EPSRC Programme Grant Materials Engineering for Advanced Devices (MEAD) Begins

The EPSRC funded Materials Engineering for Advanced Devices (MEAD) programme grant officially starts today (1st September 2026). This 5-year grant will bring together researchers from The University of Manchester, Imperial College London and the University of Leeds to focus on one of the most significant challenges facing modern technology: how to engineer materials with such precision that their properties can be controlled at the level of individual atoms to realise new devices and capability.

Professor Richard Curry at The University of Manchester, Principal Investigator of MEAD said: “MEAD will build on the internationally recognised strengths in advanced materials and quantum technologies in Manchester, Leeds and Imperial, with the ambition of delivering technologies relevant to sovereign security, next-generation sensing and future quantum computing systems. Among its goals are more resilient terrestrial communication networks, quantum sensors capable of detecting extremely small changes in gravitational fields and scalable quantum information technologies.”