Funding saves research centre

Dave Rogers (l) and Lesley Rivers in one of the 'clean room' labs

A scientific research facility once marked for closure is back on track after being awarded more than £1.7m in funding.

The Centre for Integrated Photonics was established by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) after Corning, a US company, announced it would close its research centre at Adastral Park in Ipswich, Suffolk.

EEDA bought the bulk of the centre's assets and used them to create the new facility there, which aims to lead the UK in developing integrated photonics, micro-technology and nanotechnology.

Photonics is used in fibre-optic communications and scanning, and micro and nanotechnology are being researched for medical and manufacturing applications.

It is hoped work carried out at the new centre will benefit both the business and academic community.

University contracts

The Department for Trade and Industry has granted the facility interim funding of £550,000, and a £1.2m research contract has also been awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

The research contract will call for the centre to develop photonics devices for University College London, Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge and the University of Essex.

The centre has also been awarded a contract by BT Exact.

Neville Reyner, former EEDA deputy chair, said: "Pioneering work at this facility originated from the research carried out by both BT and Corning at the present site.

"However, the facility will be open to any university for PhD and post-doctorate research projects."