On the 27th of March 2025, DIRDI’s Impact and Invention Conference returned to Durham, held at Durham University’s Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics.
We welcomed delegates from 8 different universities: Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, York, Cambridge, Oxford, and King’s College London; as well as a host of innovative spin-out companies.
Introductory remarks on DIRDI and the Physics Team Projects at Durham University were given by Professor Paula Chadwick FDIRDI, Founding DIRDI Fellow and Head of Physics at Durham University. This explored the history of the Team Projects, and how it has enabled undergraduate students to generate far-reaching scientific impact including in industrial manufacturing and R&D. Paula also discussed how this binds with DIRDI’s vision and initiatives.Â
Keynote Address - Dr Arnab Basu MBE DL, Founder and CEO of Kromek Group Plc
The keynote address was delivered by Dr Arnab Basu MBE DL, Founder and CEO of Kromek PLC. Arnab explained his personal journey from pursuing a PhD at Durham University to being the CEO of a Durham University spinout which has grown into a leading Northeast company with over 200 employees.
Kromek’s journey over 20 years has led to it becoming a world-leader in advanced imaging and CBRN detection capabilities. It is the only commercial business to produce Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) globally, doing so at its facility in NETPark in County Durham, and has successfully worked across Industry, Academia, and with Government, to generate immense positive impact.
Arnab’s reflections were very insightful as to how others can do this in a world of increasing volatility and often opaque commercial and government structures.
Conference Presentations
Three conference presentations were delivered by Fellows of DIRDI on some of their interests and ongoing work:
- Professor Graham Machin FDIRDI, NPL Senior Fellow in Thermometry. Graham’s presentation on transforming temperature traceability touched on the history of SI units and NPL’s role in redefining them, as well as future NPL research in this field. This includes the fascinating process of reducing measurement uncertainty by limiting the number of calibrations required between SI Units and frontline measurement instrumentation.Â
- Prof. Helen Meese FDIRDI, Founder & CEO of Care Machine. Helen outlined some of the sustainability challenges which the NHS faces related to disposable PPE and medical equipment. This included an exploration of how innovation can help resolve this and some of the Care Machine’s work to support engineers in this mission.Â
- Dr Alessandra Vigilante FDIRDI, Senior Lecturer at King’s College London and Founder of Hub for Applied Bioinformatics (HAB). Alessandra spoke about her work setting up the Hub for Applied Bioinformatics and a new MSc in Applied Bioinformatics, which aims to teach new interdisciplinary skills and ways of thinking, by drawing from the fields of data analysis, health informatics, and engineering, to name a few.Â
Panel discussion - "From Impact to Invention: Building Better Partnerships Across UK Academia, Industry, and Government"
Our panellists who engaged in a wide ranging discussion touching on the UK Innovation ecosystem, successful and unsuccessful industry collaborations, and what impact really means, were:
- Dr David Ward, Head of Characterisation, National Facility for Physics (CORDE), University of Cambridge
- Professor David Jakubovic, Professor of Innovation, DUBS & Policy Fellow Alum, Centre for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge
- Professor Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter OBE, Director-General, DIRDI & Chairman of Coltraco Ultrasonics
We are very grateful to all those who spoke and who took the time to attend, whether from industry, academia, or government, and from all around the UK. Recordings of the talks and discussions will be uploaded in due course and we very much look forward to hosting our 3rd Impact and Invention conference in 2026.Â