THE announcement of £3.7m of EU funding by Welsh Government’s Mark Drakeford to create a world-class research network to help industry embrace cutting-edge technology has been welcomed by an Aberystwyth University scientist.

Prof Andrew Evans, head of the department of Physics at Aberystwyth, is an authority on semiconductors and has recently published research on graphene - a single layer of carbon atoms and one of the strongest materials ever tested.

Prof Evans believes that space age technologies developed at Aberystwyth University could benefit companies in mid Wales, thanks to the new £5.8m Centre for Photonics Expertise project.

Prof Evans said: “Wales is known across the world for its expertise in photonics and optics – technology that is found everywhere, from parking sensors in cars to lasers used in surgery and cells that capture solar energy.”

“Aberystwyth University has a long tradition of working with glass, semiconductors, thin films, transparent materials, and solar cells, and in developing instrumentation for space research, including missions to study Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, the Moon and the Sun.

“The knowledge and expertise of knowing how to build the best cameras and detectors, which components to use and how to make them work in extreme environments of space could be used to assist industry as they work to develop new technologies for the commercial sector.”

The Centre for Photonics Expertise project will bring together expertise from across Wales and establish collaborative research projects to encourage industries to embrace photonics technology in the use of lasers, sensors and fibre-optics.

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