The University of Cambridge has received £63 million to fund the creation of the Maxwell Centre. A centrepiece for industrial partnership in the physical sciences on the West Cambridge Science and Technology campus, it takes its name from the great physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

He was the first Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge in 1871, as well as being accredited with the discovery of electromagnetism. The building will be located between the Physics of Medicine building and the William Gates building on the West Cambridge site.

It will house around 230 people, in addition to research laboratories, seminar rooms, interactive areas and dedicated hubs for industrial partners. The new building is also part of the Cavendish Laboratory’s long-term development programme, expected to open in the summer of 2015.

The funding for the project was a combination of philanthropic gifts from the Winton programme, Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Ltd., the Wolfson Foundation, the Sackler Foundation and Tata Steel as well as other industrial contracts. In addition to this, a major contribution was made by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for providing an astounding £21m.

The project’s focus is on innovation as an effective bottom-up approach to fundamental research. Building on the innovative activity supported by the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability at the Cavendish Laboratory, the Maxwell Centre will further research on quantum-level modelling of biological systems such as avian navigation, photosynthesis in deep-sea bacteria to enhance energy efficiency and superconductivity to revolutionise battery life. 

Other aspects of fundamental physics will be developed, including advanced scientific computing, the theory of condensed matter and the physics of biology and medicine. This will be balanced with embedded industrial partners in the Centre and graduate programmes designed to prepare students for the challenges of research and development in modern industry.

The Professor Sir Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics, who will be the first Director of the Centre, shares his ambitions for the project: “The Maxwell Centre will be the vehicle for translating ‘blue skies’ research into products of importance for the industrial sector.”

Prof Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge said: “Through the Maxwell Centre, we will capitalise on this resource by embedding industrial engagement further into the university.”