Manufacturing a better world

Driving change: in pursuit of cobalt-free batteries

Head of the IfM’s Nanomanufacturing Group, Professor Michael de Volder, sheds light on pioneering efforts to eliminate cobalt from electric vehicle batteries, offering a glimpse into a more sustainable era for electric mobility.

Manufacturing a more equitable world through informed policy-making

Jennifer Castañeda Navarrete, a Senior Policy Analyst for Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy tells us about her work and dedication to addressing the problem of women's underrepresentation in the industrial sector and industrial policy.

Changing how we talk — and think — about manufacturing

It’s time for a change in how we talk about manufacturing — and that means we must change how we think about it as well, writes Tim Minshall.

The power of repurposing: How smaller manufacturers helped the UK withstand COVID-19’s first wave

As COVID-19 battered Britain’s economy and threatened to overwhelm the NHS, many small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms regrouped, repurposed and provided the vital materials the country needed. How did they do it, and when a new crisis arises, could they do it again?

Connecting healthcare and manufacturing: The challenges of COVID-19

Tim Minshall, head of the IfM, looks at the many challenges of matching offers of support from the manufacturing community with the dynamic and uncertain needs of the healthcare system.

COVID-19: Manufacturing at a turning point

At this IfM Briefing, leading experts from the Institute for Manufacturing draw lessons from the response of firms and governments to the COVID-19 pandemic, and look at how the manufacturing industry is likely to change and adapt in the months and years ahead.

Developing a ventilator sharing device for use in emergencies

In this webinar, experts from the IfM, Royal Papworth Hospital and Cambridge Design Partnership discuss how they developed a device that, if needed in an emergency, could be attached to a ventilator to enable two COVID-19 patients to receive tailored respiratory support.

How IfM students helped the NHS in Cambridge during COVID-19

Three teams of students from the MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management course at the Institute for Manufacturing worked with the NHS on issues including testing processes, oxygen supply mapping and patient flow modelling during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Manufacturing a better world after COVID-19

Tim Minshall, Dr John C Taylor Professor of Innovation and Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, shares an overview of how teams of Cambridge engineers have helped the local, national and international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can use the lessons learned to support a strong and sustainable recovery.

Test, Tag and Trace - A digital solution to get organisations back to work, safely

This webinar gives an overview of research demonstrating how organisations can use widely available, low-cost technology to provide greater protection to employees as they return to work.

The Maker Movement vs COVID-19: How a DIY community responded to the pandemic

The availability of 3D printers, laser cutters and other digital fabrication tools has led to the rise of the Maker Movement, a growing community with a DIY approach to design and production. As the COVID-19 crisis hit the UK, these ‘makers’ sprang into action. Their response has revealed the potential for innovation among the general public — but also the limitations of an informal network and a lack of standardisation.

Industrial sustainability: paradox or paradigm?

IfM's Centre for Industrial Sustainability is focused on increasing our understanding of how to transform industrial behaviour to develop more sustainable environments, economies and societies.

Thought for food: improving food safety through resilient supply chains

Dr Mukesh Kumar leads research in supply chain resilience at the IfM. He describes how his work is helping to tackle one of this century's most important challenges: food safety.

Diagnosing deadly diseases: combining biotechnology and manufacturing

Engineers and scientists from Fluids in Advanced Manufacturing and Cambridge Analytical Biotechnology groups have joined forces to develop an on-the-spot low-cost tool for the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases.

Untangling the spaghetti: nanomanufacturing for clean water and green batteries

The IfM?s NanoManufacturing group is developing nanotechnologies to supply clean water for developing nations and build better batteries for renewable energy.

Manufacturing a better world

IfM research is helping to contribute to global industrial sustainability - economic, environmental and societal - by addressing global "Grand Challenges".

Disaster relief operations

Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and droughts: when a natural disaster strikes, relief organisations react by providing medical treatment, food, water and shelter. However, in these difficult and chaotic circumstances supply networks often prove to be insufficiently resilient.

Maintenance matters

Dr Maria Holgado from the IfM?s Centre for Industrial Sustainability (CIS) has been researching maintenance and particularly how it can make a vital contribution to a company?s long-term sustainability.

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