Ceramics and glass

Cardiff University, Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC)

The Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC) is an award-winning international R&D Centre of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology. The 90-strong Centre forms part of Cardiff University, which dates back to 1883 and is one of Britain's major civic universities.

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, from Robotics and Microsystems, Sensor Systems, High-speed Automation and Intelligent Control, Rapid manufacturing, Micro-Manufacturing, Nanotechnology, Quality Engineering, Multimedia, Virtual Reality and Enterprise Information Management.

The MEC's research work has received the overwhelming endorsement of sponsors and supporters in the private and public sectors. Over 100 industrial partners including multinationals like Hewlett-Packard, IBS, Mitutoyo, Parametric Technology, SAP, Silicon Graphics, Siemens and Tecnomatix support research projects at the Centre. The MEC also has collaborative projects with more than 22 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. As a result, the Centre is one of the largest and most successful operations in any UK university. Within the past ten years, the Centre has won over £40 million in grants and contracts including 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.

The MEC is also a Centre of Excellence for Technology and Industrial Collaboration (CETIC) sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).