This is Lancaster. Global research tales from the North of England.

From man-made gems, healthy ageing and artificial intelligence to biomaterials and the climate crisis, the Festival of Futures at Lancaster University explored how design research can respond to an array of local and global challenges. Tune in to hear researchers from four design-research centres of excellence across the UK share their stories of collaboratively designing for a better tomorrow with partners from industry, health, private and public sectors. The episode demonstrates the transformational power of design and design research for the benefit of people, place, and planet.Participating organisations include ImaginationLancaster at Lancaster University, The Centre for Print Research at University of the West of England, Bristol; The Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment at Newcastle University and Northumbria University; and Lab4Living at Sheffield Hallam University. 

Meet the researchers tackling large scale criminal activity in the pharmaceuticals industry by harnessing quantum identity techniques developed at Lancaster University.Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

Lancaster researcher Sam Murphy breaks down cutting edge developments in Nuclear Fusion – with the help of a pool table.Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

How design research is helping stop the smart tech graveyard gathering dust in almost every home.Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

Healthier Fleetwood – how working in partnership with a socially deprived UK coastal town is helping identify priority areas to focus COVID-19 recovery.Supported by the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

The UK may be experiencing record levels of employment, but for millions work remains insecure, poorly paid and unsustainable. Ben Harrison, Director of Lancaster University’s Work Foundation discusses why their mission is as important today as it was 100 years ago, and how at Lancaster we’re pushing for positive changes in employment policy and practice

From exploring the raw beauty of the Northern Lights and a passionate belief in the pursuit of scientific knowledge for its own sake, space scientist Professor Michael Kosch takes us on a dazzling journey through his career filled with excitement, discovery, and adventure. Tune in to hear how space weather experts harnessed knowledge of theoretical physics and turned it into an extraordinary social and economic good when they produced a spin-out company capable of detecting a smoke plume as small as a BBQ 10 miles away in a forest, saving billions of pounds worth of trees and Carbon Dioxide.

Lancaster University‘s Dr Erika Berenguer gives a deeply personal account of observing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest – a region full of mystery that inspired a scientific career dedicated to understanding and protecting this crucial tropical ecosystem.