Overview
The National Technical Platform for Materials Innovation (NTPMI) empowers Research Technical Professionals (RTPs), providing access to training and events, and the opportunity to share expertise and develop best practice, across materials innovation and associated manufacturing technology communities.
NTPMI is led by the Henry Royce Institute and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
RTPs are crucial to the effective operation of research infrastructure across the UK. They have a vital role in deploying their skills and experience to support both academic and industrial research and development, as well as to train users in the latest techniques and methods.
NTPMI delivers training, development, professional networking, and secondment opportunities across the UK’s materials innovation community, and in the process increasing RTP visibility.
Key Areas
The NTPMI is centred around four key areas that underpin materials innovation:
(i) make, (ii) test, (iii) characterise and (iv) modelling.
Themes include technical innovation, automation, novel techniques, equipment and capability development, training methods, teaching tools, and creating a connected and visible community.
Activities include: technical workshops and masterclasses for a range of techniques, visits to equipment suppliers or manufacturers, non-technical skills training, conferences and industrial secondments. The platform naturally aligns to many of the existing Royce Research Areas and engages with existing national networks, community of practices and initiatives in respective materials innovation fields.
Meet the team
Project Lead: Polly Greensmith, Head of Operations at the National Graphene Institute
Co-Leads:
Peter Petrov, Imperial College London
Tamsin O-Reilly, National Nuclear Laboratory
Jamie Nanson, National Nuclear Laboratory
Andy Pollard, National Physical Laboratory
Jason Robinson, University of Cambridge
Nadia Stelmashenko, University of Cambridge
Mark Rosamond, University of Leeds
TBC, University of Liverpool
Ross Nolan, University of Manchester
Colin Johnston, University of Oxford
Rob Deffley, University of Sheffield
Michael King, University of Strathclyde
Project Mentors:
Brad Wynne, University of Strathclyde
Training and Skills:
Tom Hancocks, Royce Training and Skills Manager
Project Management:
James Anderson, Project Manager
“Royce is in a unique position in the research infrastructure to bring together a community of practice for all of the UK’s materials RTPs. RTP team members both here and across the UK make major contributions to all our innovation endeavours – running experiments, offering insights and of course providing training to researchers."
Prof David Knowles | CEO, Henry Royce Institute
