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Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability
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Examples of facilities and infrastructure to support interdisciplinary science research at Durham University

 

The Biophysical Sciences Institute is a community of over 150 academics and researchers united by an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the fundamental systems of life. Our collegiate and enthusiastic interdisciplinary community is drawn from across 7 departments and multiple disciplines. 

The DEI is the leading centre for energy research, bringing together experts from various disciplines to tackle some of the most pressing energy challenges of our time. We integrate diverse disciplines and sectors to provide new perspectives on energy challenges, offering insights into the complexities of transitioning to low-carbon living and its ethical management. 

ICC researchers carry out supercomputer simulations of the evolution of the Universe, which by solving equations from Physics and including dark matter and dark energy, track the formation of cosmic structures from the Big Bang to the present day. 

The COSMA supercomputer is at the centre of international research into the mysteries of the Universe. 

Hosted by the Institute of Computational Cosmology at Durham University and used by cosmologists, astronomers and particle physicists from across the world, COSMA is immensely powerful which a huge RAM capacity. 

This enables scientists to simulate the evolution of the Universe from the Big Bang to the present day with unprecedented accuracy. 

The COSMA supercomputer - Durham University 

 

The Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience (IHRR) is a world-leading research institute in hazard, risk and resilience-based at Durham University. We support innovative research and training for use in policy and practice, collaborating directly with communities, NGOs and governments. Our commitment is to work with and learn from the widest possible range of stakeholders living with hazard and risk – empowering people, fostering resilience, and improving lives, both now and in the future. 

 

IDAS aims to foster and support a collaborative community of practitioners in Data Science across the disciplines.  

Our academics will cooperate in their research projects, encourage critical thinking, and consider the wider scientific, societal, economic, and cultural implications of their work. We will strive to act as role models when inspiring and training the next generation of data scientists. 

The HPC Hardware Lab @Durham provides Durham University and UK researchers with access to cutting edge technologies and facilities. 

HPC Hardware Lab @Durham — durham 0.1 documentation 

 

The IPPP was founded in 2000 as the UK’s national centre for particle phenomenology, researching the properties and behaviour of the most fundamental building blocks of nature. Since then, we have grown to become one of the largest particle phenomenology groups in the world. Our research sits at the interface between theoretical particle physics and experiments ranging from particle colliders to gravitational wave detectors. We host an extensive programme of workshops and conferences for the international particle physics community, helping to shape the future of particle physics in the UK. Promoting public understanding of fundamental physics is also central to the IPPP’s goals, particularly with outreach to schools and teachers as well as online content. 

 

The Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing Challenge Academies have been carefully built to address local and global unmet need in health-related issues. Closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, these Academies have the interdisciplinary approach unique to Durham University built in. In this way, each Academy can address major problems in health and wellbeing, but also be responsive to new challenges as they arise. We help our Challenge Academies grow, fostering networking, identifying and assisting with funding opportunities, expanding their internationalisation and ensuring impact through clinical, industry or policy collaboration. 

 

Advanced Research Computing (ARC) is a dedicated computing support unit within the Research Division of the University. We support academic researchers in all faculties across the University, where there is a requirement for the use of computers as part of their research. We provide facilities and expertise, connect people across different disciplines, and build on the services provided by Computing and Information Services. Our range of activity extends from simple coding assistance through to supporting computationally intensive research requiring High Performance Computing. 

 

Facilities and Equipment  

  • Biosciences Research Facilities: 

URL: Services and Collaboration - Durham University 

For example: Bioimaging Facility 

The Biosciences Bioimaging facility comprises of Advanced Light Microscopy and Electron Microscopy. 

Cutting edge microscopy equipment is available for research and teaching purposes, with dedicated highly experienced staff to help every step of the way. 

Microscope technology is available for use by staff, postgraduate students and final year undergraduate students. It is also available for use by researchers from other University departments and for external commercial clients. 

Bioimaging - Durham University 

 

  • Psychology: 

Facilities and equipment - Durham University 

fMRI  

We have state-of-the-art equipment for structural and functional MRI studies, including a 3T Whole Body MRI System with integrated eye tracking and pupillometry for cutting edge functional imaging and perception studies. We also have a full sized mock scanner for piloting and participant preparation 

Other research equipment  

  • Wet and dry EEG, including a specialist lab with 2 wet EEG booths, control ‘room’ and washing facilities.  
  • Transcranial magnetic and electrical stimulation  
  • A wide range of eye trackers, including desk- and head-mounted, and screen-mounted systems suitable for use with adults and children.  
  • Biopac and Mindware psychophysical suites, two with integrated virtual reality.  
  • Molecular psychology suite for genetic and hormonal analyses  

Specialist testing spaces  

  • Four virtual reality suites; two with full body/room motion capture and one with integrated eye tracking  
  • Two anechoic rooms for auditory perception research  
  • Developmental lab with observation room and dedicated family waiting room  
  • The Rowantree bar lab for research on alcohol consumption behaviours  
  • Mock ‘living room’ for ecologically valid research into television viewing  

 

  • Computer Science: 

High Performance Computing Cluster 

Durham hosts its own local supercomputers (the Hamilton family) and the DiRAC Cosma machine. In Computer Science, we furthermore have our own Dine installation which we drive in collaboration with DiRAC. Dine is a small 16-node general purpose supercomputer. Its outstanding feature is that it hosts SmartNICs – network devices which are themselves equipped with processors that can hijack and reroute messages in the network, alter message content, or run computations on messages while they travel through the supercomputer network. This allows our researchers to investigate novel data transportation concepts, to simulate different supercomputer topologies, or to work on novel security concepts. 

Further details about High Performance Computing Cluster. 

NVIDIA CUDA Centre (NCC) 

Our NVIDIA CUDA Centre (NCC) GPGPU system is a multi-node / multi-GPU server that we use primarily to prototype machine learning (ML) algorithms and codes before they hit the University's "big" system Bede. The local system features the latest ML software stack mainly focusing around PyTorch and TensorFlow, and consists at the moment of 48 GPUs (across different GPU generations) and 218 CPU cores. This cluster is regularly updated to meet modern ML requirements. 

This cluster is multifunctional in that it supports all aspects of research and teaching. UG and PG (both masters and PhD) students are able to access this cluster for running novel ML studies. In terms of teaching the cluster supports projects modules and classroom based demonstrations and workshops. For example the Computer Science Jupyter Notebooks run off this cluster. 

For documentation regarding using this cluster go to here. 

 Visualisation Lab 

The purpose is insight, not numbers. Based on Richard Hamming's famous quote, Durham's Computer Science hosts its own visualisation lab equipped with a set of freely movable large 3d screens (x15), along with racks of 4k screens (x9), a 3d autostereoscopic monitor that does not require glasses, and plenty of smaller kit. The lab allows us to visualise the large data we obtain from various machines and to interactively navigate through big result sets. It also allows us to play around with novel visualisation concepts – both from a software and a hardware perspective – and to prototype software that later runs in big visualisation centres. 

 

  • Earth Sciences 

Facilities and Equipment - Durham University 

Facilities include: 

  • DGC (Durham Geochemistry Centre) analytical geochemistry laboratories, comprising the stable isotope laboratory, ICP-OES, PIMMS, TIMS and ICP-MS facilities 
  • GeoRheo facility for rheometry of geological materials up to 1600C and 1000 bar 

 

 

  • Engineering 

Facilities and Equipment - Durham University 

The Department of Engineering features a number of dedicated teaching laboratories including the newly refurbished Electrical laboratory. Students use these facilities to gain practical experience to complement theory learned in lectures. 

Wind tunnel 

Durham’s largest wind tunnel features a pioneering active turbulence generator system that allows gusts of wind to be created on demand to evaluate the performance of vehicles, as well as wind turbines, in real-world conditions. 

Please see the Fluid Mechanics Node page for more information on their facilities and equipment. 

Clean rooms 

Clean rooms are hi-tech facilities that enable students to conduct experiments in very controlled environments. Our state-of-the-art laboratories allow users to build and measure very small devices in an environment free of contamination such as dust particles. We have 200m2 of class 1000 cleanroom space, with advanced processing and inspection equipment available for our students and staff. In addition, we offer micro- and nano-fabrication and device inspection services to external clients and other Universities. 

Geotechnical engineering laboratory facilities 

The Department’s geotechnical engineering laboratory is a fully equipped facility specialising in unsaturated soil mechanics and large scale soils testing. It has temperature and humidity controlled zones to provide a stable environment for sensitive experiments and is supported by experienced technical staff and an engineering workshop for bespoke testing applications. Research conducted in the geotechnical engineering laboratory is complemented by other facilities including our X-ray Computed Tomography facility. 

 

  • Physics 

Cosma 7 Super computer as per IPPP above 

 

GJ Russell Microscopy Facility 

G.J. Russell Electron Microscopy Facility - Durham University 

The GJ Russell Facility is the electron microscopy suite for the Faculty of Science, Durham University. We have state-of-the-art scanning electron microscopes (SEM), transmission electron microscopes (TEM) and focused ion-beam microscopes (FIB) that are accessible to staff and students from Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering and Biology. 

Telescopes 

Telescopes - Durham University 

We have four state-of-the-art telescopes on the roof of the Physics building 

Students on our Physics & Astronomy and Physics degrees can undertake projects in observational astronomy using the four telescopes (DRACO2, East-14, Far-East-16 and West-14) on the Physics building roof and our remotely operated 0.5m telescope (pt5m) on La Palma. 

The AstroLab is a level 3 option of the BSc/MPhys Physics degree courses (including the BSc/MPhys Physics and Astronomy course) in which students undertake projects in observational astronomy using the telescopes on the roof of the Physics building.  

Centre for Advanced Instrumentation 

We host state of the art facilities and equipment including optical labs, precision optical manufacturing and metrology and large assembly, integration and test facilities.