Loughborough sets sights on Pounds 100m

Loughborough University plans to attract Pounds 100 million of engineering research over the next ten years with its multimillion research and teaching complex.

Construction of the Pounds 14.3 million integrated engineering complex will bring the university's six engineering departments to-gether on one site.

The complex, which opened for business this week, will be one of the biggest in the United Kingdom. It is backed by a Pounds 2.5 million grant by the Wolfson Foundation and Pounds 500,000 from a family trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation.

During 1997-98 the engineering faculty won a record Pounds 10 million in research grants from industry, research councils and charities.

Industry gave most, with Rolls-Royce contributing Pounds 1 million for 19 projects in the aeronautical and automotive engineering and transport studies departments.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council provided Pounds 3.5 million towards research projects and studentships. In total 145 research contracts were placed.

Richard Wakeham, associate dean (research) for the faculty of engineering, said: "It is a tremendous opportunity for Loughborough engineers to engage in multi-disciplinary research."

The electronic and electrical engineering department, backed by the European Union through its Framework programme, is investigating the design of electronically controlled rail vehicles to make them cheaper, lighter and mechanically simpler.