image: This is a model depicting the possible future look of Cardiff University's £300m Innovation Campus. view more
Credit: Cardiff University
A $25.8m (£17.3m) award that will put Cardiff University at the cutting edge of semiconductor technology has been announced by UK Government.
Funding unveiled today (25 March) by Universities Minister Greg Clark MP will underpin the Compound Semiconductor Research Foundation - the first of its kind in the UK, with potential to become one of the leading clusters in Europe.
The Foundation, earmarked for the University's Innovation Campus, will drive the testing and development of ground-breaking technology that lies behind global 'megatrends' including smart phones and tablets, powering change across sectors including healthcare, biotechnology and mass communications.
The award adds to $17.8m (£12m) already pledged by Welsh Government to support the Foundation. The funding will strengthen bonds between Cardiff headquartered IQE Plc, the leading global Compound Semiconductor wafer supplier, and the University.
Professor Colin Riordan, Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University, welcomed the investment.
"The award from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund will capitalise on existing academic expertise at Cardiff University. It will cement our well-established partnership with IQE to create a global hub for CS technology research, development and innovation."
Dr Drew Nelson, CEO of IQE plc, said: "Compound Semiconductors are one of the 8 great technologies identified by the UK government as essential to leading the UK's economic and industrial growth. We welcome today's announcement and look forward to playing a key role in helping to make Wales and the UK the new European powerhouse for next-generation semiconductor technologies."
Cardiff is one of seven outstanding university research projects to receive over £100 million from UKRPIF in 2016-17 to drive innovation and growth.
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Notes to Editors
UKRPIF is managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), in collaboration with three other UK higher education funding bodies including HEFCW in Wales.
The four current European Semiconductor clusters are Grenoble, Dresden, Eindhoven, and Leuven.
Images
Semiconductor images are available on the IQE website.
Images depicting Cardiff University's innovation campus are available from:
Heath Jeffries
Innovation Communications Manager
Cardiff University
Deri House, 2-4 Park Grove,Cardiff CF10 3BN
Tel: 02920 870917/07908 824029
E-Mail: jeffrieshv1@cardiff.ac.uk
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