Government minister to open new £9m research facility

Professor Chris Rudd, the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Knowledge Transfer, said: “We are delighted to welcome David Lammy MP, Minister for Higher Education to open The University of Nottingham’s latest cutting-edge research facility.

“The Nottingham Geospatial Building represents what we do best here at Nottingham — world-leading research and close collaboration with industry to fast-track the latest technological developments and to stimulate a flow of highly-trained future employees.”

The new building has been designed as a sustainable, low-carbon facility and was funded by a combination of a £3.4 million grant from the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and University investment. It features research laboratories, testing facilities, industrial outreach and business development projects.

Minister of State for Higher Education David Lammy said: "Through research and commercial collaborations at home and abroad Nottingham reaches out to the world, and with the new Nottingham Geospatial Building it is reaching into space as well. Satellite navigation is a technology with great potential to bring money and jobs to Britain and the rest of Europe, and it is exciting to imagine what contribution the people who work in this building will make to the success and further development of the Galileo system.

"The UK’s research base is both world class and diverse and we will have invested £6 billion on science and research by 2010/11, which represents a doubling in real terms since 1997. This investment has made the UK research base outstanding, second only to the US in the global rankings of research excellence.

"The strength of the UK's research base delivers highly skilled people to the labour market, improves the performance of existing businesses and improves public policy and public services. It also attracts R&D investments from global business and creates new businesses. I congratulate the University and the East Midlands Development Agency for their foresight in underwriting this project."

The IESSG is an internationally-leading postgraduate teaching and research centre, covering a wide range of multi-disciplinary research topics including satellite navigation and positioning systems, photogrammetry, remote sensing, environmental research and geographical information systems. Funded by Government and European bodies, research councils and industry, it has a current portfolio of around £3 million. It is one of a handful of academic institutions in Europe involved in the development of the new European satellite positioning system Galileo and was recognised in 2001 by the European Commission as the Marie Curie Training Site in The Technology and Applications of Global Navigations Satellite Systems (GNSS).

The CGS is a postgraduate centre which provides a nationally-unique research facility spanning both geography and engineering as well as employing researchers with computer science, mathematics and linguistics backgrounds. The multi-disciplinary mix is essential in addressing all areas of geoinformatics research, which combines geospatial analysis and modelling, development of geospatial databases, information systems design, human-computer interaction and both wired and wireless networking technologies.

GRACE is aiming to establish a world-class centre of excellence in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in the East Midlands by capitalising on existing internationally-recognised research and training-capabilities at The University of Nottingham. It will focus on the growth in applications for satellite navigation and positioning systems such as the American Global Positioning System (GPS) and the European Galileo system. At the heart of its operations will be the provision of new technology transfer and business development opportunities.

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Notes to editors:  The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 100 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to RAE 2008, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranks the University 7th in the UK by research power. In 27 subject areas, the University features in the UK Top Ten, with 14 of those in the Top Five.

The University provides innovative and top quality teaching, undertakes world-changing research, and attracts talented staff and students from 150 nations. Described by The Times as Britain's “only truly global university”, it has invested continuously in award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. Twice since 2003 its research and teaching academics have won Nobel Prizes. The University has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both 2006 (International Trade) and 2007 (Innovation — School of Pharmacy), and was named ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2008.
 Nottingham was designated as a Science City in 2005 in recognition of its rich scientific heritage, industrial base and role as a leading research centre. Nottingham has since embarked on a wide range of business, property, knowledge transfer and educational initiatives (www.science-city.co.uk) in order to build on its growing reputation as an international centre of scientific excellence. The University of Nottingham is a partner in Nottingham: the Science City.