Researchers shortlisted for prestigious Newton Prize
Dr Zhigang Ji and Dr Trung Thanh Nguyen from the LJMU Faculty of Engineering and Technology have been shortlisted for the 2017 Newton Prize, an annual £1 million fund awarded for the best research or innovation that supports the economic development and social welfare of developing countries.
The Newton Prize is part of the broader Newton Fund, which builds research and innovation partnerships with 18 partner countries to support their economic development and social welfare, and to develop their research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth.
Dr Ji’s project is developing secure wireless medical devices in Malaysia. Wireless communication is widely used for real time monitoring but is a potentially easy target for hackers with life threatening consequence. Security is a primary design constraint for these devices. This project has developed an accurate circuit reliability simulator which models induced degradation and interaction between different failure modes.
The new simulator has been incorporated into commercial electronic design automation tools that will transform circuit verification and the design of safer embedded devices for patients in Malaysia and across the world. The research has been shared with Malaysian companies including Infineon, Silterra and training events held for students and young circuit designers.
Dr Nguyen’s project has established a unique network in maritime logistics in the UK and Vietnam, which aims to promote economic development, reduce environmental impact, and enhance logistics research and education. The collaboration of industry, academia and policy makers has led to significant technical advances including new optimisation techniques and algorithms capable of solving large scale logistical scenarios.
Within one year, the network has led to nine collaborations and partnerships from 18 different organisations who are working together for the first time. Five of these partnerships are with Vietnamese companies transforming innovative research ideas into technical products that can address challenges in areas such as fleet sizing, berth and vessel stowage planning, port simulation, and container stacking and filling. The network has been making a major input into the Vietnamese Government’s national strategy plans and will make an important contribution to reducing maritime emissions and pollution across the world.
Further information about the Newton Prize is available here
