Open University

The Open University, UK

www.open.ac.uk

Lead: Dr. Satheesh Krishnamurthy FRSC

The Open University is the leading expert in flexible higher education underpinned by our world-leading research. OU facilities and experts. The OU currently has an enrolment of 175000 undergraduate and postgraduate stud biggest students, making it one of the largest universities by student number. The University has five faculties Arts and social sciences, Wellbeing, Education and Language studies, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), The Open University Business School and the law school.

The Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is The Open University’s largest research faculty, helping to cement its position as one of the UK’s top research institutions. Our researchers enjoy state-of-the-art facilities to support their subject interests, including specialist laboratories and world-leading analytical facilities. We focus on innovation in the real world – developing scientific and technological solutions to some of society’s most pressing and complex challenges, leading behavioural transformation, influencing policy and practice, and addressing STEM skills shortages across the UK. Our strong commitment to interdisciplinary research is grounded in outward-looking, sustainable academic communities that engage fully with impactful teaching and scholarship, maintaining strong links with professional bodies and industry.
STEM faculty hosts Europe’s premier research centres in Planetary, Space and Astronomical Sciences, noted for its work on many space missions such as Rosetta – for which we developed on-board instrumentation. Our researchers are now using technology from the project to develop new medical applications.
Our biomedical scientists are working with industrial partners to develop novel approaches for selective delivery of therapeutic compounds to the brain. We are also setting up a clinical trial with local oncologists to assess the use of fluorescent probes to find the operable margins of skin tumors.
In mathematics, our self-controlled case series (SCCS) method is now widely used by public health agencies to assess the safety of medications including vaccines.
OU materials engineers led the research consortium, which built ENGIN-X, the world’s first neutron diffractometer optimised for stress testing. Wastewater management systems and nanomaterials for energy storage and harvesting.
A problem-oriented engineering methodology developed by researchers in our computing department is saving industry time and money by increasing the efficiency of the engineering design process. OU has hosted bigger UK India Education services through TESS-India programs, OpenWASH open learning platform for engineering and industrialists’ professionals for textile and water management systems.

Role in the project:

OU will co-lead (together with LUR and UNITN) the development of the photocatalytic subsystem including the energy generation/storage unit in WP4. OU will also support all other WPs, contributing in technical specifications (WP2), development and testing of subsystems and components linked to the photocatalytic unit (WPs 4 &5), development and demonstration of the integrated system (WP6), social acceptance and dissemination/exploitation activities (WPs 7 & 8).

Key tasks

1. Plasma functionalisation of materials and printing of electrodes
2. Low cost earth abundant materials synthesis of catalytic applications
3. Low cost reactor design
4. Protype characterisation and development
5. Open wash education material for undergraduate use.