Centre for Industrial Ultrasonics, CIU

The Centre for Industrial Ultrasonics consists of a team of 30 researchers at Warwick University, led by Professor Steve Dixon FDIRDI. The centre was set up to help industrial organisations obtain access to specialised research expertise and equipment related to ultrasonics.

National Physics Facility, CORDE

Formally launched in 2025, the Collaborative R&D Environment operates as a National Facility for Physics in Cambridge, facilitating national access to the Cavendish Laboratory's equipment, resources and knowledge base. Led by Dr David Ward FDIRDI, Head of Characterisation at CORDE and DIRDI Advisory Board member, our two organisations have partnered to bring cutting-edge instrumentation, technicians, and instrument scientists to researchers.

The Strategy, Statecraft, and Technology (Changing Character of War) Centre

SST-CCW, based at Pembroke College, Oxford, is an interdisciplinary research centre for the study and evaluation of strategy, statecraft, the impact of technological change, and the character and nature of armed conflict. Dr Robert Johnson FDIRDI, Director of SST-CCW has been a longstanding Fellow of DIRDI. Our two organisations host joint events in Oxford to deepen the intersection of geostrategic thinking and scientific discovery.

The Hub for Applied Bioinformatics (HAB)

HAB's mission is to create a collaborative environment where ideas and expertise can be shared freely, leading to greater productivity and innovation in the field of bioinformatics. Led by DIRDI Advisory Board Member, Dr Alessandra Vigilante FDIRDI of King's College London, HAB is a community of data analysts and health and biosciences experts.

The Police Digital Service (PDS)

The Police Digital Service was created in 2021. Sitting within the Home Office, it is recognised as a critical part of the UK policing ecosystem. Led by Edward Preece FDIRDI, Chief of Staff and Director of Governance and Performance at the PDS, the collaboration was established to provide interdisciplinary research support in regard to the development and implementation of new technologies for policing.

The Royal Navy

The Centre for Underwater Acoustic Analysis (CUAA) was established in 2021 via a Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal Navy, as Director-General, Professor Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter OBE FDIRDI's "Gift to the Nation". Current and former senior naval officers who are DIRDI Visiting Fellows include, Vice Admiral Sir Nick Hine KCB FDIRDI, Vice Admiral Andrew Burns CB OBE FDIRDI, Rear Admiral Iain Lower CB FDIRDI, Vice Admiral Mike Utley CB OBE FDIRDI, and Rear Admiral James Parkin CBE FDIRDI.

The Council on Geostrategy

Since its official launch in March 2021, the Council on Geostrategy has established itself as a leading think tank dedicated to providing a new generation of geostrategic thinking for a more competitive age. As a non-profit organisation, it focuses on shaping British strategic ambition in an international environment increasingly defined by geopolitical competition and the environmental crisis so that the United Kingdom (UK) can succeed and prosper in the 21st century. The Council on Geostrategy has a particular focus on Britain’s naval power and reach, and a broad focus on free and open nations in the Euro-Atlantic, the Indo-Pacific, and Polar regions.

DIRDI's Director-General, Professor Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter, sits on the Council on Geostrategy's Advisory Board and Chairs the Geostrategy Forum and Whitehall briefings. DIRDI has also co-hosted several events and initiatives with the Council on Geostrategy, and covenes the National Strategic Research Group with Viktorija Starych-Samouliene (Co-Founder of the Council on Geostrategy) as its Deputy Director.

The Defence and Resilience Scenario Simulation Centre

Scenario simulation exercises (often referred to as wargames, tabletop exercises and ‘serious games’) are used by the defence and national security community, as well as civil emergency planners, to explore threats, risks and plans. However, there are few exercises that bring both sides together, and even fewer that also include actors outside the public sector.

The Defence and Resilience Scenario Simulation Centre (DRSSC) was set up in March 2026 to conduct exercises similar to those conducted by government but with a wider audience, in line with the whole of society approach to home defence and resilience identified in the UK’s Strategic Defence Review 2025.

The DRSSC will conduct a series of analytical scenario simulation exercises focused on the national defence and resilience of the UK, primarily against the threat from hostile state activity. Each exercise will seek to generate data from its participants, which will be analysed and used to identify lessons and recommendations on how to improve national resilience on a whole of society basis.

Exercises will be conducted on an ‘open-door’ basis, allowing individuals from academia, central and local government, the wider public sector, the private sector, the voluntary sector and civil society organisations with an interest in national defence and resilience to participate. Lessons learned and recommendations drawn from exercises will be shared with policymakers in government, as well as organisations outside government that have a role to play in national resilience, such as local resilience forums and providers of critical national infrastructure.