The UK is home to some of the most advanced research facilities in the world, many of them housed within the nation’s many world-renowned universities. These facilities aren’t just there for the benefit of students and staff; they are also regularly open to academics and representatives of commercial businesses.
Many excellent facilities in the country will be of interest to any science researcher. No matter what your chosen field of academic study is or where your research interests lie, there are lab facilities in the UK that are worth seeing. Below, we have listed just some of the world-class lab facilities that UK universities have to offer.
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is home to a number of the most sought-after lab facilities in the whole of the UK. The Automatic control and testing laboratory (ACTLab) is recognised internationally as a centre of excellence for the field of robots. Bristol uni’s ACTLab occupies 3,000 square metres and houses a plethora of tools and equipment. In addition to multiple flying arenas that are fitted out with 3D motion capture systems, there are several specialist workshops.
Similarly, electrical energy management facilities are involved in a range of undergraduate and postgraduate projects. For example, the Electric Drives labs train students in a variety of disciplines relating to electric vehicles and energy infrastructure. Physicists will also want to check out Bristol’s quantum laboratories, in particular, the Centre for Quantum Photonics, which is exploring some of the most important research topics in the field of quantum physics.
Kingston University
Kingston University is one of the most diverse higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. The university offers a wide range of courses and caters to a variety of different students. The university is regularly rated as one of the top 10 in all of London and some of its courses, such as fashion, pharmaceuticals, and journalism, are ranked similarly highly at a national level.
Kingston University has research facilities for its school of art, its business and social sciences faculty, and its faculty of engineering, science, and computing. Academics and commercial businesses can both make use of the research facilities at Kingston University. The university’s lab facilities have been involved in much of the cutting-edge scientific research in the UK over the last half a century.
In addition to its excellent lab facilities, Kingston University has a lot more going for it as well. In this guide to Kingston University, you can find some more in-depth insight into the institution.
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton has invested millions of pounds in developing its research facilities over the last couple of decades. As a result, it is now home to many state-of-the-art lab facilities that any researcher would have a field day visiting. Many of the facilities available at the university are available to commercial businesses as well as academic researchers.
The autonomous vehicle control systems laboratory at Southampton University was created by merging several different research departments into a single cohesive unit. The autonomous vehicle laboratory brought together researchers involved in a diverse range of disciplines including navigation and feedback control methods, advanced guidance systems, and software engineering, to name just a few.
The biometrics laboratory at the University of Southampton is another wonderland for science researchers. At the biometrics laboratory, the university gathers together biometric data and is actively researching what we can do with that data.
Cranfield University
Cranfield University is home to one of the best pilot-scale energy facilities in the whole of Europe. This land facility is involved in leading-edge research into the production and utilisation of both conventional and renewable energy. The facility also researches the chemistry of commonly used fuels and their derived fractions.
Cranfield’s energy facilities are conducting some of the most critical research in the UK regarding renewable energies. For example, Cranfield university’s Labs are currently investigating the potential use of biomass as a fuel, as well as how we can convert plastics into fuel by utilising genetically modified organisms.
The UK is home to a number of world-renowned education institutions, so it is little surprise that the nation has world-class lab facilities to match. The lab facilities that we have covered above are by no means that only ones that the UK has to offer – they represent just a small slice of the many facilities available. Regardless of the specific field that you work in or the area of research that you want to pursue, there are laboratory facilities in the UK that are worth exploring. Some of the UK’s lab facilities are considered to be amongst the best in the world.