Ideas to Industries, Dublin

I’ve written before about the important role ARC Centres of Excellence and universities play in translating knowledge accrued from world class research into commercial opportunities. Last week I attended and presented at an ACES forum held at Dublin City University (DCU)—one of our partner organisations—where this message was reinforced by some interesting case studies and examples.

Here’s just a few of the key points I took away from the meeting…

Advanced materials are opening up new markets

Prof Dermot Diamond (DCU and ACES partner investigator) highlighted the importance of making things with properties that can be changed dynamically over time, and creating prototypes containing the most advanced materials that can open up new markets and change industrial work practices. This was illustrated using examples with new sensing technologies for environmental and biomedical monitoring. The most recent example is a wearable monitor called swEatch which analyses sweat electrolytes (recently published in ElectroAnalysis) and provides early warning of dehydration in elite athletes. Using 3D printing, the integration of fluid management (sweat sampling) and sensors to rapidly provide analytical data was possible.

New technologies, such as 3D printing, are opening up new markets

I then had the opportunity to reinforce Dermot’s message, highlighting the unique, landscape changing opportunity that the demise of the traditional mass manufacturing industry represents because techniques, such as 3D printing, allow for customisation, e.g., printed body parts.

The long established mantra that manufacturing requires large, centralised, capital intensive facilities to make lots of the same thing cheaply has been shattered. The idea that multi material structures can only be realised by assembly after component manufacture has been thrown out the window. The advent of additive fabrication catalysed by 3D printing has literally turned things upside down. We are now able to make multi material structures layer by layer using inexpensive fabrication tools to make customised, personalised structures at the location where they are needed. The impact of some our recent ideas on industry was illustrated using the development of water splitting technologies and the emergence of a spin off company, Aquahydrex.

Prof Dermot Brabazon (DCU) continued on a similar theme showing how continuing advances in laser assisted fabrication presents new and immediate commercial opportunities across a number of market sectors including automotive, aerospace and mining. These advances are possible because the surface processing produces harder, more durable surfaces with tolerances that significantly exceed those previously achievable.

Dr David Moore described how a small spin out company can develop and grow. Such ventures are recognised globally as the route to rapid expansion in jobs and the economy.  His company ‘Viska Systems’ is pioneering the use of precision laser techniques for materials fabrication and processing.

Prof Tony Killard (an old friend of ACES now at University of the West of England) described the tortuous journey from fundamental materials science to device development that eventually (after 10 years ) gave rise to BreathDX. He (as did many presenters) emphasised the importance of matching or even creating a market need, meeting the right people, with the right skills at the right time.

Big industries can, and want to, change

Dr Russel Jones (GlaxoSmithKline and ACES IAC member) reminded us that big industries are capable of change. The title of his presentation ‘Business as Unusual’ proved to be most appropriate as Russel told us of GSK’s deviation from the traditional pharmaceuticals sector into the world of cell therapy to treat rare or orphan diseases. A fascinating journey that showed the power of personalised, precision medicine that not just demanded cutting edge advances in viral gene delivery sycell therapy stems but a new global network to deliver it to patients. This journey is not yet complete, but it is certainly one that the bluest of blue sky researchers would be proud to have in their portfolio.

Dr Barry Burns from Henkel (famous for Superglue) told us of another traditional manufacturing industry hungry for change and new opportunities. Built on a proud history of clever chemistries Henkel is now transforming traditional ‘glues’ into ‘surface chemistries’ that can address manufacturing challenges in industries as diverse as semiconductor chip manufacture to healthcare looking at using that talent base in less familiar areas of commercialisation. They seem destined to be a company not stuck in the past and are already exploring how new and old chemistries can support new fabrication methods such as 3D printing, thus propelling themselves into new ventures and new markets.

Universities have a role to play in driving change

Prof Mick Morris (Director Amber Centre @Trinity College Dublin) provided some great insights into the Ideas to Industry challenge. Having worked extensively in industry, he highlighted the vagaries of academics following rapidly changing industry priorities where whole divisions can quickly disappear. He reminded us that direct, immediate economic impact is not the primary raison d’etre for Universities and that we need to stay focused on the key role of high quality academics performing cutting edge research and producing knowledge that may only find application or produce economic impact in the medium to long term.

Such engagement should be adequately recognised and respected and this needs to be reflected better in University systems (e.g. promotion). Such engagement needs also to be encouraged through more appropriate challenge-based funding models. Mick picked up on one of my closing remarks that industry needs to actively re-engage with this generation of dynamic, commercially articulate researchers and not to fear since the crusty, cranky researcher averse to industry is almost extinct. Mick rightly pointed out that there would always be a role for the crusty, cranky researcher but if we could just make them commercially aware all would reap more benefit!

Prof Robert Forster of the National Centre for Sensor Research asked us to think of the University of the Future and how academic excellence can best be leveraged for the good of society. The case for dynamic, globally competitive Universities, with linked industry partners, to generate new ideas and be a source of knowledge and competence that can benefit society was presented. Forster used several examples from biosensing to show how academic research can be focused on solving key problems with societal and economic impact while preserving high intellectual and researcher training value. This process succeeds best where there is excellent communication, and road maps for the sector are developed and shared. He also spoke about the win-win nature of overcoming the cultural divide, but highlighted the need for strong university leadership, faculty members who understand business, and incentives and structures for academics to bridge that gap.

Partnerships with industry and government drive change

Dr Peter Innis (ACES Chief Investigator and Manger Australian National Fabrication Facility Materials node) described the facilities and capabilities provided by ANFF in terms of fabrication, highlighting the need for ongoing state investment in instrumentation and especially people. His talk raised questions amongst our Irish collaborators as to why Ireland could not do something similar and why Ireland’s investments in infrastructure and support personnel are often counter cyclical.This is not the first time I have witnessed international admiration and praise for the Australian Government funded ANFF from both researchers and industry.

Peter Wu from Taiwan (ACES IAC member) then impressed us all with the collective approach and the level of support that Taiwanese industry has adopted with the support of Government. Driven by industry the Ideas to Industry is rapidly giving birth to new ventures in bioelectronics supported by the traditional electronics manufacturing sector. In Taiwan, it is clear that these new and emerging models are creating new manufacturing opportunities above and beyond current capabilities and perhaps most importantly, creating whole new market sectors, e.g., custom designed and fabricated implantable electrodes to control tremor in Parkinson’s disease.

Prof Kieran Drain revealed the amazing facilities and capabilities of the world renowned Tyndall National Institute in Cork. When one’s survival revolves around ideas to industries and supporting industry it tends to hone one’s skills in areas of high potential impact.  Drain talked about high level systems integration, highlighting the urgent and critical need for high bandwidth broadband across Ireland, likening its impact to that of rural electrification in the 1950s only bigger!!  His examples of how systems integration could impact Ireland’s largest industry, farming, through a smart agriculture or a ‘precision farming’ strategy was highly impactful.

Closing remarks

Dr Jan Weber (Boston Scientific and ACES IAC member) closed the forum with some thoughts on a different role for Big business in the Ideas to Industry process—that is to wait and see and if the venture is successful and then acquire the SME. Jan’s presentation highlighted for me the quandary (in Australia at least) that SMEs do not usually have the resources or bandwidth to engage with researchers and yet we may well be able to assist their cause in developing into a venture attractive enough for the swooping seagull that is BIG business.

The forum discussions continued as the 55 participants boarded the bus for an Australian Embassy  event hosted by Ambassador Ruth Adler and her amazing team. In closing, let me say we are in a privileged era. We are in a ‘one in one hundred year flood’ wherein advances in materials science and fabrication have converged. The result is that we are again making things in the research environment. We are no longer constrained by the bridle of traditional manufacturing where low cost, mass manufacture limits our choice—now every individual can have their ideal customised part, or tool, whether that is a 3D printed wedding ring or a physical model of a brain aneurism that enables a surgeon to plan lifesaving surgery in a better way…  and of course 3D prints the replacement vascular structure along the way!

Our research training systems in many research centres of excellence is delivering graduates ready for the task at hand. We are ready to ride the technological tsunami that will give rise to next generation manufacturing.

Thank you to Dermot Diamond and Robert Forster for helping to put this together.

Pictured: Dermot Diamond (on right) and myself at the Ideas to Industries event in Dublin.