At Venture Research's closure in 1990, 26 groups of researchers were participating. Some of their transformative discoveries are listed below:
Researcher Transformative discovery Mike Bennett and Pat Heslop-Harrison Discovered a new pathway for evolution and genetic control Terry Clark Pioneered the study of macroscopic quantum objects Stan Clough and Tony Horsewill Solved the quantum-classical transition problem by developing new relativity and quantum theories Steve Davies Developed small artificial enzymes for efficient chiral selection Nigel Franks, Jean Louis Deneubourg, Simon Goss and Chris Tofts Quantified the rules describing distributed intelligence in animals Herbert Huppert and Steve Sparks Pioneered the new field of geological fluid mechanics Jeff Kimble Pioneered squeezed states of light Graham Parkhouse Derived a novel theory of engineering design relating performance to shapes and materials Alan Paton, Eunice Allen and Anne Glover Discovered a new symbiosis between plants and bacteria Martin Poliakoff Transformed Green Chemistry Ken Seddon Transformed Green Chemistry Colin Self Demonstrated that antibodies in vivo can be activated by light Gene Stanley and José Teixeira Discovered a new liquid-liquid phase transition in water that accounts for many of water's anomalous properties Harry Swinney, Werner Horsthemke, Patrick DeKepper, Jean-Claude Roux, and Jacques Boissonade Developed the first laboratory chemical reactors to yield sustained spatial patterns - an essential precursor for the study of multi-dimensional chemistry To take one example: Ken Seddon's Venture Research - "Chemistry and Physics and in Ionic Liquids." - together that on a separate project by Martyn Poliakoff, has transformed the field of Green Chemistry. It might be one of the most important developments in industrial chemistry in the last 50 years. If other developments stemming from this work are included they could lead to an industrial value of more than a billion pounds in the next decade.
When Seddon started his dialogue with us, he said that solvents had dominated the history of chemistry. In the earliest periods, water was the medium for the study of chemical reactions. More recently, a variety of new solvents have come into use - liquid ammonia, BrF3, liquid halogens, and organic solvents. However, the majority has one common factor - they are all essentially molecular solvents with a covalent structure. He went on to tell us about a new class of solvents - ionic liquids. They were transparent fluids at room temperature, stable over a wide range of temperatures (-90 °C to +160 °C), had relatively low viscosity, large electrochemical and spectroscopic windows, and had no measurable vapor pressure up to about 100 °C. Hence, it was now possible, for the first time, to study inorganic, organometallic, and organic chemistry in a totally ionic environment without the problems of thermal degradation.
His proposed Venture Research was therefore to study the chemistry of ions in an ionic environment. This contrasted with the study of molecules in a molecular environment that had dominated the history of chemistry to date. He also mentioned that he had previously sent the proposal to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Their response had been to give it a gamma-rating, their lowest possible at the time.
No other Venture Researchers illustrate more clearly the benefits of striving to develop absolute selection criteria (in the absence of complete freedom as a right) instead of those based on myopic, conservative and consensual peer review. This is especially necessary where young people are concerned. We can now see that our criteria equipped us with what might be seen as amazing foresight in selecting them, but of course foresight was not involved. We merely recognized their huge potential to do something important.
For more onformation, contact Don Braben, or telephone +44 1992 577 909.