As part of a major programme of sponsorship of education, training and research, Lloyd’s Register has agreed to provide funding of £1.1 million over five years to establish a marine-oriented University Technology Centre (UTC) at the University of Southampton (UK). The UTC will allow staff and students at Southampton, together with engineers and surveyors at Lloyd’s Register, to explore the boundaries of maritime engineering science with a view to improving the safe design, construction and operation of ships and other marine vehicles.

The UTC will be based in the School of Engineering Sciences. The UTC Director will be Professor Ajit Shenoi and the Deputy Director will be Professor Penny Temarel. A programme of research in the fields of hydrodynamics, hydroelasticity and structural composites will be planned by the senior staff of the Centre and specialists from the Research and Development Department of Lloyd’s Register. In addition to projects undertaken by the academic staff of the UTC the programme will include a wide range of topics suitable for projects for students studying for degrees of MEng, MPhil, EngD and PhD. In addition to the research work of the UTC, Lloyd’s Register is also working with Southampton University on a related project, funded under the UK Government’s e-Science initiative, which aims to develop computational tools into grid-enabled robust packages suitable for wider exploitation.