University of Sheffield AMRC and Boeing win award with their catalysing industry-academia research

SHEFFIELD, United Kingdom, Sept. 30, 2024 ―The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Boeing have won the 2024 Bhattacharyya Award, a prestigious honour backed by the UK Government, that celebrates the most impactful collaborations between academia and industry.

In an event last week, Thursday, September 26, at the Royal Academy of Engineering Prince Philip House in London, the AMRC, part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, and Boeing were presented with the esteemed award, established in 2019 as a tribute to Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya CBE FREng FRS, the Regius Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Warwick and founder of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

Steve Foxley, chief executive officer for the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), said: “Winning the 2024 Bhattacharyya Award from a list of such high-calibre companies and universities, and seeing the work they have produced, is a very humbling moment - and brings with it a huge sense of pride and accomplishment.”

Professor Sir Martin Sweeting OBE FREng FRS, chair of the judging panel for the Bhattacharyya Award, said: “Our task this year was challenging as each candidate was different in topic and scale.

“We were looking for evidence of sustained industrial collaboration with demonstrated mutual benefit to both academia and industry, alongside a clear contribution to the UK economy.

“The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and The Boeing Company showed clear evidence of a sustained industrial collaboration with demonstrated mutual benefit to both academia and industry, alongside a clear contribution to the UK economy.

“This blueprint for partnership is critical to driving growth in the economy, innovation in business and capitalising on research and development at universities, and the future of the success of UK plc will depend upon this synergy.”

Professor Sue Hartley OBE, vice-president for research and innovation at the University of Sheffield, said: “Here at the University of Sheffield we are committed to an ambitious agenda of research and innovation that tackles real world challenges and brings economic benefits for our city, our region and the whole of the UK.

“The longstanding partnership between our AMRC and Boeing is an excellent example of this and it has been exciting to see the collaboration grow and the huge positive impacts it is having on the University, Boeing and the South Yorkshire region.

“Congratulations to everyone involved in winning the Bhattacharyya Award, we are incredibly proud and I am excited to see the partnership grow even stronger over the coming years.”

More than 23 years after their initial partnership, the AMRC and Boeing have bridged the traditional gap between industry and academia, creating 2,500 jobs, £350 million of inward investment, and over 2,000 apprentices trained. 

Katherine Bennett CBE, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, said: "Congratulations to the University of Sheffield AMRC and Boeing on winning this acclaimed award. Their dynamic long-term partnership is a blueprint for deep collaborative alliances, underpinned by HVM Catapult investment and support from Innovate UK.

"The impact in South Yorkshire is a powerful example of how academia, HVM Catapult centres and industry can work together to not only solve the biggest engineering challenges facing our planet, but also create an environment that attracts inward investment and ultimately reshapes entire communities."

In 2018, the AMRC site in Rotherham, on the Advanced Manufacturing Park, also welcomed Boeing as their neighbours, in their first European manufacturing facility.

Maria Laine, president for Boeing UK, Ireland and Nordic region, said: "We are humbled and honoured to receive the Bhattacharyya Award, which champions innovation as a result of strategic collaboration.

“The partnership with the AMRC is a testament to the power of industry and academia working side by side, and this recognition reinforces our joint commitment to embracing new ideas and driving positive change across the aerospace industry."

The partnership between the AMRC and Boeing is significant, in part, because of its sustained and enduring approach. In 2023, the AMRC announced a groundbeaking research programme Composites at Speed and SCale (COMPASS) with a new innovation facility that will be home to Boeing’s largest research and development projects in the world.

Boeing's IHSS will be the first project that will be undertaken within the new open access facility, with an aim to de-risk and develop high-rate sustainable structures with the potential to reduce large component process times from approximately 40 hours to nearly four hours. 

Steve added: “Our longstanding collaboration with Boeing is very special. It is a partnership we have nurtured for more than 20 years.

“This award, and making the AMRC what it is today, would not have been possible without all of our hardworking and dedicated staff. We’ve been privileged to work with hundreds of talented individuals over the years, who have been instrumental in driving the innovation and impact we have achieved together. 

“Working alongside our valued industrial partners like Boeing has enabled us to make real-world changes in the advanced manufacturing sector together, both in the UK and globally. And this not only helps industry to increase productivity and improve its sustainability footprint, but creates more jobs, prospects and investment.”