The Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC) is an international R&D Centre of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology. The MEC was founded in 1996 under the directorship of Professor Duc Truong Pham. The Centre forms part of Cardiff University, which dates back to 1883 and is one of Britain's major civic universities. The MEC's purpose is to conduct research and development in all major areas of Advanced Manufacturing and use the output to promote the introduction of new manufacturing technology and practice to industry. It was the first autonomous

research centre A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often im ...

created by Cardiff University.

Research

The MEC conducts basic, strategic and applied research as well as technology transfer with partners from 22 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The research spans a broad spectrum of subjects, including

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

and microsystems, sensor systems, high-speed

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

and

intelligent control Intelligent control is a class of control techniques that use various artificial intelligence computing approaches like neural networks, Bayesian probability, fuzzy logic, machine learning, reinforcement learning, evolutionary computation and geneti ...

rapid manufacturing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

, micromanufacturing, nanotechnology, quality engineering,

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

and enterprise information management. Since 1996, the Centre has received over £50 million in grants and contracts and has attracted hundreds of industrial partners. In 2004, the MEC won two EC 6th Framework Networks of Excellence contracts totalling 15M Euros in value. The two Networks of Excellence led by the MEC, I*PROMS and 4M, involve some 50 centres of excellence in the field of Advanced Manufacturing across the EU. As a Centre of Excellence for Technology and Industrial Collaboration (CETIC) sponsored by the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...

Government (WAG) and the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...

(ERDF), the MEC has contributed significantly to the Welsh economy, having completed thousands of projects with local companies and helped to generate and safeguard jobs in the region.

Awards

Under Professor Pham's leadership, the MEC was awarded the DTI University/Industry First Prize by the

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...

for its success in building research partnerships with industry (March 1999), and the

Queen's Anniversary Prize The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are a biennially awarded series of prizes awarded to universities and colleges in the further and higher education sectors within the United Kingdom. Uniquely it forms part of the Bri ...

for Higher and Further Education in recognition of its contribution made to the economy (February 2001).

References

{{authority control Cardiff University Engineering universities and colleges in the United Kingdom Industrial engineering Nanotechnology institutions