The sensing, processing and transport of information is at the heart of modern life, as can be seen from the ubiquity of smart-phone usage on any street. From our interactions with the people who design, build and use the systems that make this possible, we have created a programme to make possible the first data interconnects, switches and sensors that use lasers monolithically integrated on silicon, offering the potential to transform Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by changing fundamentally the way in which data is sensed, transferred between and processed on silicon chips. The work builds on our demonstration of the first successful telecommunications wavelength lasers directly integrated on silicon substrates. The QUDOS Programme will enable the monolithic integration of all required optical functions on silicon and will have a similar transformative effect on ICT to that which the creation of silicon integrated electronic circuits had on electronics. This will come about through removing the need to assemble individual components, enabling vastly increased scale and functionality at greatly reduced cost.

From space, the human impact on the planet is seen by the spread of cities; but the cities themselves are spreading into much larger territories, amorphous sprawling areas between and surrounding cities - i.e. the 'peri-urban'. Arguably, the planet has not only entered the Anthropocene, but also a 'Peri-cene': a global human-environment system shaped by peri-urbanization. Around the world the peri-urban displays many characteristics: global hubs and local enclaves, sprawl and disorder, disruption of communities and livelihoods, and in particular, growing climate risks and ecological disruption. Peri-urbanisation is both a material process of land-use change and impact, and a human process of social, economic, political, and cultural transitions: whether informal or planned, intensive or extensive, the peri-urban is critical to the provision of urban food, energy and water. In turn, understanding peri-urbanisation is critical to three Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities, Goal 13 on Climate Action, and Goal 15 for Life on Land. The PERI-CENE project will provide the first ever comprehensive assessment of peri-urbanisation climate impacts, risks and vulnerabilities. It will provide a global typology and global assessment with an inter-active peri-urban analysis tool. It builds an interactive Living Lab with 18 city-regions from around the world, and explores deeper issues in two case studies. The PERI-CENE then develops forward pathways to be scaleable and transferable.

The Creative Economies are key growth drivers and economic sectors for both the UK and China. Digital platforms such as social networks, search engines, online marketplaces, and content distribution help to generate new products and services both online and offline. For those concerned with physical objects especially in the craft and visual arts sectors, digital platforms provide opportunities through the 4th industrial revolution where there is a blurring between physical and digital production. For example, digital platforms provide opportunities for innovation through using new materials and production techniques, they facilitate greater and closer access to markets and customers, and provide opportunities to include customers more in the design process. Digital platforms are therefore key to enabling growth in the Creative Economies in the UK and China. This is despite the fact that the UK and China have unique cultural heritages and traditions, different economic, social, and political profiles, and divergent digital infrastructure and regulations. Digital platforms are inevitably implemented, used, and leveraged differently the UK and China. Firstly, there are deep rooted differences in culture and heritage between the UK and China which would affect conventions and methods of production and consumption in Creative Economies which would make different use of digital platforms to support them. Secondly, there are significant differences between countries' internet infrastructure and policies of use. For example, social media such as Twitter and Facebook are ubiquitous in the UK in contrast to Chinese social media platforms such as QQ and WeChat. Similarly, popular craft marketplaces such as those on taobao in China contrast with craft marketplaces such as NotOnTheHighStreet and etsy.com which are prevalent the UK. Thirdly, there are differences in different cultures' use of digital platforms such as social media which may be reflected in the use of digital platforms in the Creative Economy. Finally, there are differences in digital inclusion between urban and rural areas which are different in the UK and China and which would have an impact of the possible uses and uptake of digital platforms. Whilst digital platforms are used across Creative Economy sectors there has to date been a concentration of research interest in those sectors which produce or consume digital content. For example, games, music, and media production sectors, which have included comparisons between the UK and Chinese sectors. However, the use of digital platforms in cultural domains which involve physical object production, consumption, and archival are not well researched despite the importance of craft as a driver of innovation in the Creative Economy and wider industries. The project will directly address this lack of research in the use and potential of digital platforms for craft sectors in the UK and China.

177 million tonnes of virgin aggregates, 15 million tonnes of cement and 2 billion bricks were used to build houses, civic and commercial buildings, roads and railways, etc, in the UK in 2016. Meanwhile, 64 million tonnes of waste arose from construction and demolition. Materials from construction and demolition are mainly managed by down-cycling with loss of the value imparted to them by energy-intensive and polluting manufacturing processes; for example, high value concrete is broken down into low value aggregate. Environmental damage is associated with the whole linear life cycles of mineral-based construction materials, and includes scarring of the landscape and habitat destruction when minerals are extracted from the earth; depletion of mineral and energy resources; and water use and emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants to air, land and water, during extraction, processing, use and demolition. It is important to take action now, to return materials to the resource loop in a Circular Economy, and reduce the amount of extraction from the earth, as the amount we build increases each year. For example, the UK plans spend £600 billion to build infrastructure in the next decade. The UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research Centre for Mineral-based Construction Materials therefore aims to do more with less mineral-based construction materials, to reduce costs to industry, reduce waste and pollution, and benefit the natural environment that we depend on. There is potential for mineral-based construction materials to be reused and recycled at higher value, for example, by refurbishing rather than demolishing, or by building using reusable modules that can be taken apart rather than demolished, so all the energy that went into making them isn't wasted. It may also be possible to substitute minerals from natural sources by other types of mineral wastes, such as the 76 million tonnes of waste arising from excavation and quarrying, 14 million tonnes of mineral wastes that come from other industries, or 4 billion tonnes of historical mining wastes. We can also be more frugal in our use of mineral-based construction materials, by designing materials, products and structures to use less primary raw materials, last longer, and be suitable for repurposing rather than demolition, and using new manufacturing techniques. First, our research will try to better understand how mineral-based construction materials flow through the economy, over all the stages of their life cycle, including extraction, processing, manufacture, and end-of-life. The Centre will work to support the National Materials Database planned by the Office of National Statistics, which will capture how, where and when materials are used and waste arises, so that we have the information to improve this system. We will also study how any changes we might make to practices around minerals use would affect the environment and the economy, such as greenhouse gas emissions, costs to businesses, or jobs. Second, we will work on technical improvements that we can make in design of mineral-based products and structures, and in all the life-cycle stages of mineral-based construction materials. Third, we will look at how changes in current business models and practices could support use of less mineral-based construction materials, such as how they might be able to move more quickly to new technologies, or how they might use digital technologies to keep track of materials. We will explore how the government can support these changes, and how we can provide education so that everyone working in this system understands what they need to do. In the first 4 years of our Centre, 15 postdoctoral researchers will gain research experience working in the universities for 2y and will then work with an industrial collaborator for a year, to implement the results of their research. More than 20 PhD and 30 MSc students will also be trained in the Centre.