The University of Nottingham and the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) have signed a formal agreement that will create a £9 million (US$18.3 million) state-of-the-art GNSS facility built in Nottingham, United Kingdom.
The University of Nottingham and the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) have signed a formal agreement that will create a £9 million (US$18.3 million) state-of-the-art GNSS facility built in Nottingham, United Kingdom.
The GNSS Research and Application Centre of Excellence (GRACE) will draw on existing research and training at the university’s Institute of Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy (IESSG) and the Centre for Geospatial Science (CGS). The program seeks to provide research, training and other support for industry, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs.
The project combines a grant of £3.4 million (US$6.9 million) from emda with university investment to develop the facility on The University of Nottingham Innovation Park (UNIP) adjacent to the Jubilee Campus. The center’s work will focus on the growth in applications for satellite navigation and positioning systems. This cross- disciplinary research center will also provide new technology transfer and business development opportunities.
Terry Moore, professor of satellite navigation and director of the IESSG says, “Satellite navigation is one of the most important growth technologies of the early 21st Century. GPS . . . will soon be joined by other systems, including Europe’s Galileo, and location and timing services provided by these systems are becoming a fundamental part of all our lives.”
All the staff of the IESSG and CSR (in total about 30) will be moving to the new building, says Moore, and five new staff members will be appointed to address specifically the GRACE business-oriented aspects. The center starts immediately, he adds, but the physical building will not be completed until the end of 2009.
The University of Nottingham is Britain’s University of the Year (The Times Higher Awards 2006), with campuses in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and China.
