FST Blog

Graphene Presents a Second Chance for British Semiconductors

19 April, 2024
Business, Technology
Professor Sir Colin Humphreys CBE FRS FREng FIMMM FInstP

This year, we in the UK are celebrating a very important anniversary. In 2004, two scientists from the University of Manchester used a roll of sticky tape to make an amazing discovery. They isolated small flakes of a single layer of graphite, called graphene, which became known as the ‘wonder material.’ It is the best conductor of electricity in the world. This blog looks at how Paragraf has worked from lab-to-fab, incorporating wafer-scale monolayer graphene into the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Future skills in Northern Ireland

15 April, 2024
Business, Education, Technology
Sarah Jones, Futures, Research & Development Unit, Matrix NI

A new landmark report has been published in Northern Ireland by influential advisory panel Matrix NI. In this blog, Sarah Jones unpicks this comprehensive report and discusses how it will be a combination of the core conclusions such as technological, social-emotional and digital skills that will shape the future.

Top Ten FST science discussions

11 March, 2024
General
Charlotte Raynsford, Communication Officer at The Foundation for Science and Technology

British Science Week 2024 is here! To celebrate we have collected together our top ten science based discussions to watch again.

An AI Tutor for Every Child

26 February, 2024
Business, Education, Technology
Mr Ranulph Tees

Co-founder of AI-based Qual Research platform, Survey Mind and assessment-for-learning techniques tutor, Ranulph Tees tells the fictious story of James, a young person struggling with algebra who uses AI to reach his full potential.

The surprising role of voluntary standards in AI regulation

23 February, 2024
Business, Technology
Dr Matilda Rhode

The upcoming Foundation of Science and Technology event asks “Can AI be regulated and if so, how?” Regulation is one of the key tools that governments can use to compel private sector behaviour and AI has rapidly become focal topic when it comes to the impact of private sector technologies on society.

Regulating AI in the EU and the UK -a legal view

21 February, 2024
Technology
Sarah Pearce, Partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth

To date, privacy laws have been a key source for AI regulation, particularly in the EU and the UK. Both have highly developed privacy rules, specifically the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the GDPR as incorporated into the laws of the UK. However, privacy laws alone are not sufficient to fully regulate the use of AI. In 2023, significant advances were seen in the approaches proposed in the EU and the UK for regulating the use of AI, and in 2024, this looks set to continue.

The power of conversation

2 February, 2024
General
Charlotte Raynsford - Communications Officer at The Foundation for Science and Technology

In a world of polarised views and fast changes, there is a quiet power in sharing knowledge. Championing the art of conversation can support the foundations of change and progress.

The Round Table of Sustainability

10 October, 2023
Environment
Jaclyn Estrin

In the wake of COP 27, "we have reached an inflection point where the chasm between action and inaction can set the planet on divergent paths," writes Jaclyn Estrin. At her round table, international governments are not the sole agents responsible for fighting climate change.

How Animals With Human Brain Cells Could Help Treat Diseases

7 September, 2023
Environment, Technology
Emily Newton

Chimeric research is an exciting topic in the scientific community, to say the least. There are opposing views about it being a helpful tool for understanding diseases and discovering treatments.