Science for real-world impact
The stories behind the images
Imperial was founded with the mission 'to be useful'. The images you see on display in the White City Professional Services Hub showcase some of the incredible work led by our researchers, scientists and educators. They are drawn from across Imperial's disciplines and are a fascinating snapshot of our research and innovation, as well as the wider work of staff beyond our campuses.
Discover the stories behind work that is leading to world-changing impact.
Using science to understand the universe
The image
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is one of two general-purpose detectors at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. CMS acts as a giant, high-speed camera, taking 3D ‘photographs’ of particle collisions from all directions up to 40 million times each second. This image shows a close-up of one of the four CMS inner barrels (TIB).
The research
It is widely believed that the experiments on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) accelerator at CERN will alter our perception of how Nature operates. For these experiments, protons are collided at unprecedented high energies to recreate and study states of matter believed to have been present a fraction of a nanosecond after the Big Bang. The CMS experiment will be used as an example to describe the journey so far and the prospects for discoveries in the coming years.
Professor Tejinder ‘Jim’ Virdee, a particle physicist working at Imperial and CERN is best known for setting up the worldwide CMS experiment collaboration, with four colleagues, and has been referred to as one of the 'founding fathers' of the project. This is now one of the two largest experiments in particle physics with over 2,000 scientists and engineers from over 170 institutes in over 35 counties.
Image: STFC/Imperial College London
The place to ask big questions
The image
Captured with an Olympus microscope using crossed polarisers, this image shows crystals of light-sensitive protein CI-rsEGFP2 at x40 magnification.
The research
These crystals were used as a target for Time Resolved Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (TR-SFX) performed at X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs). Such measurements allow scientists to study not only the structure of molecules but also follow their dynamics, to create molecular movies of some of the fastest (femtosecond) and smallest (Ångström) movements in nature. In this sample, in particular, TR-SFX measurements revealed how the photo-isomerisation reaction in this system follows a space conserving 'hula-twist' pathway as opposed to the simpler 'one-bond-flip' mechanism (Fadini et al. JACS 2023). Understanding the form and function of such reactions is critical in informing the design of novel artificial proteins in the future.
Image and words: Dr Christopher Hutchison
Shaping the future of our planet
The image
These microscopic images of chiral layers of carbon-based polymers were generated while developing new materials for light-emitting diodes. The image was taken at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility.
The research
Carbon-based ('organic' semiconductors) are at the heart of optoelectronic technologies – devices that emit and absorb light, like displays and solar panels. Alongside the ability to emit light and transport electricity, these materials can rotate the polarisation of light that shines on them, which make them appear colourful under a cross-polarised microscope. These organic semiconductors are liquid crystals – they have been cooled down from a melted 'liquid' state and form extraordinary crystals where molecules have different orientations and levels of order. This makes the crystals appear colourful.
Image and words: Dr Jess Wade
It starts with a question
The image
Rear view of the two main fans that power the Imperial Aeronautics 10x5 Wind Tunnel. Each fan is located in its own duct, with the air flowing towards the camera combining just downstream of the image above.
The research
The tunnel provides an excellent facility for aerodynamic development and safety evaluation studies of road or racing cars and aircraft. Wind shear and turbulence of the atmospheric environment can be simulated in this for studies of pollution and the wind loading of buildings and structures.
The lower test section is a full 20m long (one of the longest test sections in Europe) and a 3m x 1.5m cross sectional area. It is equipped with a rolling road, 3-axis traverse and full boundary layer control. The upper test section is in effect a large wind testing arena 18m in length and a 5.7m x 2.8m cross sectional area. Both test sections are outfitted with an intelligent fully computerised control system and tunnel local area network for the distribution of data. National Instruments hardware and state-of-the-art LabVIEW based data-processing software enable the user to make maximum use of the facility.
Image: Dave Guttridge
Sparking the spirit of discovery
The image
These microscopic images of chiral layers of carbon-based polymers were generated while developing new materials for light-emitting diodes. The image was taken at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility.
The research
This microscope image shows an interesting crystallographic phenomenon known as ‘twinning’. Crystal twins, which can form when you cool a system from high temperatures, occurs when adjacent crystals are arranged so they share some of their crystal planes with one another. This means that the crystals are tightly bound together along a ‘twin plane’, which can be seen in the mirror-image cracks that form along the bright green crystalline domains.
Image and words: Dr Jess Wade
Tackling the world’s greatest challenges
The image
This microscopic image captured in the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) shows detail in the lung. The human lung vasculature is shown in green, with mast cells in purple.
The research
Although one might think this is an image of a newly discovered black hole captured using a state-of-the-art satellite, it actually depicts a very small section of the human lungs, showcasing its amazing and intricate vasculature in green. The large structure in the centre is a major blood vessel surrounded by a network of smaller vessels or capillaries. The scattered purple dots represent a specific type of immune cell critical for lung immunity, called mast cells. These cells play a vital role in protecting the lungs against pathogens such as viruses and bacteria but can also contribute to chronic lung diseases like asthma when their activity becomes dysregulated.
Image and words: Dr Régis Joulia
Science for real-world impact
The image
These microscopic images of chiral layers of carbon-based polymers were generated while developing new materials for light-emitting diodes. The image was taken at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility.
The research
Imperial are experts in the development of chiral materials for next-generation technologies. Chirality is a property of symmetry and shape, and chiral objects (e.g. your hands) exist as a pair of non-superimposable mirror images of one another. Chirality can exist across multiple length scales, from the subatomic (electrons and photons) to the cosmological (galaxies). Here we see the fascinating interactions of chiral liquid crystalline materials with light. Liquid crystalline materials combine the physical and optical properties of liquids and crystals. When heated to the right temperature, anisotropic polygonal chiral crystalline domains form, which contain twisted bundles of fibrils growing radially.
Image and words: Dr Jess Wade
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