Centre aimed at new electronic products and displays

On Wednesday 26 February 2003, Minster for Science, Lord Sainsbury, in the presence of the University Vice- Chancellor, Professor Sir Alec Broers, will officially open a new Centre for Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics on the Science Park at Cambridge. . It will be led by Professor Harry Coles, recently recruited from Southampton University. It will also provide a forum for collaboration, enabling other University research groups, in particular those headed by Professor Ian White, Dr Eugene Terentjev, Professor Richard Friend, Professor Bill Milne and Professor Andrew Holmes to work together. Head of the Department of Engineering, Professor Keith Glover said: "We welcome the setting up of this new Centre and look forward to its growth and development in the years to come. Today the University of Cambridge's Engineering Department is at the forefront of research and, as the pace of discovery accelerates, is taking research beyond the laboratory to the marketplace by developing strong technological partnerships." Dr Jeremy Fairbrother, Senior Bursar of Trinity College and Director of the Cambridge Science Park said: "The CMMPE is an exciting and commercially significant project and the Cambridge Science Park is delighted to be working with Cambridge University and the Engineering Department to launch and support this important new centre." CMMPE will specifically look at the application of polymers, nano-structures and liquid crystals to display, telecommunications and light emitting devices. An underpinning research theme of the Centre will be the applications of organic materials and related hybrid structures to photonics and electronics. Industrial interest will be provided by key strategic partnerships and discussions have already been held with companies including Dow Corning, Pi-Photonics and CRL. The proximity of the Centre to other industries on the Science Park is another important factor in the academic/industrial collaborations and exploitation of the technology. Other University departments involved in the Centre at Physics, Chemistry and Materials Science. In the long term, the group aims to establish itself in a purpose-built building on the University's West Cambridge site. TS