A central task of ABB’s R&D team is to transform university research into industry-ready technology platforms
London, 7
th December 2005 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has signed a long term strategic research partnership agreement with Imperial College London. The agreement was signed officially by Dr Markus Bayegan, Chief Technology Officer of ABB, and Sir Richard Sykes, Rector of Imperial College, during a recent ABB day at the university. The event brought together over 50 staff from both the university and ABB to examine joint approaches for developing optimal power infrastructure, reliable power grids, and optimal manufacturing and customer processes.
Imperial and ABB have already been working together on a number of research fronts and a series of technical presentations during the day updated both sides on their progress. The research themes include Automatic Model Generation, Flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) controllers, plant wide diagnostics and disturbance analysis, and work on a turbocharger design for unsteady state systems.
The departments working closely with ABB are all within Imperial’s Faculty of Engineering.
Dr Julia King, Principal of Imperial’s Faculty of Engineering said, “Working with industry is integral to Imperial’s mission and has been a part of our heritage since our founding. Our ‘ABB day’ gave us a chance to talk and hear about results from our collaborations so far, and to map out exciting future research directions.”
Dr Markus Bayegan, Chief Technology Officer of ABB said, “Cutting-edge technology gives our core businesses in power and automation a distinct advantage over our competition. A central task of ABB’s R&D team is to transform university research into industry-ready technology platforms. This concept, honed in recent years, comes to life in more than 50 university partnerships in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Long-term, strategic relationships with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, Cambridge University and now Imperial College underline the importance of this approach.
Dr Bayegan delivered the day’s keynote lecture in which he highlighted examples of ABB’s cutting edge technology, outlined ten guidelines for open innovation between industry and universities, explained the forces that drive R&D at ABB and detailed current research programmes.
About Engineering at Imperial
Imperial's Faculty of Engineering is the largest in the UK, with the largest number of academic staff rated 5* -- indicating research quality that is rated as internationally excellent -- in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. It comprises ten departments, with over 1,000 staff, 3,800 students and a turnover of around £60 million. It is one of four Faculties within the College.
About Imperial College London
Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (10,000) and staff (5,000) of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 103,000 people.