Groundbreaking Graphene Research Wins Award

Durham University has won a prestigious award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology’ in the annual Times Higher Education competition.

Universities from all over the country gathered at the London Grosvenor House Hotel to celebrate the great ideas and work of the UK’s very best researchers.

The award has been presented to Durham for the development of a clean and viable alternative for production of graphene, a vital substance in the nanotechnology field.

In the future, graphene could be used in solar cells, as replacement for batteries in electric cars, and in day-to-day electronics. However, this has depended on the creation of graphene, previously difficult to mass-produce and environmentally unfriendly. The Durham University Professor of Chemistry and Nanomaterials, Karl Coleman, set out to find another way.

Professor Coleman pitched some of his ideas to the Durham University Business and Innovation Services (DBIS), who helped establish the company Durham Graphene Science (DGS) in 2010. Two years on, DGS and Professor Coleman are integral to the Graphene industry, projected to be worth more than £400 million in just eight years time.

Award judge Chris Cobb said: “Durham’s approach to the production of synthetic graphene will have a major impact on manufacturing and allied industries, as well as research disciplines. It is difficult to overstate the significance of this innovation.

On receiving the award, Professor Coleman commented that: “It’s great that Times Higher Education has recognised the potential importance of innovations behind Durham Graphene Science.”

Looking to the future, it seems Durham University will enjoy further success and national recognition for its cutting-edge research, if what the Times Higher Education, John Gill, said is anything to go by: “Anyone looking for evidence of the pioneering spirit, adaptability and sheer quality of our higher education sector need look no further than the winners of this year’s Times Higher Education Awards.”