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X-Ray Tomography Pioneer Rewarded

February 05, 2003

The University of Surrey awards an annual Enterprise and Innovation Prize for outstanding contributions by staff in facilitating interaction between the business community and the University. This year, in recognition of the strengths of applications in both areas, the Prize Committee decided to award one prize for Enterprise and another for Innovation.

The Enterprise prize was awarded to Dr Edward Morton at the School of Electronics and Physical Sciences, while the Innovation prize went to a team consisting of Dr Robert Griffiths, Mr Colin Howard and Mr Richard Woods from the Civil Engineering Department.

Dr Morton has developed an internationally respected research group in X-ray physics and X-ray sensors. He received over £3 million of research grants from sources including the EPSRC, BBSRC, PPARC, the Royal Society and industry, with which he pioneered world-leading research in real-time X-ray tomography. This allows images to be obtained 200 times faster than conventional medical imaging systems. This research is now pioneering innovative solutions for problems in petroleum production, airport security and medicine.

Dr Morton secured finance in August 2002 for a University of Surrey spin-out company and CXR Limited was set up specifically to exploit this new x-ray technology. CXR is currently in an intense product development phase with first product announcements planned for the end of 2003. He aims to build CXR Limited into a world-class manufacturing business to provide quality products for major international markets.
                                
The Innovation prize was awarded for work undertaken within the Department of Civil Engineering to establish the UniS/ICE Scholarships. The scheme, set up in 2000, brings together over 20 employers who work in alliance with the University and the Institution of Civil Engineering (ICE). The companies support students both financially and through training during their undergraduate courses. The ICE act as mentors to the scheme, while the University controls and co-ordinates the programme on behalf of the students and employers. The scheme is based on the professional training programme and ensures much stronger links with employers and their professional body.

Scholars are selected before commencing their Civil Engineering degrees and are matched with companies in their first semester. Professional and summer vacation training ensure that close links are maintained, often culminating in graduate employment. One of the strengths of the scheme is its flexibility and team ethics that can accommodate changes of interest as students mature as well as later entry to the programme. The scheme can easily be tailored to suit many other disciplines.

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