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32 The PCB Design Magazine • September 2015 creasing associated costs whilst bringing oppor- tunities for extended use to generate additional values, such as the computerization of such functions of Lean material delivery and finite live production planning. Such an integrated and sophisticated manufacturing software platform provides greater connectivity and in- creased agility, which results in opportunities for improvement, both in performance and the ability to attract additional high-end business. This enables an automotive electronics manu- facturer to combine the critical aspects of qual- ity, reliability, and safety assuredness, plus ac- cessible pricing and lead-time to meet customer expectations that puts it out in front of the competition. To learn more about this automotive indus- try solution, click here to download the white paper "How to Keep Your Competitive Edge in Manufacturing's High Growth Automotive Electronics." PCBDESIGN Michael Ford is senior marketing development manager with valor division of Mentor Graphics Corporation. To read past columns, or to contact the author, click here. The university of Southampton has been awarded a multi-million grant from Lloyd's Reg- ister Foundation to bring together some of the world's brightest early career researchers to find new ways of using nanotechnologies to improve safety at sea, on land and in the air. Dr. Themis Prodromakis, a reader within the nanoelectronics and nanotechnologies Group at Southampton, is leading the £3 million pro- gramme, which will receive match funding from partner organisations. he says, "Researchers are always looking for funding for high risk, high reward ideas. They want to collaborate with the best scien- tists and engineers in the world and gain access to state-of-art facilities. The Lloyd's Register Foundation in- ternational Consortium in nanotechnologies (iCOn) will assemble the world's leading uni- versities, research insti- tutions and innovative companies to help them tackle many of today's most challenging issues by recruiting talented PhD students from every continent." Breakthroughs already being developed in- clude cars, boats and planes built from light- weight materials stronger than steel with new functions such as self-cleaning and repairing; flexible textiles that can become rigid and shock- proof to protect the wearer; sensors in hostile environments such as the deep ocean and space; tiny implants for real-time monitoring to aid di- agnoses for doctors; and smart devices that har- vest energy from their environment. using Nanotechnology to Improve Safety Professor Richard Clegg, Managing Direc- tor of Lloyd's Register Foundation said, "We are pleased to support the university of Southamp- ton in developing this global cohort of scientists. Their research will develop applications to further the Foundation's safety goals whilst also provid- ing training and building technical capacity in sup- port of our educational mission. The doctoral students joining this con- sortium will gain an un- derstanding of how their research can benefit soci- ety whilst developing in- ternational research net- works at an early stage in their careers." Nanotechnology Project to Improve Safety Gets Funding feature BEING CoMPETITIvE IN AuToMoTIvE ElECTRoNICS MANuFACTuRING