About the Event
This two-day workshop, presented by the Henry Royce Institute’s Atoms to Devices Research Area in collaboration with the UK Metamaterials Network, will bring together researchers and R&D professionals from across industry and academia to explore the facilities, funding and collaborations needed to translate, as well as scale metamaterials and metasurface technologies.
Taking place at Imperial College London, the programme will combine keynote talks, case studies, cutting-edge facility presentations, roundtable discussions and networking. Participants will learn about upcoming funding opportunities through Royce’s Industrial Collaboration Programme (ICP), and hear from project leads supported through previous rounds of ICP funding.
The workshop will comprise two days, one or both can be attended:
Day 1: will focus on the Royce Industrial Collaboration Programme (ICP), including hearing from successful applicants from previous rounds of ICP funding.
Day 2: will focus on UK facilities for prototyping and scaling metamaterials, with the goal of mapping a pathway from discovery to translation, moving from proof of principle to fully commercialised products.
By attending, you will:
- Build links with researchers and R&D professionals working across a range of metamaterials and metasurface applications;
- Learn how Royce funding initiatives, including ICP, could support the translation and scale-up of metamaterials research;
- Explore the technical capabilities, facilities and partnership opportunities available through Royce, the Metamaterials Network, and the wider UK community;
- Help to establish a metamaterials facilities database (in collaboration with MetaHub).
Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with the wider UK metamaterials community, connect with Royce Research Area Leads and its Research & Business Engagement team, and take part in an optional tour of Imperial College London’s Royce Facilities, which are based at Imperial’s White City Campus.
Event Details
Date: Monday 19 October – Tuesday 20 October 2026
Venue: Imperial College London, Kensington Campus.
Who should attend:
This workshop is intended for researchers, engineers, technical specialists and R&D professionals working in academia or industry across the breadth of metamaterials and metasurfaces. It will be particularly relevant to those interested in translating early-stage research, accessing specialist facilities, developing collaborative projects or scaling technologies towards industrial application.
Event programme:
| Time | Activity / talk title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 10:30–11:00 | Arrival, coffee | — |
| 11:00–11:30 | Introduction to the Henry Royce Institute | Ian Kinloch, Chief Scientific Officer, Henry Royce Institute |
| 11:30–12:00 | Introduction to UK Metamaterials Landscape | Alastair Hibbins, Joint Network Lead, UK Metamaterials Network |
| 12:00–12:30 | Introduction to Imperial College London | Riccardo Sapienza, Vice-Dean Research, Imperial College London |
| 12:30–12:40 | From Research to Market: National Priorities for Metamaterials | James Penny, Senior Policy Advisor, Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) |
| 12:40–12:50 | EPSRC Advanced Materials Update | Claire Cox, Head of Advanced Materials, EPSRC |
| 12:50–13:00 | The Importance of Metamaterials | Ian Youngs, Chief Scientist – Advanced Materials, Dstl |
| 13:00–14:00 | Lunch | — |
| 14:00–14:30 | Introduction to Royce Industrial Collaboration Programme Funding | Stuart Kitney, Chief Technology Officer, Henry Royce Institute |
| 14:30–14:50 | ICP Case Study: Thermal metasurfaces to address energy reduction in the food industry | Ned Taylor, University of Exeter |
| 14:50–15:10 | ICP Case Study: Electromagnetic Metamaterials in Composite Layups | Cameron Gallagher, University of Exeter |
| 15:10–15:30 | ICP Case Study: EINSTEIN – mEtasurface INtegrated pcSel To rEshape photonIc doughNut | Edmund Harbord, University of Bristol |
| 15:30–15:50 | ICP Case Study: Flexible auxetic acoustic filters for comfortable and conformable acoustic insulation | Shriya Parab, Metasonixx Ltd |
| 15:50–16:10 | ICP Case Study: A Hyperspectral Quantum Sensing Platform with On-Chip Metamaterials for Real-Time Circulating Tumour Cell Detection | Judah Chellappa, Beyond Blood Diagnostics |
| 16:10–16:30 | ICP Case Study: Light-Activated Metasurfaces for Antimicrobial Surgical Tool Coatings | Peter Petrov, Imperial College London |
| 16:30-16:50 | ICP Case Study: Metamaterial enabled TPMS heatsinks for next generation electronics cooling via direct metal 3D printing | Manpreet Singh, University of Wolverhampton |
| 16:50–17:10 | ICP case study: Integrated and adaptable electrically actuated metamaterial grippers for advanced handling in complex manufacturing environments | Simon Pope, University of Sheffield |
| 17:10 | Evening networking with refreshments | — |
| Time | Activity / facility / topic | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09:15–09:30 | Arrival, coffee | — |
| 09:30–09:50 | Challenges in Metamaterials Manufacturing | Claire Dancer, Joint Network Lead, UK Metamaterials Network |
| 09:50–10:00 | Facility Talk: Advanced 3D volumetric lithography approaches and emerging fabrication technologies for complex metamaterial structures | Andrew Holmes, Imperial College London |
| 10:00–10:10 | Facility Talk: NanoPhotonics Centre, University of Cambridge | Jin Qin, Research Associate, University of Cambridge |
| 10:10–10:20 | Facility Talk: NCC | Jacob Goodenough, Advanced Research Engineer, NCC |
| 10:20–10:30 | Facility Talk: Two-photon lithography (TPL) facility, Cardiff University | Joe Askey, Researcher, Cardiff University |
| 10:30–10:40 | Facility Talk: Leeds Nanotechnology Cleanroom | Edmund Linfield, Professor at the University of Leeds & Director of the Bragg Centre for Materials Research |
| 10:40–10:50 | Break | — |
| 10:50–11:00 | Facility Talk: Ray Dolby Centre MBE and Cleanroom, University of Cambridge | Craig Knox, MBE Facility Manager, University of Cambridge |
| 11:00–11:10 | Facility Talk: National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester | Premlal Balakrishna Pillai, Fellow, University of Manchester |
| 11:10–11:20 | Facility Talk:From Silicon Photonics (CORNERSTONE) to Metasurfaces: Fabrication Capabilities at the University of Southampton | Jize Yan, Professor, University of Southampton |
| 11:20 | Facility Talk: Metamaterial capability & scale up, Imperial College London | Ryan Bower, Research Associate, Imperial College London |
| 11:30 | Workshop: what is missing in the UK and what is needed to scale up? | Moderated by Edmund Linfield, University of Leeds – Royce Atoms to Devices Research Area Lead |
| 12:30–13:15 | Lunch and Networking | — |
| 13:30–15:00 | Tour of Royce Facilities at Imperial (White City) | — |
Cost and registration
Tickets to this event have now sold out.
October 20 2026
