Innovating functional colour changing photonic crystals - from gas sensors to tissue scaffolds

The impressive beauty of structural colouration found in nature, such as morpho-butterfly wings or peacock feathers, has influenced and inspired the technological innovations proposed in this business-hosted Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) programme of work. We have carried out intense research devoted to mimic the unique vivid structural colours with synthetic polymeric colloidal crystals enhanced with pristine graphene and other 2-dimensional nanomaterials.

These impressive nanostructures can change colour upon external stimuli such as heat, mechanical pressure or exposure to certain gas or liquid chemicals hence are promising for a range of novel effects and emerging sensing applications.

The programme of work within the original FLF application was focussed on the executive transition of Dr. Jurewicz (IJ) from academia to industry and to transform her from being a leading academic inventor into a formidable innovator. She became a Chief Scientific Officer - an executive who is responsible for managing company's scientific, technological and research operations.

IJ became a central part of the AMD business with an independent team and facility to drive R&D advances. She is now well-known and respected within the industry as a thought leader and a figurehead of innovation for the wider female community. IJ now has a blend of academic and business skills and strong industrial experience.

Within the original FLF she successfully led the development of five distinct technologies including (i) colorimetric sensors for chemical sensing in an industrial environment; detecting harmful chemicals quickly and accurately is crucial to protect human health, ensure public safety, and enable swift responses to potential chemical attacks. (ii) biomimetic tissue scaffolds; advances in tissue engineering enable easier design and testing of drugs and significantly reduce the use of animals. (iii) Cutting-edge laser-protective eye wear can help to prevent serious eye injuries, (iv) tissue equivalent dosimeters that reduce the risk to radiotherapy patients from increasing exposure to radiation medicine through real-time quality assurance of radiation doses. (v) time-temperature indicators (TTIs) to tackle food wastage and improve vaccine safety.

The vision for the renewal period of the FLF is for IJ to master a set of core entrepreneurial skills and competencies and build the right mindset to ensure the prosperity of the entrepreneurial business ventures. These talents will be developed by cultivating the skills of investing, financial modelling, and business planning. Ultimately to become a role model for other women in business.

The main research objective of the renewal period of the FLF will be devoted to increasing maturity of technologies innovated during the original FLF and successful delivery of enabling activities. Scaling up production - the process of increasing the output of a product from a small-scale to a large-scale is an integral part of the manufacturing process.

But it is a challenging task, and it can take anywhere from a few months to several years for a fully validated product to make it through the development process and be ready for market.

By allowing IJ to gain entrepreneurship skills will hugely help in promoting economic development, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation, while technological advancement embracing innovation will provide means to tackle humanity's greatest challenges.