How does NACNet work?
The aim is to bring people together, and the ‘deliverables’ are grant applications and a self-sustaining network, so most of the money is to spend on ways of getting people talking. There’s quite a bit of travel money available if you want me to visit or you need to go somewhere to get a grant proposal going. Some formal events are planned: • a kick-off meeting or ‘sandpit’ with people from as many different fields as possible – academic and industrial – to brainstorm ideas for new research projects or products (coming soon!) • two more sandpits to review progress • A summer school for Masters and/or PhD students to learn about novel applications • A conference at the end of the funding period …but it’s all pretty flexible: if you have an idea that will help bring researchers together to talk about novel uses for cement, we may be able to help fund it.
