ERPE was founded in 2004 following an investment from the Office of Science and Innovation and the Scottish Funding Council and was reinforced in 2013 by an institutional Strategic Alliance between Heriot Watt University and University of Edinburgh which strengthens research capacity and commercialisation at an institutional level.

Engineering is the key to solving many problems and inter-disciplinary engagement is essential to assist in problem definition and the translation of engineering research into practical outcomes. ERPE is highly active in research of this nature with our research organised into the four themes below:

• Infrastructure and Environment

• Energy and Resource Management

• Manufacturing and Materials

• Sensors, Signals and Systems

ERPE leads the following major national research efforts:

• The UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre which supports the UK economy through an integrated research programme to maximise the contribution of CCS to a low-carbon energy sector.
• The UK’s research effort in Flood Risk Management undertakes collaborative research with industry and government organisations to develop innovative technologies, to improve international FRM practice.
• The UK Centre for Marine Energy Research including the UK All-Waters combined wave and current test facility and IDCORE-Industrial Doctoral Centre in Off-Shore Renewable Energy.
• The EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Laser-Based Production Processes exploiting the unique capabilities of laser light to develop new laser-based manufacturing processes and EPSRC CDT in Applied Optics providing commercially-focused training across a range of optics and photonics technologies.
• The BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering works strategically with key industry partners to set the agenda and lead fire safety engineering research and practice globally.
• The UK University Defence Research Collaboration in Signal Processing (UDRC) with academic partners, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and industrial partners.
• The IMPACT (Implantable Microsystems for Personalised Anti-Cancer Therapy) programme grant to develop implantable, smart sensors on silicon that will enable targeting of cancer treatment, this complements our key role in the Integrated Research Centre in Healthcare Sensing.

Research in ERPE is enriched through collaboration with the School of Geosciences at UoE, the Maxwell Institute in Mathematical Sciences, interactions with leading researchers in medicine, physics, chemistry and biology and with external partners, including the British Geological Survey, the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre.

You can read more about our Research Themes, Research Impact, Research Partners and Research Academics following the links and navigation menu.