Manchester's graphene research centre designed to be transparent
Scientists in Britain working on miracle material grapheme made sure their new research centre would be the antithesis of the darkened lab
The idea that scientists at the cutting edge of potentially lucrative research must work in isolated labs, away from prying eyes, is so passé. The new trend is for them - and what they're up to in their white lab gowns - to be visible, and the National Graphene Institute (NGI) in Manchester, England, is an excellent example.
Two researchers at the University of Manchester isolated graphene in 2004. Six years later, Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, followed by knighthoods for their pioneering work.
The first thing to understand about this so-called wonder material is that it is seriously small. Made from a single layer of carbon atoms, it is said to be the thinnest material ever measured.
But despite its small size, it is super-strong - said to be 200 times as strong as steel and more conductive than copper - all features that could make it very useful in a number of industries, particularly information technology and medicine.
There's a lot of hope pinned on this miracle material, and the race to find commercial uses for it will be based at Manchester University, where it was first isolated. The NGI will open at the beginning of next year, a place for academia and industry experts to work alongside each other to find new applications for graphene.