Doctoral Materials Science researchers from across the UK participated in the annual Henry Royce Research Grand Challenge. This year’s theme, “Materials Components for Sustainable Housing,” was presented by senior executives from Saint-Gobain at the start of the two-day event.
The event followed the “research sandpit” format, encouraging idea generation, team formation, and proposal development through brainstorming sessions, stakeholder role-plays, and reviews. Proposals were judged by a senior panel of academic, industrial, and local government experts, including Professor Will Swan, Director of Energy House Labs at the University of Salford.
The competition was won by Clear Impact with their innovative ideas on reducing embodied carbon through raw material selection and production processes for glass in glazed elements.
George Miller, Student Engagement Manager, said: “The Royce PhD Student Sandpit is an exciting opportunity for students to experience new ways of working and generating ideas. It’s also an insight into the challenges industry faces, and the many considerations—materials-focused and otherwise—that are involved in building a complete solution.”
Professor Will Swan added: “Materials are a key component of the decarbonisation challenge, from lower impact concrete to high-performing insulation for retrofit. The Sandpit was a great opportunity to engage with the researchers of tomorrow and provide advice that considers not just the science, but product design, and application. It was a great experience for all of the judges.”