Professor Nigel Browning, Chair of Electron Microscopy in the School of Engineering at the University of Liverpool. Credit: University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool has announced that it will lead a new £125 million national research facility to propel scientific discoveries in sustainable energy, materials science, quantum technologies, and precision medicine. The facility will comprise the world's most powerful microscope and will position the UK as a global leader in scientific research.
Supported by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund, the research facility known as RUEDI (Relativistic Ultrafast Electron Diffraction and Imaging) will contain not only the world's fastest time resolution electron microscope but also the fastest time resolution electron diffraction instrument. RUEDI will enable researchers to dynamically study biological and chemical processes at the femtosecond scale.
“This announcement is excellent news for the University of Liverpool, for the North West region and for the UK scientific community,” said Professor Nigel Browning, Chair of Electron Microscopy in the School of Engineering at the University of Liverpool. “RUEDI is the first facility to allow the evolution of structural changes in materials to be observed and determined through time-resolved experiments, rather than by static structure. This ground-breaking capability will help researchers develop the new technologies and solutions needed to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.”
“As science and technology develops faster than ever, it is vital we ensure UK innovators have the right tools at their disposal to continue ground-breaking work from revolutionising medicine to protecting the world we live in for generations to come,” said Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. “From digitising millions of specimens to help halt future pandemics, to building the most powerful microscope of its type right here in the UK to improve drug design, to better information sharing between labs, our £473m investment infrastructure will set the conditions that allow our brightest minds to thrive and build a healthier and more prosperous UK.”
RUEDI will be located within the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Laboratory at Sci-Tech Daresbury. Construction of the facility will begin in 2027 and is currently anticipated to be open and operational in 2032.