Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/N18109/01
Title:	PPU: MATERIALS FOR THE MILLENNIUM EXHIBITION
Principal Investigator:	Gough, Professor C
Other Investigators:	Harris, Professor IR Loretto, Professor M Davis, Professor C
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Discovery Centre
Department:	School of Physics and Astronomy
Organisation:	University of Birmingham
Scheme:	PPE PreFEC
Starts:	01 July 2000	Ends:	30 June 2002	Value (£):	20,001
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
To design, develop and deliver a strongly interactive, materials-focused, exhibition area in the Discovery Centre at Millennium Point Birmingham. The intention is to excite the imagination and interest of school children and the public in general in current research on emerging new materials and to illustrate the potential impact of such research on future technology and the quality of life in the early decades of the next century. Special emphasis will be given to EPSRC and industry supported research at Birmingham and other West Midlands Universities (e.g. Aston, Central England, Keele, and Warwick). Specific areas to be highlighted will be chosen from superconductors, magnetic materials, metal oxides, nanostructures, fuel cells and hydrogen storage devices, metal matrix composites, polymers, modern metals and medical and dental materials. In each case, strongly interactive displays, with lots of hands-on experiments suitable for visitors of all ages, will be used to capture and focus the visitor's initial interest. Such displays will provide an introduction to selected examples of exciting, current research that can be successfully described in lay terms. Imaginative, creative displays will be used to illustrate the otential impact of such research on technology in the next millennium. The exhibit will be part of a 300 M2 Frontiers of Science exhibition area that the Discovery Centre have asked the University of Birmingham to develop. The requested funds are required to support an Exhibition Developer to work full time with the Applicants, the University Advisory Committee for the Discovery Centre, the Discovery Centre design team and a professional design company, to develop and oversee all aspects of the proposed exhibition. His or her responsibilities will include assisting in the development of the initial overall design, selection of content, overseeing the development of appropriate interactive displays, development of the overall interpretation and display material (including an interactive web site), and assessment of the effectiveness of the exhibition displays and associated educational programmes post opening in September 2001.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher
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Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.bham.ac.uk