Report of Discussion

Tuesday, 28 May 2013

A Discussion was held in the Council Room. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Jeremy Sanders was presiding, with the Registrary’s Deputy, the Senior Proctor, the Senior Pro-Proctor, and seven other persons present.

The following Reports were discussed:

First-stage Report of the Council, dated 6 May 2013, on the construction of the Maxwell Centre on the West Cambridge site (Reporter, 6306, 2012–13, p. 507).

Professor W. J. Stirling (Cavendish Laboratory and Peterhouse), read by Mr D. H. Peet:

Mr Deputy Vice-Chancellor, as Head of the Cavendish Laboratory I am delighted at the prospect of this scheme to construct this new Centre as part of the Laboratory’s redevelopment. The Department is very grateful to all those within the Central Offices, Estate Management, and the wider University who have contributed to the development and success of the project so far, including our industrial collaborators.

The proposed Centre will house innovative and interdisciplinary research in Physics and cognate disciplines and, in particular, will host active participation with industry, both in the research itself and in the exploitation of new knowledge.

This project will deliver additional leverage to the Winton Programme in the Physics of Sustainability, which already supports much work on basic science that has potential industrial and commercial interest. The goal of the Winton programme is that it should be truly original, building on inter-disciplinary competences and networks, and able to take risks beyond the normal scope of research grants. Industrial scientists will be based alongside this programme, and others, enabling them to catch a similar vision and to take advantage of specialist facilities, such as those for advanced materials characterization. Training will be at the heart of the Centre, as it will host doctoral training programmes as well as short courses for industry, in topics such as scientific computing. The facilities will include dedicated spaces for interaction, bringing members of the Cavendish, both students and staff, into easy contact with industrialists to mutual benefit.

A large number of the Cavendish’s research groups are already actively involved in the briefing process for the potential Centre. The Centre will also exploit collaborations with colleagues elsewhere in the University, particularly in the Departments of Chemistry and of Materials Science and Metallurgy.

At the heart of the Cavendish’s vision for its redevelopment is the idea of ‘Physics for the benefit of society’. The Maxwell Centre will greatly enhance our many continuing efforts to turn this goal into reality. The research and industrial engagement work which it will accommodate will demonstrate the application of Physics to contemporary societal challenges and act as a flagship for industrial engagement for departments in the physical sciences and on the West Cambridge site.

This exciting project will bring enormous benefits to University research, teaching, and work with local, national, and international companies. We warmly commend this Report to the University.

First-Stage Report of the Council, dated 6 May 2013, on the construction of a new annexe building for the Department of Engineering at Scroope Terrace (Reporter, 6306, 2012–13, p. 509).

Professor A. P. Dowling (Department of Engineering and Sidney Sussex College):

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, I speak as Head of the Department of Engineering.

The proposed extension to the Department of Engineering at Scroope Terrace is urgently needed. The Department’s new strategic research initiatives of Energy, Transport, and Urban Infrastructure; Uncertainty, Risk, and Resilience; Bioengineering; and Inspiring Research through Industrial Collaboration are being received with enthusiasm by funding bodies and industry. Over the last ten years, expenditure on research grants rose from £13.5m in 2001–02 to £30.6m in 2011–12. Postgraduate student numbers have risen from 600 in 2007 to 830 in 2012. These increases are set to continue: in just the first nine months of this financial year the total value of research grants won is over 35% higher than for the full 2011–12 year, and that is an increase of £15m.

All this is putting tremendous pressure on space.

The expiry of the lease of the Royal Cambridge Hotel in September 2013 provides an opportunity to renegotiate terms with the hotel operators. Such an opportunity will not be available again for decades if the hotel lease is renewed in its current form. The current hotel car park is larger than required by the hotel and is the only undeveloped land adjacent to the Engineering Department’s Trumpington Street site. The plan is to build on part of the hotel car park to provide flexible office space for research. The building design is planned to encourage greater interaction and interdisciplinary working, as well as providing an opportunity to showcase emerging ideas for building efficiency and monitoring. Studies have shown that an extension on this site is more cost-effective than adding additional floors to the existing building. The new building is expected to provide working space for about 20 academic staff, and 270 research staff and students.

Research groups expected to be located within the building include:

• the newly appointed Regius Professor of Engineering, Professor David MacKay, and research in energy and resource efficiency;

• the Laing O’Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering;

• the Innovation Knowledge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction; and

• an expansion of our bioengineering and materials activities.

The building is planned to be respectful of its site and the adjacent buildings, and we have already made some changes to the emerging designs at the request of the Department of Architecture.

I would like to express the Department’s need and enthusiasm for this extension and to urge support for the Council’s recommendations that the construction of the new annexe be approved in principle and that the Director of Estate Management be authorized to apply for detailed planning permission. Further details of the design and costs will be the subject of a Second-stage Report to be published later in the year.

Report of the General Board, dated 1 May 2013, on the establishment of a Professorship of International Education (Reporter, 6306, 2012–13, p. 511).

No remarks were made on this Report.

Report of the General Board, dated 1 May 2013, on the establishment of a John Harvard Professorship in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (Reporter, 6306, 2012–13, p. 511).

No remarks were made on this Report.

Report of the General Board, dated 1 May 2013, on the Travelling Expenses Fund (Reporter, 6306, 2012–13, p. 513).

No remarks were made on this Report.