̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Centre for Digital Built Britain

Growing Underground

lw355 — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 08:00:00 +0000

In the heart of London there is a farm like no other. It's subterranean, sustainable and energy smart. It also has a digital twin looking out for its every need.

Cambridge academics recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 23:22:25 +0000

̽��ֱ��Honours were originally meant to be announced in June, but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following approval from Her Majesty the Queen, hundreds of additional people were added to the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for their contributions tackling the virus on the frontline and in their communities.

Professor Julia Gog from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics is one of the many individuals recognised for their work on the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Gog, who is a Fellow of Queens’ College, has been made OBE for services to academia and the COVID-19 response.

In 2018, Julia and her team were behind the UK’s largest citizen science experiment in collaboration with the BBC, using location data from mobile phones to map how pandemic influenza might spread across the UK. ̽��ֱ��massive dataset that resulted from the experiment, the largest and most detailed of its kind, has been used in the response to COVID-19.

Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Julia has provided expert advice on infectious disease modelling and COVID-19 to SAGE and its sub-groups - particularly SPI-M-O and the Children’s Task and Finish working group (TFC).

As the lead modelling representative and co-deputy chair of the SAGE’s TFC, Julia has shaped and co-ordinated the modelling advice on options for re-opening schools, a key government priority. Her input has been pivotal to the development of DfE’s response and in developing principles for future interventions.

Through her role on the steering committee of the Royal Society’s Rapid Assistance in Modelling the Pandemic (RAMP) initiative and involvement with other groups (such as the Isaac Newton Institute and Virtual Forum for Knowledge Exchange in Mathematical Sciences), Julia has established working relationships between SAGE and the wider scientific community.

She said: “It’s hugely rewarding to see so many scientists recognised in this way. While I am of course thankful for this personal honour, science is a team pursuit, and I am grateful to so many colleagues for their work and support particularly during this year. While there are still many challenges ahead, we will continue to do all we can to help bring this pandemic to an end.”

Dr Giles Yeo, Principal Research Associate at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, has been made MBE for services to research and communication and engagement.

Dr Yeo, a Fellow of Wolfson College, is a geneticist interested in studying the brain's control of food intake and body weight, and how these might be dysregulated in obesity. He is from San Francisco, receiving his bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from the ̽��ֱ�� of California, Berkeley. He came to Cambridge in 1994 for his PhD studies. In 1998 he began his postdoctoral training with Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, working on the genetics of severe human obesity.

Giles was the first to report that mutations in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) and in the neurotrophic receptor TRKB resulted in severe human obesity. In 2007, he became Scientific Director of the core Genomics/Transcriptomics facilities and a group leader at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Metabolic Research Labs. He is also a former President of the British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

He said: “I can assure you that this was entirely unexpected. Because it was in times of COVID, the notification, instead of being on expensive official stationery, came via email, and I initially thought it was a phishing scam! Anyway, it wasn’t, and I’m deeply honoured to be recognised for my contributions to communicating and engagement in research. I am grateful to be working at an Institution which has allowed me to breathe and to follow my passion.”

Professor Sarah Worthington, from the Faculty of Law and Trinity College, is made DBE for services to English Private Law. She is one of the most prolific, original and influential academics working in the broad field of private law. Since 2011 she has been Downing Professor of the Laws of England at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and is currently also a Deputy Vice Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ��; in 2012 she helped found, and is Director of, the Cambridge Private Law Centre, which promotes informed debate across all branches of private law including obligations, property, family and private international law.

She said: “I feel surprised, delighted and overwhelmed by the honour. It’s wonderful to see legal research recognised in this way, especially research in private law. But research endeavours are never solo projects. I’ve been immensely fortunate to have met and worked with a lot of very warm and clever people who have helped me in all sorts of ways. Thank you to all of them, as I continue to learn from their example.”

Professor Stefan Reif, Fellow of St John’s College and Founder of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, has been made OBE for services to Scholarship. Under his directorship, the Cambridge Genizah Collection was transformed from an overlooked, under-used and only partially available resource to a major literary treasure that is now widely exploited by scholars, and that has revolutionised the understanding of medieval Jewish life. He has contributed significantly to international developments in the historical study of Jewish liturgy, especially clarifying the evolution of Jewish prayer texts in the eastern Mediterranean in Crusader times.

Mark Enzer, CTO at Mott MacDonald and Digital Director at the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB), is made OBE for services to the National Infrastructure. Mark is a keen champion of innovation in the context of collaborative delivery models and he is particularly interested in transformational change in the infrastructure industry. As Mott MacDonald’s Chief Technical Officer, he is accountable to the Executive Board for technical excellence across the Group. As the Chair of CDBB’s Digital Framework Task Group, Mark is contributing to the leadership of the National Digital Twin Programme.

Researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, which were announced on Saturday.

Photo of Julia Gog: Lionel D'Souza

L: Julia Gog R: Giles Yeo

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Beyond the pandemic: tackle the digital divide

lw355 — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 08:00:52 +0000

Increased working, learning and interacting online during the pandemic has widened the gap for those who lack digital skills or access, writes Gemma Burgess, an expert on social inequality and housing in the UK. She suggests strategies to tackle the digital divide and avoid millions of the poorest in the UK being left even further behind.

Cambridge alliance secures £72 million in government funding to drive innovation and boost construction

plc32 — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 14:55:36 +0000

̽��ֱ��Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has joined a new alliance with the MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre) and BRE (Building Research Establishment) to transform the way that infrastructure in the UK is designed, built, and used. ̽��ֱ��Transforming Construction Alliance brings together experts specialising in digital, manufacturing, building performance standards and construction technology. It has been awarded £72 million by Innovate UK to deliver the Core Innovation Hub (CIH), a key investment to transform productivity in the construction sector within the Transforming Construction Programme, funded from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Announcing the award at BRE Watford on 30 November 2018, Business & Industry Minister Richard Harrington said: “We have the opportunity to revolutionise construction in the UK and the Core Innovation Hub will help us build smarter, greener and more efficient buildings much faster and cheaper than we do now.

“From the introduction of virtual reality to off-site manufacturing, our modern Industrial Strategy, is helping the UK construction sector to develop new techniques and skills - modernising the sector and delivering the homes and buildings our nation needs.”

̽��ֱ��Core Innovation Hub will act as the focal point for construction related innovation, and strengthen links between the research base and businesses. It will support collaboration to develop and commercialise digital and manufacturing technologies for the construction sector to enable the schools, hospitals and infrastructure of the future to be built with strong levels of safety, quality and energy performance.

Through the Core Innovation Hub, the CDBB will continue its development of a framework, pilot projects and set of principles to guide the development of digital twins for built assets and infrastructure, to ensure that the data is interoperable, supporting better integration of services across the built environment. Through its research, policy and change programmes it will support the promotion and adoption of effective information management and the digital transformation of the built environment. These new digital tools, standards and technologies will create new business and export opportunities for the UK infrastructure sector; and ensure that our social and economic infrastructure is designed, built and operated to improve quality of life.

Keith Waller has been appointed Programme Director to lead the Transforming Construction Alliance. A civil engineer by profession, Mr Waller led development of the UK government’s recent Transforming Infrastructure Performance report. “I look forward to working alongside government, industry and the talented teams at MTC, BRE and CDBB to realise the vision of a transformed construction sector,” he said.

“ ̽��ֱ��alliance brings together three trusted organisations with strong research, development and engagement programmes to deliver the evidence base and value case for change, alongside those who will benefit most from it,” said Professor Andy Neely, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Director of the Centre for Digital Built Britain. “CDBB will collaborate widely to deliver a digital programme that will create the framework to underpin the future built environment and grow export opportunities for the UK.”

“There is huge potential for transformation of large parts of the construction sector to a manufacturing industry,” said Neil Rawlinson, Strategic Development Director at MTC. “ ̽��ֱ��widespread appetite for change throughout the industry and the impact that this change will have on so many aspects of life in the UK make us enormously excited to be delivering this pivotal role. ̽��ֱ��complementary skills of the alliance partners will ensure we deliver for Industry and government.”

̽��ֱ��Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will strengthen research and innovation in science and business in the UK. Its Transforming Construction programme aims to support £600 billion worth of infrastructure and construction projects over the next decade, creating new processes and techniques, including standardisation of modular components for manufacture.

For more information visit the CDBB website.

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