Swansea University will use this equipment award from EPSRC to strategically invest in state-of-the-art equipment in key areas across the Colleges of Engineering and Science within the remit of EPSRC. The primary of objective of these interventions is to maximise the benefit to our sizable research community by enabling scientific excellence and in turn accelerate the careers of the next generation of researchers. This additional investment will act as a catalyst for research activity in key areas.

The equipment has been carefully selected to augment, enhance, and add value to the current research capabilities at the University. It will allow for the creation of novel testing techniques and will give its users a significant
advantage in terms of the data they collect and the methodologies they are able to employ. This, in turn, will lead to publication in high impact factor journals, create further opportunities for collaboration through extensive public engagement, and help leverage external funding to further develop these areas.

The specific subject areas that will be enhanced by the investment are: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Supercomputing, Photovoltaics, and Electrochemical Storage.

These targeted subject areas will generate impactful research outcomes that will be both enabled and accelerated through this investment.

Potential Impact:
This grant will benefit researchers at SU working under the EPS remit, which includes all the academic beneficiaries and their research groups. By supporting world-leading research through the provision of world-class labs, the Near Infrared (NIR) equipment and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) clusters will support researchers in the fields of:

-Materials for Energy Applications
-Energy Storage
-Artificial Intelligence Technologies
-Machine Learning
-Supercomputing
-Mathematics
-Photovoltaics, Solar Fuels and Photocatalysis
-Printing and coating
-Thermal Processing
-Sheet Steel Processing

By creating a positive and enabling research environment, this investment has the potential of generating and accelerating impact on economy, society, knowledge, and people.

These state-of-the-art pieces of equipment will give their users significant advantages which will lead to higher impact factor journal articles and help leverage external funding. These equipment purchases are key-enabling factors for exciting, disruptive, and influential research.