Construction of new laboratories and research facilities for the Wolfson Centre, a world leader in powder and granular solids handling research and technology, is now well underway at the Medway Campus of the University of
Greenwich, at Chatham Maritime, Kent.
Almost £1 million is being invested in state-of-the-art technology for the university¹s team of engineers and researchers, which is relocating to Chatham from Woolwich, in southeast London. At the heart of the development is the construction of a new 420 m2 laboratory to house the Wolfson Centre¹s unique pilot-size testing facilities.
Development of the new centre is being paid for by the university, the government and the Wolfson Foundation a major charitable organisation founded in 1955 and committed to the advancement of science and technology, health, education, the arts and humanities.
The new buildings at the University of Greenwich at Medway will be brought into operation this autumn.
The Wolfson Centre is renowned for providing research, consultancy and educational services to industry in the technologies associated with the
storage, handling and physical processing of powders and granular solid materials.
The University of Greenwich engineers have undertaken more than 270 research, consultancy and educational contracts for industrial organisations in the past nine years.
These contracts have been with numerous small and medium-sized businesses alongside programmes for multi-nationals such as BP, Blue Circle-Lafarge, Corus, Exxon, GlaxoSmithKline, ICI, Kellogg¹s, Nestle and Tate & Lyle.
The Wolfson Centre¹s considerable activities with industry were cited as an example of good practice in a recent government-sponsored report into business-university collaboration.
Professor Alan Reed, director of the Wolfson Centre, said: ³This is a fine example of the university¹s commitment to this important but often neglected
area of technology, and the continuous development and improvement of the services we offer to industry.
³The Wolfson Centre has an international reputation as a world-leader in its field. In recognition of its importance not only did the Wolfson Foundation
assist with the initial development of the centre and its research programmes in the early 1990s, but, in a rare move, the trust has made a second substantial contribution to aid the development of these new and
improved facilities.
³This is a clear indication that the trust considers we are continuing to meet our mission of providing a high level and much needed service to business¹¹.