Advanced Materials

University of Manchester’s Nobel prize winners Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were recognised for the discovery of the two-dimensional material graphene.

The University of Manchester is a world-leader in developing new and existing advanced materials. In 2010 to two of its professors, Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work on graphene. The ambition for the Oxford Road Corridor is not just to be known as the birthplace of graphene, but to be the centre of international commercialisation for a wide range of 2D and advanced materials linked to new industry 4.0 manufacturing methods. This has been spearheaded through the National Graphene Institute (an academic-led research centre, developing the new physics of 2D materials) and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (which works with industry to rapidly develop and scale up new 2D materials applications).  

These centres of excellence, along with the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, provide an unrivalled set of lab to market facilities and a community of leading materials scientists and engineers that attracts investment and innovators from around the globe. This year the commercial offer for advanced manufacturing will be enhanced with the completion of the new 91,000 sq. ft BASE building on Manchester Science Park, which will provide specialist premises for light manufacturing and materials science businesses enhancing the existing cluster.