Blighty BoffinsWe cog your gears of innovation

Discover

Find the person, the kit, or the job

Experts, universities, startups, research centres, equipment, open collaborations and work packages — one search box, fewer speeches.

One search box across five kinds of thing. Type what you need in plain words, or narrow by kind and domain if you would rather browse.

Showing 30 results

What you can search

Five kinds of thing, described properly

  • Boffins

    Academic and industrial experts, each with what they are looking for, what they would decline, and a realistic notice period. Search a technique, a material or a problem rather than a job title.

  • Organisations

    Universities, research centres and startups, with the routes in — contract research, facility access, studentships, published packages — and an honest note on how to approach them.

  • Equipment

    Facilities with lead times, what to bring, what you leave with and what they cannot do. The limitations are frequently the most useful field on the page.

  • Collaborations

    Open working groups and shared studies, with the contribution expected, the return, the commitment in hours, and the data and intellectual property terms stated up front.

  • Work packages

    Scoped jobs with a budget band, a deadline, deliverables, evaluation criteria and milestones. Apply directly; the publisher reads it, not us.

Searching well

A few habits that help

  • Search the problem, not the discipline. 'Coating failure' and 'remaining life' will find more than 'materials science'.
  • Try a piece of kit. Tank, chamber, hangar, cleanroom and microscope all return facilities and the people who run them.
  • Filter by domain when you want to browse and leave it open when you want to be surprised. Cross-domain results are frequently the useful ones.
  • If a result looks nearly right, read the 'not for' or 'limitations' field before you write. It will save you a fortnight.
  • Found nobody? Tell us what you searched for. A gap in the catalogue is more useful to us than a compliment.

Or browse by domain

Read the domain notes