NSG Group's European Technical Centre's First University Research Symposium

NSG Group's European Technical Centre in Lathom, Lancashire hosted the first (of hopefully many) University Symposium on the 3rd of November. Students and academics from the University of Liverpool presented their work on an exciting variety of topics relevant to the future of functional coated glass manufacture and the discovery of the next generation of advanced materials as value-added coatings. 

NSG Group has forged extremely strong links with the University, particularly with the Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) and the world-renowned Materials Chemistry Group led by Professor Matt Rosseinsky. The University’s abundance of expertise and infrastructure investment means that it is a leading institute in computational materials discovery. The NSG Group's R&D Incubator is also collaborating with groups focussed on the fields of data science and machine learning. 

Seven NSG Group funded PhD students were given the daunting challenge of presenting an overview of their work in just two minutes. Timings were strictly monitored by Rory Back and all the students did extremely well in this high-pressure, character-building exercise. The academics were given a much more leisurely 30 minutes to explain their research. 

The search for next-generation Transparent Conductive Oxide materials was covered, building upon the success of NSG TEC™ glass. Additionally, new developments into decarbonisation and catalytic technologies were described. 

Professor Rasmita Raval, Director of the Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces, presented her work on tackling biofilm formation for the improvement of healthcare and the environment. Understanding these fundamentals helps to enable and improve products such as Pilkington SaniTise™ and NSG Purity™.

Even topics seemingly far removed from the world of glass manufacture were discussed and well received, such as Dr. Vladimir Gusev’s talk on “Materials discovery through the lens of computer science”. The audience, composed of a wide variety of specialists, learned of the context and critical relevance to NSG Group’s aims.

The symposium was an enormous success, with plenty of time incorporated for open discussion. This allowed NSG Group experts from R&D and Intellectual Property to learn more about the students’ projects through their posters and informal chats. NSG Group CTO Mike Greenall closed the event, commenting on how impressed he was by the energy and buzz generated in the room. It is hoped that the interaction between the University of Liverpool and NSG Group will continue to grow, allowing more open-ended interactions, and sharing of knowledge and facilities.