KnowledgeRICH - the expert network

How the University of Leeds can help you.

The University of Leeds has an excellent track record of working with regional, national and international organisations, aiding businesses to develop and maintain their competitive advantage and collaborating with key public sector bodies. The University offers the opportunity to tap into research excellence, leading facilities and world-class knowledge, whatever your sector and whatever your size. We offer a range of consultancy services covering areas including licensing and investment, product development, Information Research Service and research projects.

Recent successes

The University of Leeds invests some £100 million per annum in research activities, including state-of-the-art R&D equipment and facilities. It employs some 1000 academic staff many of whom are acknowledged leaders in their particular field.

One of many areas of expertise can be found in the School of Design at the University of Leeds. Researchers there were recently given rare access to George Mallory's clothing found on Everest to test whether the explorer was indeed poorly prepared for his doomed expedition. Modern techniques developed in the School of Design revealed how suitable the clothing was for Everest's harsh conditions.

This expertise is available at Leeds to specifically investigate problems concerning not only mountaineering clothing, ropes, and harnesses, but also the application of textile and textile composites which all have application in the mass market. A considerable body of knowledge has been assembled from a large number of small scale investigations/commissioned testing carried out on behalf of small to medium sized enterprises that are at the forefront of new developments in survival and performance clothing.

Leeds' expertise in tomography - the ability to visualise an industrial process as it progresses - recently won the Institute of Chemical Engineering's award for Best SME Innovation. The team won the award for its work developing and applying the use of electrical impedance measurement in tomography with BNFL. The award was presented by Boris Johnson at Royal Inns of Court London.

Cutting edge research driving innovation

1. The Food Chain Centre of Industrial Collaboration, based at the University of Leeds' Procter Department of Food Science has recently completed research that could pave the way for major changes in food and drink production methods.

Using their extensive knowledge and expertise in the science and technology of food production, the Food Chain CIC has worked with the Food Processing Faraday (FPF) and Newcastle-based company, Protensive, to investigate applications of 'spinning disc' technology, originally developed for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Possible applications include replacing existing methods of product mixing, preventing contamination during food and drink production and creating new flavour systems for products such as sauces.

2. 'Looks exactly as it says on the tin' - The Department of Colour and Polymer Chemistry at the University of Leeds have just completed work with ICI Paints to help ensure that when someone uses a sample card to choose their paint then the finished walls appear as expected from the card. This research enabled staff to develop a model of colour vision that allowed the team to predict what colour would be seen on a painted wall from a small colour patch. The equations behind the model have been so useful that ICI has patented their use for a number of applications, although the work had already delivered benefits before the patent stage. "Staff at the University have introduced ICI to the latest thinking in setting colour tolerances for quality control, which has helped us improve our production efficiency," says Celia Taylor, Technology Associate at ICI Paints. "We are fortunate in the UK in having this university group available to us."

3. Have we cooked it for long enough? Have we mixed the ingredients thoroughly enough? It is often difficult to get answers to these every day questions without physically examining the items being cooked or mixed - but this is not always possible. Tomography is often the answer as this allows process operators to "see" inside the process by taking measurements around the outside of the process. CAT scanning in hospitals is an example, with CAT scan machines taking measurements around the body to allow clinicians to see what is going on inside. Knowing the answers to the cooking and mixing questions can allow operators to complete their processes more efficiently, so saving them thousands of pounds each year.