IfM News November 2014No 203

Focus on: Business model research

The official opening of the Alan Reece Building was held on 19 November 2009. From let to right: Mike Gregory, Professor Alison Richard, Dr Alan Reece and Professor Anne Dowling.

As research into business model innovation gains momentum, it has become an increasingly important part of IfM activities across a number of different areas, including: technology and innovation management, servitization (including the use of information in service provision), sustainability, global value network design and policy development. It also underpins work on research-based toolkits for business improvement being carried out by ECS. It seemed that now would be a good time for research centres across the IfM (and ECS) to share their findings with each other and with the wider research community and to collectively develop a clear and coherent research agenda for the future. Chander Velu is co-ordinating this process, ably assisted by Mark Phillips (CIM) and Anna Viljakainen (ECS).

What’s happened so far?In July, Chander Velu and Mike Gregory led an industry-academia workshop on business model innovation which brought together industry leaders, senior academics and young scholars from different disciplines to exchange knowledge, discuss relevant challenges and propose future research projects. This

was followed in September by an IfM-wide survey to find out who here is actively researching in this area and define areas of common interest and future research topics. The survey elicited 28 responses and confirmed that business model research is widely dispersed across the IfM (see graph above). Its findings were presented at the well-attended inaugural meeting of the IfM’s ‘Business Models Interest Group’ in October.

This month, a ‘speed-dating’ event was organised where IfM researchers could quickly share current research activities and discuss areas of common interest. Participants were asked to prepare an A3 poster explaining their project and provide a short abstract.

What next?The results of the survey and speed-dating event are being used to develop a briefing document which will be given to delegates at a workshop hosted by the IfM on December 8. The workshop will bring together a small number of the UK’s leading academics in this field to explore the role of technology and business models in industry and to identify key areas for research and collaboration. This will be followed by an international meeting to be held in 2015.

In the meantime, the IfM’s interest group is now very much up and running and meeting every month. If you would like to join the group, please contact: c.velu@eng.cam.ac.uk

Happy ‘wood anniversary’ to the Alan Reece building!

It has been five years since the IfM moved from a space in Mill Lane which had become too cramped to its own home in West Cambridge. On 19 November 2009, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge at the time, officially opened the Alan Reece Building, which IfM staff had moved into in June.

IfM benefactor, Dr Alan Reece and the then Vice-Chancellor Professor Alison Richard were also present at the ceremony, where about 500 people watched the Duke of Edinburgh unveil a commemorative plaque. The IfM’s new premises were made possible thanks to donations from the Gatsby Foundation and local industry as well as the generosity of Dr Reece, whose name was given to the building.

Mike Gregory will be reflecting on this important milestone and what is next for the IfM during the events that will be held on Thursday 29 January – the ‘Away Day’ and the open evening, ‘Inside IfM’.

Steve Hoath helps set first ISO standard for inkjet printing technology

Steve Hoath (IRC) attended an International Conference at the Tokyo International Forum on inkjet standards this month. Steve worked on a document on Inkjet Printing for the International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee for Printed Electronics Working Group 3 dedicated to Equipment, where he is a UK representative for the British Standards Institute (BSI). The paper, which focuses on measurement of drop speed standards, has now reached the stage of Committee Draft for National Working Group comment. The final document will eventually become an ISO standard – which would be the first standard for inkjet printing technology.

Steve also held an ‘informal’ drinks reception for Wolfson alumni while in Tokyo, funded by Wolfson’s development office as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2015. The overall ‘outreach and impact acceleration’ trip was funded by EPSRC and local industrial partners in the I4T inkjet project.

PhD researcher is granted patent for sustainability processPhD researcher Lampros Litos (CIS) has been granted a patent as co-inventor with Vladimiros Nikollakis for their ‘Process

of producing zeolites from rice husk ash (RHA)’. The patented process is related to the conversion of agro-industrial waste into added value nano-materials (zeolites) for bio-remediation processes.

Two new doctors at the IfM

Madeleine Yates (CIS) and Yang (Kurt) Liu (CIM) have passed their vivas this month.

Kurt has also secured a lectureship position in Operations Management at Northampton Business School. Congratulations to both!

Leete Award granted to second doctoral studentJonny Waite (IRC) has been awarded the Leete Premium Award from The Worshipful Company of Engineers, which consists of a grant to support a project at the IfM. He is the second PhD student to receive this, with Jon Parkins being the first to benefit from the Award.

Former IfM PhD student wins innovation awardJim Keri Li, a former PhD student at the IfM, has won the 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoree held by the International Consumer Electronic Association with his company’s product, Smart Luggage Locks. The product, which won

under the Tech for a Better World category, uses intelligent proximity-access securities such as smart NFC and RFID technologies to provide luggage security and tracking.

More information here:

www.egeetouch.com/products/electronic-luggage-lock

Paul Beecher in BBC2’s Only Connect challenge

Paul Beecher (CSTI) is taking part in the current series of Only Connect, a quiz show on BBC2 where participants have to find a connection between apparently unconnected things. His team won the first match last month, which you can watch online here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxalQXLunRc Tune in to watch him compete in the next match on December 8!

App by MET student wins awardJoseph Mambwe (MET) was in the winning team at this year’s ‘Appathon UK’ competition, where students from schools and universities work together to develop technology solutions for the challenges around them. Joseph, two Engineering students from the University of Cambridge and an IfM graduate, teamed up with a group of students from Notre Dame High School in Inverclyde, who had an app idea for wardrobe management and online clothes shopping, SmartWardrobe. The University group developed the idea and made it into a prototype, SmartWear, based on user experience, target audience, scalability and income generation.

The team beat more than 100 schools and universities and won a trip to Silicon Valley. Link: blog.founders4schools.org.uk/appathon-awards

Engaging with local schoolsThere are always opportunities for IfM staff and students to engage with local schools to help raise the profile of engineering and manufacturing. If anyone is interested in getting more involved in such activities, please contact Tim Minshall tim.minshall@eng.cam.ac.uk.

These talks can have a really positive and important impact, as shown by some of the feedback sent in recently by pupils from one local school.

Auto-ID Lab research presented at GS1 Global Standards EventVaggelis Giannikas (DIAL) was invited to talk about the latest research activities of the Auto-ID Lab in the GS1 Global Standards Event, held in Rome on 6-10 October. Vaggelis presented the group’s work to industrialists, solutions providers and GS1 members in the annual GS1 Transport & Logistics Workshop.

In his talk, Vaggelis discussed DIAL’s and Auto ID Lab’s research on planning and management of warehouse operations covering adaptive solutions for the storage location assignment problem, customer intervention and the development of IT systems for logistics integration.

From left to right: Sherry Coutu (Founders4Schools), Notre Dame High School, The Rt Hon John Bercow MP, the Cambridge University team (Joseph is first from left), Megan Smith (US CTO).

CIS takes part in sports industry Manufacturing Forum

Steve Evans and Dai Morgan (CIS) participated in the World Federation Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) Manufacturing Forum 2014, ‘How can design and manufacturing embrace?’ at the Porsche Centre in Leipzig Germany on 13 – 14 November.

Steve gave a keynote talk on the first day and closed the conference on the second day, as well as facilitating a high-level panel discussion with leaders in the sporting goods industry. Steve and Dai also facilitated two workshops on integrated problem solving for design and manufacturing teams.

The conference was attended by more than 170 delegates including leading brands and manufacturers, and resulted in stimulating discussion about the future of the sector and the issues that will be driving it, from consumers attitudes and new technologies to sustainability and new markets.

DIAL visits China as part of YH Global collaboration projectDIAL has recently launched a new research project on Information Technology Architectures for Logistics Integration (ITALI) in collaboration with Chinese third-party logistics provider YH Global. The project will focus on the development of the next generation Information Technology (IT) systems capable of integrating different operations and value-added services of logistics providers.

As part of the project, Philip Woodall, Vaggelis Giannikas and Wenrong Lu visited YH Global’s warehouses and headquarters in Suzhou and Shenzhen, where they had the opportunity to observe and study logistics operations and identify factors that cause disruptions to these operations. The DIAL representatives also met with the company’s CEO to understand current needs and future developments of IT systems and the strategic vision of the company in the changing business landscape in China.

IfM hosts workshop on AutoID for Smart Assets and CitiesAt the end of October, the IfM hosted an event as part of the CSIC Emerging Infrastructure Technologies Workshop Series. The workshop, attended by 40 delegates from the civil engineering industry, focused on innovative technology used to automatically identify (AutoID) objects and people to streamline construction and asset management processes, creating the building blocks of a so-called ‘Smart City’.

Speakers included engineers from CrossRail, Laing O’Rourke and ATC, with experts from the Cambridge University AutoID Labs and FlyingBinary sharing progress reports. Sky High Technology, Enlight and Redbite Solutions gave live, hands-on demonstrations of systems to identify objects, and Cambridge Consultants (pictured) demonstrated how their Bluetooth Low Energy DropTags can be used.

The event was organised by DIAL and sponsored by the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction. The next workshop in the series, to be held at the IfM in the Spring, will discuss the relevance of the Internet of Things to the construction industry. Contact csic-admin@eng.cam.ac.uk to be kept informed.

Developments in the Automation Lab Over the last six months, the DIAL Automation lab has gone through significant changes to meet the needs of the Boeing’s DisTAL (Disruption Tolerant Automated Lean Factories) research project.

Thanks to these additions and improvements, the lab is now equipped to examine the balance between lean and resilience of production systems, which is one of the main research aspects of the project. The lab is also exploring various tracking and control architectures, which will allow it to be flexible and reconfigurable for research and teaching purposes.

ECS case study highlights value of student projectsECS has produced the second in its series of case studies on its work with manufacturing firms in the East of England as part of the PrISMS programme, highlighting the impact of student projects in the workplace.

Molecular Dimensions, based in Newmarket, is a leading supplier of

From left to right: Zhu Zhang (Project manager), YH Global, Philip Woodall, Wenrong Lu and Vaggelis Giannikas.

Downing Enterprise competitionDo you have a great business idea? The Downing Enterprise competition is giving you the chance to win a £1,000 prize for a one-page business plan.

If you have an idea or an invention you want to get off the ground, Downing Enterprise can offer you:

• The opportunity to win up to £25,000 investment for your business

• The ability to pick up valuable business skills and contacts

• The support of experienced alumni who are successful in the world of business, including: MD of Principal Strategic Investments, Goldman Sachs; Co-head UK Investment Banking and Global Head of Infrastructure, UBS Investment Bank; Partner and Head of Venture Capital (UK), Taylor Wessing.

The Downing Enterprise competition is open to all teams which include at least one Downing College student or alumnus. If you would like to apply, but don’t have a connection to Downing College, let them know by email at info@downingenterprise.co.uk, or drop them a line via their Facebook page www.facebook.com/downingenterprise and they’ll do their best to match you with others interested in developing their enterprise experience.

If you wish to apply, the deadline for submitting a business plan is noon on Saturday 10 January 2015.

For more details, head to their website:

www.downingenterprise.co.uk

screens, reagents and instrumentation for protein structure determination by X-ray crystallography.

Ed West, a MET II student, undertook an extended supervised project to examine process flows in the production laboratory to address an apparent lack of capacity. This revealed capacity was more than 60% higher than previously demonstrated, without the need for any large capital expenditure or staff recruitment. The firm increased its turnover by 16% as a result of the greater capacity.

See the full case study here:

www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/molecular-dimensions-a-case-study

New CSA Executive Briefing on Asset Management DesignThe CSA has published its latest executive briefing. ‘Key Considerations in Asset Management Design’ investigates current asset management practices and reports a number of important findings related to the design and implementation of asset management systems in the context of a complex service ecosystem.

CharityClimbing the highest mountain to help children in need

Katharina Greve (CSA) is training to climb to the top of Africa’s highest mountain, the Kilimanjaro (5,895m) in September 2015. She is raising money for Hope for Children, a charity that helps orphaned, poor, exploited and other marginalised children in developing countries and in the UK. By supporting Katharina and the charity, donors are making a conscious decision to improve the lives of children. If you would like to support this fundraising initiative, please visit:

2015cambridge.everydayhero.com/uk/katharina

Judith has a smashing time!With her fundraising target for Cancer Research UK smashed, Judith Shawcross (Education Programme Manager at ECS, MIERG) completed the missing miles for her 50-mile racing challenge by running the St Neots Half Marathon on 16 November and smashing her personal best time by finishing in 1 hour 51 minutes and 40 seconds.

Judith dedicates this run to our former colleague Ann Grady who tragically lost her battle against cancer this year shortly before her 50th birthday.

NOTICESChristmas and New Year closure of the IfM buildingThe doors of the IfM will be locked at 16:00 hours on Wednesday 24 December 2014 and there will be NO ACCESS to the building on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. There will be ‘Sunday access’ (swipe card only), other than on the three closed days, until the IfM reopens on Monday 5 January 2014.

To clarify:

Wednesday 24 December 2014 normal access until the IfM closes at 16:00.Christmas Day, Thursday 25 December 2014 IfM remains CLOSED.Boxing Day, Friday 26 December 2014 IfM remains CLOSED.Saturday 27 December 2014 at 08:00 hours IfM opens to allow ‘Sunday access’ (swipe card only).Sunday 28 December 2014 ‘Sunday access’.Monday 29 December 2014 ‘Sunday access’.Tuesday 30 December 2014 ‘Sunday access’.Wednesday 31 December 2014 ‘Sunday access’ until the IfM closes at 16:00.

New Year’s Day, Thursday 01 January 2015 IfM is CLOSED.Friday 2 January 2015 Department opens at 08:00 hours with ‘Sunday access’. Saturday 3 January 2015 ‘Sunday access’.Sunday 4 January 2015 ‘Sunday access’.Monday 5 January 2014 Department opens as normal.

Bike racks clearanceA message from Maggie Harriss, Divisional Administrator:

It has come to my attention that, at times, it can be difficult to find a space to park bikes in the bike rack area at the front of the IfM. As a consequence, we are planning to undertake a ‘bike amnesty’ whereby a label will be placed on bikes that appear to have been left in the cycle park for some time, and if they have not been claimed within a month of the date on the tag they will be removed. Additionally, when parking your bike in the bike park, can you please give due consideration to other users by parking from the centre of the bike park first and on the outskirts last (where possible) and by ensuring that your bike is safely secured in an upright position. We appreciate that space is tight but it’s all we have close at hand.

Take a peek into the magical world of photonics and nanoparticlesThree doctoral students and a lecturer from the IfM took part in this year’s Engineering photo competition. PhD student Andrew Payne (CIP) won the Head of Department’s prize for the photo or video with the most innovative engineering story behind it for his video showing the rise and fall of blue and brown liquid crystal mountains (pictured right).

Jon Parkins and Jiho Han, also PhD students at CIP, submitted images of a metal layer applied to glass through pulsed laser deposition, with a field of view of only one millimetre. Jon also shared images of a substructure of a digital micromirror device; a waxy material being ablated using an ultrafast laser; and laser engravated Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

Michael De Volder, MET Lecturer in Nanomanufacturing and Engineering Design, participated with a series of images of carbon nanotubes and graphene seen through electron microscopes, revealing structures which are one thousandth of a millimetre large, formed by thousands of nanoparticles. See all the images and videos from the competition here: bit.ly/1EREPSe

Left to right: Jiho Han’s entry; Jon Parkin’s laser-engravated ITO picture; and a ‘nanoscape’ from Michael De Volder

New peopleAlexander Schurig joined CIS as a team member in the Environmental Performance Variation project led by Dr Mélanie Despeisse. One of the project’s objectives is to develop tools and methods to reduce variation in the sustainability performance between factories. His research focuses on developing a tool to support the inter-factory learning in this field.

Alexander is enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering Master’s Programme at TU München, Germany. His main focuses are Systematic Product Development and Production Systems. Working for the R&D Department of Festo AG in Esslingen, Germany and the Industrial Engineering Department of Continental AG in Shanghai, China he gained industry experience in both fields.

Luoke Hu joined CIS as a visiting PhD student in October. He is

enrolled in the Industrial Engineering Doctoral Programme at Zhejiang University, China. His research

interest focuses on predicting and reducing machining-related power consumption of mechanical parts to support sustainable design and manufacturing of products.

Qingxin Zhang has started a PhD working in both IRC and the Fluid in Advanced Manufacturing (FAM) group. Qingxin joined the IfM after graduating with a BEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nottingham. Qingxin is studying microengineering by liquid

manipulation, examining how to fabricate biomaterials and drug delivery systems through controlling liquid-liquid interfaces.

Shahab Ahmad joined the NanoManufacturing team as Research Associate. He received his PhD degree in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, investigating fabrication and the optical, structural and optoelectronic properties of two dimensional inorganic-organic perovskites. He has been a visiting

researcher at the Nanophotonics Centre at the University of Cambridge. His long-term research interests include the fabrication of

functional nanostructured materials, development of new techniques to create highly organised assemblies of carbon nanotubes, integrated optoelectronic devices and third-generation photovoltaics.

Stanley Lim joined CIM in October as a PhD student. His current research interests lie in the intersection between E-Commerce and Urban Logistics. Before embarking on his PhD studies, Stanley spent a number of years in the defence industry in various roles, rising to become Head of Engineering and Operations Group at the Ministry of Defence. Previous roles included lead engineer and technical consultant with portfolio in wireless communication and information technology, intelligence analyst, and

human resources manager. He has significant experience in project management, system life-cycle management, and lean six sigma techniques.

Stanley holds a Masters of Science degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the National University of Singapore, and has also attended the Executive MBA programme at the University of Warwick.

Irene Roda is a PhD student at the Department of Management,

Economics and Industrial Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Her main area of interest is physical asset management

and her research is currently focusing on the evaluation of Total Cost of Ownership as a decision-making support for managing industrial assets. She joined the DIAL group as a visiting PhD student in November.

New rolesKatharina Greve (CSA) has been elected for two positions at college and university level: she will be External Officer at Newnham College and Communications Officer at the Graduate Union.

Mindfulness SessionsHelen Zhang (CIM) is facilitating a weekly mindfulness session this term, where she shares her insights and yogic techniques learned through her own self-development journey. Come and give yourself a well-deserved 30 minutes to unwind, relax and rejuvenate.

For more details email hhz22@cam.ac.uk

PublicationsL. Yang, B. Kazmierski1, S.D. Hoath, S. Jung, W.-K. Hsiao, Y. Wang, A. Berson, O. Harlen, N. Kapur and C.D. Bain, ‘Determination of dynamic surface tension and viscosity of non-Newtonian fluids from drop oscillations’, Physics of Fluids 26, 113103 (2014); doi: 10.1063/1.4901823

Park, I., Jeong, Y., Yoon, B. & Mortara, L. 2014. ‘Exploring potential R&D collaboration partners through patent analysis based on bibliographic coupling and latent semantic analysis’. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 1-23.

Chandramohan George collaborated in a paper on Li Ion batteries, ‘Etched Colloidal LiFePO4 Nanoplatelets toward High-Rate Capable Li-Ion Battery Electrodes’, published in Nano Lett., DOI: 10.1021/nl504093w

Ruiz Puente, M.C., Romero Arozamena E., and Evans, S.E., 2014. ‘Industrial symbiosis opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises: preliminary study in the Besaya region (Cantabria, Northern Spain)’. Journal Cleaner Production. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.10.046

Read all about it: IfM in the newsIfM students to benefit from 3D printing lab Our new cutting-edge facilities made news.Business Weekly www.businessweekly.co.uk/academia-a-research/17784-ifm-students-to-benefit-from-3d-printing-lab A new era of opportunity at ‘The Future of Manufacturing’ Event Mike Gregory’s role in the Leeds City Region event on the future of the manufacturing industry.Connecting Industry www.connectingindustry.com/automation/a-new-era-of-opportunity-at-the-future-of-manufacturing-event.aspx

How to increase your sustainability budget and influenceStats from the the Next Manufacturing Revolution report, which the IfM co-authored.2degrees Networkwww.2degreesnetwork.com/groups/2degrees-community/resources/how-increase-your-sustainability-budget-and-influence Strategy, system and people the key elements of effective innovation and technology management David Probert explains the three elements of good innovation and technology management.Manufacturing.info and Guardian supplement www.manufacturinginfo.co.uk/in-the-spotlight/strategy-system-and-people-the-key-elements-of-effective-innovation-and-technology-management

Find an ExpertThe IfM now has its own Expert Directory!The aim of the ‘Find and Expert’ page is to help media and events professionals identify relevant experts for comment, insights or to talk at events.

Feel free to share the link with your own contacts, but please remind them to get in touch with the Press Office - Sam Selvini srs53@cam.ac.uk - and not the experts directly.

Share on your social networks as well!

Link: bit.ly/IFMEXPD