Molecular Engineering

Molecular Engineering represents a step change for the industrial design process - designing new materials from the molecular level - driven by both market needs and societal challenges.

METRC aims to deliver the strategic R&D services needed to drive the research agenda in UK industry. METRC's scientific focus is in the area of soft nanotechnology, including polymers, liquid crystals, and organic materials.

Focus

METRC's initial market focus includes:

Home and personal care
Medicine and healthcare
Energy

Objectives

METRC’s core strengths and objectives have been identified as:

Funding collaborative research projects with industry
Independent brokerage with industry and academia
Exploiting the commercial potential of research through METRC’s extensive industry network
Developing new innovative products and processes
Reducing time to market
Finding experts to solve industry problems
Providing access to new technology developments

Successes

METRC has achieved significant success including:

Over the last three years METRC has developed significant networks, relationships and assets to deliver collaborative research
Joined together clusters of strength in molecular engineering to create a network that is internationally leading both in scale and capability, including over 500 businesses, 150 academics and 19 research groups
Connected this network with industrial supply chains in the regions which has resulted in two way translational research
Enabled industry to develop new products and process, and reducing time to market
Supported over 80 companies with innovation projects, created over 20 jobs and leveraged £15m of income

Contact

METRC Manager - Simon Butler
Tel: +44 (0)114 222 9450
Email: METRC@shef.ac.uk