of change in four challenging areas: consumption and waste, food, travel, and heating/cooling. CAST is working across multiple scales (individual, community, organisational, national, and global), to identify and experiment with various routes to achieving lasting change. Our team includes world-leading experts in climate change, lifestyle change and governance, working in partnership with policy-makers, companies, and charities to co-produce and test new ways of engaging with the public, governments and businesses in the UK and internationally. CAST’s research themes recognise that transformative change requires: inspiring yet workable visions of the future (Theme 1); learning from past and current societal shifts (Theme 2); experimenting with novel models of social change (Theme 3); together with a research culture that embodies deep and sustained engagement with communities, business and governments (Theme 4). Objectives for Phase 2 of CAST are: To extend and synthesise our research on how to transform behaviour, organisations, and systems of governance to achieve a sustainable, net zero society, including via longitudinal tracking of public engagement and evidence reviews; To expand our academic and stakeholder partnerships to co-produce new research with diverse funding sources, while continuing to support and develop CAST’s existing staff and students; To communicate insights and apply tools based on CAST Phase 1 work to accelerate progress towards net zero while delivering wider societal benefits To convene new stakeholder coalitions to identify opportunities to accelerate action in policy, business, and civil society. Direct beneficiaries include national, devolved, and local government; as well as business and civil society organisations; and social science communities. With these stakeholders, we will co-produce excellent scientific research, and build capacity for achieving a sustainable, low-carbon society, providing ultimate benefits for wider publics and global communities. Ultimately, our outputs will help the UK achieve its climate and wider sustainability policy goals.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-06

Every country in the world is experiencing growth in both the size and the proportion of older people in their populations. In recognition of this trend, the United Nations has designated 2021 to 2030 as the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, with the aim of promoting collaborative efforts to enable individuals to live longer and healthier lives. One of the main societal challenges from ageing is loss of skeletal muscle which leads to weakness, frailty, and loss of independence. A key factor that leads to muscle loss and weakness is chronic low-grade inflammation - but the primary source of this inflammation has always been uncertain. Adipose tissue (body fat) is now recognised as an important and sizeable immunological organ. Our preliminary work demonstrates that, in some older people, adipose tissue becomes inflamed and secretes large amounts of pro-inflammatory molecules. We found that the secretion of one molecule from adipose tissue (IL-8) was predictive of two independent measures of muscle mass in older people (a whole-body DEXA scan, and a leg CT scan). These new findings are supported by epidemiological studies which report that IL-8 is a strong predictor of low muscle mass in UK adults - as well as studies using cell models which show that IL-8 impairs muscle cell growth. Based on these preliminary findings, we hypothesise that adipose tissue is a major source of inflammation in ageing (in the absence of obesity), and that high secretion of IL-8 (and potentially other similar molecules) from adipose tissue in older people negatively affects muscle protein metabolism and the ability to maintain muscle mass. To examine this hypothesis, we have established a collaborative team of researchers with expertise in adipose tissue biology and skeletal muscle protein metabolism. We have designed a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments to establish if adipose tissue inflammation is an important driver of muscle protein metabolism in older people. For our human studies, we will recruit older men and women with different levels of adipose tissue inflammation (high/low) and, by infusing tracers (stable isotopically labelled amino acids) and taking muscle biopsies, we will be able to assess whole-body and muscle protein metabolism in vivo (at rest, and also in response to stimulation with exercise and nutrition). We will use state-of-the-art techniques to examine the cells and pathways that are involved in adipose tissue inflammation in ageing - and we will identify the types (and amount) of proteins that are secreted by inflamed adipose tissue in older adults. We will support in vivo observations with cell culture studies to examine the direct effects of the molecules secreted by adipose tissue on muscle cells grown in vitro. These cell studies will also allow us to examine the different pathways that are activated/inhibited, and whether it is possible to block pathways which are negatively impacting the regulation of skeletal muscle growth. Finally, at the end of this project, we will set up a unique biobank to support future cost-effective research, comprising the data collected during this project (e.g., Muscle Protein Synthesis) alongside access to matched biological samples. This project paves the way for novel targeted interventions and therapies to avoid inflammation-mediated loss of skeletal muscle and frailty with ageing. For example, if we find that IL-8 is pre-eminently important in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass in ageing, then future studies could examine whether antibody-based therapies (i.e., anti-IL-8) increase muscle mass or prevent decline in specific groups of older people. Collectively, this project will establish the role of adipose tissue in the regulation of muscle mass in older people and lay the foundation for novel interventions and therapies - as well as supporting other age-related research via access to substantial datasets and associated biological samples.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-06

The UK is one of the most spatially unbalanced advanced economies in the world, with substantial geographic gaps in economic activity and growth between regions, especially when comparing London and the South East with the rest of the country. There is increasing concern about the most peripheral regions and local economies, especially post-industrial, coastal and rural areas - which often face acute social and economic challenges. Some post-industrial areas of the UK have never really recovered from the effects of deindustrialisation and have lasting scars, notably in terms of their local skills base. It is here where we see some of the most stark geographic gaps in education; for example, over two-thirds of people across many London boroughs hold degree level qualifications, compared to less than a fifth of people in coastal towns like Blackpool, post-industrial places like Doncaster, and rural localities like North East Lincolnshire. The UK Government's Opportunity Areas programme was a £108million area-based intervention that set out to close these gaps in education and skills between places, specifically selecting 12 post-industrial, coastal and rural localities. It was the first of its kind to target peripheral places beyond urban centres, with ambitions to improve educational attainment, educational and career decision-making, and labour market access in these socio-economically marginalised areas. We propose to conduct the first quasi-experimental evaluation of the intervention to generate robust evidence on its impact and rich detail on the generative mechanisms driving any effects it had on these areas. Working with the UK Government Department for Education, the Local Government Association and 12 Local Authorities where the intervention took place, we plan to carry out a substantial programme of knowledge exchange and research activities. The evaluation will take place across two sequential stages, with stage 1 isolating the impact of Opportunity Areas using large-scale administrative and survey data, followed by the purposeful selection of 'matched' localities to explain the mechanisms driving any identifiable impacts (stage 2). At stage 1, we plan to use both the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) dataset and the longitudinal household survey, Understanding Society, providing granular detail on objective measures like education choices, attainment and earnings (using LEO), but also subjective measures about the value of education and career aspirations (drawing on Understanding Society). Using these data, our proposed quasi-experimental approach is aimed at isolating the impact that the intervention had over and above what was happening to outcomes in comparable areas. Based on this analysis, our selection of 6 'paired' fieldwork sites then allows us to elaborate on the mechanisms driving any identified impact through in-depth research with those designing, delivering and receiving the intervention. At the heart of the proposed evaluation is a series of knowledge exchange activities that provides crucial input from our project partners throughout the evaluation, maximising its policy-relevance. It is an ideal time to provide a robust evaluation of Opportunity Areas to learn lessons for any future education and labour market area-based interventions, especially the new Priority Educational Investment Areas which launched in 2022 and absorbed Opportunity Areas. Our planned evaluation will produce evidence on what mechanisms are impactful in closing gaps in education and skills - which is vital to informing how this new intervention, and any future area-based interventions, are designed and delivered.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-06

Chemical technologies underpin almost every aspect of our lives, from the energy we use to the materials we rely on and the medications we take. The UK chemical industry generates £73.3 billion revenue and employs 161,000 highly skilled workers. It is highly diverse (therefore resilient) with SMEs and microbusinesses making up a remarkable 96% of the sector. Today's global chemicals industry is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consumes 20% of oil and gas as carbon feedstock to make products. Decarbonisation (defossilisation) of the chemicals sector is, therefore, urgently required, but to do so presents major technical and societal challenges. New sustainable chemical technologies, enabled by new synthesis, catalysis, reaction engineering, digitalisation and sustainability assessment, are needed. In order to ensure that the UK develops a resource efficient, resilient and sustainable economy underpinned by chemical manufacturing, developments in chemical technologies must be closely informed by whole systems approaches to measure and minimise environmental footprints, understand supply chains and assess economic and technological viability, using techniques such as life cycle assessment and material flow analysis. Lack of access to experts in science and engineering with a holistic understanding of sustainable systems is widely and publicly recognised as a significant risk. It is therefore extremely timely to establish a new EPSRC CDT in Sustainable Chemical Technologies that fully integrates a whole systems approach to training and world leading research in an innovation-driven context. This CDT will train the next generation of leaders in sustainable chemical technologies with new skills to address the growing demand for highly skilled PhD graduates with the ability to develop and transfer sustainable practices into industry and society. The new CDT will be a unique and vibrant focus of innovative doctoral training in the UK by taking full advantage of two exciting new developments at Bath. First, the CDT will be embedded in our new Institute for Sustainability (IfS) which has evolved from the internationally leading Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies (CSCT) and which fully integrates whole systems research and sustainable chemical technologies - two world-leading research groupings at Bath - under one banner. Second, the CDT will operate in close partnership with our recently established Swindon-based Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies (iCAST, www.iCAST.org.uk) a £17M partnership for the rapid translation of university research to provide a dynamic innovation-focused context for PhD training in the region. Our fresh and dynamic approach has been co-created with key industrial, research, training and civic partners who have indicated co-investment of over £17M of support. This unique partnership will ensure that a new generation of highly skilled, entrepreneurial, innovative PhD graduates is nurtured to be the leaders of tomorrow's green industrial revolution in the UK.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-06

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs. It can develop when bacteria spread through droplets in the air. In the past TB or "consumption" was a major cause of death worldwide. After the discovery of antibiotics and general improvement in living conditions, prevalence of the disease fell. However, since the 1980s cases have been rising again. TB is now the biggest infectious disease killer (above HIV/AIDS and now COVID-19). This project seeks to take a step forward in personalising TB treatment. Currently with treatment for TB disease, doctors must follow rigid treatment protocols that only allow for variations in patients' weights. These treatment regimens were defined years ago when very little was understood about this disease. We now know more about TB bacteria and how the infection dynamics can change depending on particular patients' immune responses. For example, people who have diabetes and/or HIV tend to have more complex and severe TB disease. We also know that the severity of infection, i.e. the amount of lung tissue affected, plays a part in how successful treatment will be. This project seeks to group TB patients according to their bacterial burden, i.e. how much infection is present, and the presence of any other conditions (such as diabetes or HIV) that could make their TB disease more complex, in order to find optimal ways of treating them. I will use a collection of lung scans taken from a clinical trial in South Africa to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to automatically identify TB infection in patients. This algorithm will be able to identify where in the lungs the infection appears and how severe it is. This will mean that in future TB doctors could take an individual TB patient's lung scan and feed it into the AI algorithm to automatically map that patient's TB infection onto a computer. Once on the computer, I will use mathematical modelling to simulate what would happen in that patient's lungs (also taking into account their particular immune response, by factoring in whether they are diabetic or HIV-positive). I have already developed mathematical models that are capable of simulating a typical immune response during TB infection and will work with relevant biologists to integrate the differences seen in infection dynamics when patients are also diabetic/HIV-positive. Building mathematical models of this type is complex and there are many unknowns, this is why I will work closely with my biological collaborators to ensure that the latest laboratory data is used to quantify the processes involved. I will also work with mathematical/computational colleagues to use relevant techniques to help with model development, and to test how accurate the models are. I will also use additional data from the South African clinical trial to test model predictions. Once I am confident that the AI algorithms and models are robust, I will work with doctors to try to find more patient-specific treatment protocols. This will mean in future that some patients won't need as much treatment (hence cutting costs and reducing side-effects for these patients), and some will need variations in the antibiotic combinations/doses that are currently prescribed. Ultimately this will help to increase treatment success, prevent future TB relapses, and reduce the chance of antibiotic resistance emerging.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-06

For centuries, partial differential equations (PDE) have played an important role in science and engineering by constructing solutions and analysing features with sufficient accuracy to explain the phenomena under consideration. In many cases, the theory is up to that task, but more recently it has been challenged to account for increasingly subtle nonlinear natural phenomena. When parameters of the model, or time, approach critical values, regular solutions of the associated PDE may begin to concentrate at lower dimensional regions, eventually blowing up. Finding solutions with interesting asymptotic patterns or singularities, the topic of this proposal, is often a difficult problem. In recent years, we have developed gluing techniques to achieve this in classical problems in elliptic and parabolic equations. In incompressible fluids, many fundamental phenomena have not been mathematically justied, and we believe that gluing methods can lead to the unveiling of striking features. We will focus on four topics in the concentration-singularity formation challenge. We propose to elucidate fundamental laws on the dynamics of vortex laments of the Euler equations, building true solutions in agreement with them. In particular, we want to establish the 1904 Da Rios "vortex filament conjecture" and 1858 Helmholtz leapfrogging law for vortex rings. In the classical 2d water wave problem with constant vorticity, we propose to build overhanging travelling waves through a mechanism similar to desingularization in CMC surfaces. We also propose the analysis of long-term vortex and sharp-fronts interaction-evolution and associated blow-up scenarios, including type II blow-up solutions in the Keller-Segel chemotaxis system.