Engineering at the molecular level to tackle societal challenges
What we do
The Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering was founded in 2015 as one of Imperial College London's seven Global Challenge Institutes.
The Institute finds innovative molecular-based science and engineering solutions to the grand challenges facing our world. These include the race to realise a viable 'green' energy supply, and to tackle the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. The Insitute transcends disciplinary boundaries and brings together Imperial's world class engineers, scientists, clinicians and business researchers.
Vision
To achieve enduring excellence in research and education at the interface of molecular science and engineering, to address the increasingly complex challenges that face society.
Mission
Accelerating innovation by transcending disciplinary boundaries in engineering, science, medicine and business to transform research and education.
IMSE's guiding pillars
To achieve the Institute's ambitious aims, we coordinate integrated activities with three primary objectives:
Advancing integrated transdisciplinary research
By encompasing molecular science (including chemistry and materials science) within engineering design, and innovating from the microscopic to the macroscopic scale, we can tackle problems that are otherwise unsolveable. Find out about IMSE's Research Themes and Grand Challenges.
Transforming education
By focusing on solving "real-life" problems, and by working closely with industry. Find out about the MRes in Molecular Science and Engineering.
Enabling effective translation of research into practice
By accelerating the development of technologies, and strengthening capacity to bring these to market. We work closely with industry partners and Imperial's Enterprise team.
Facilitating and enabling
Our charter on equality, diversity and inclusion
The Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering was setup to bring together people from all disciplines and backgrounds to solve global challenges facing our world. We believe that to be at the forefront of solving these challenges, we need to draw upon people from all backgrounds.
IMSE is a supportive and considerate community, but we aspire to be proactive in our efforts to be truly inclusive by supporting individuals, and by reforming structures and practices that maintain inequality and discrimination. We will always promote equality, diversity and inclusion through our events, employees, management and stakeholders. A recent example of our efforts includes introducing scholarships for academically excellent students that reduce barriers to studying on our MRes in Molecular Engineering.
Through this charter, we believe that this will help address the increasingly complex challenges that we face, and also achieve enduring excellence in research and education.
Collaborating with academia, policy and industry
We work closely with Imperial's Departments (across all four faculties) and academic Affiliates, and in collaboration with, policy-makers, and other external stakeholders.
The Institute is led by two Co-Directors and supported by a small Operations Team of dedicated professionals that assist in building connections, coordinating projects and highlighting successes.
IMSE's strategy is informed and supported by our Strategic Advisory Board alongside our Management Board.