The University of Hertfordshire’s biodetection research will receive its largest ever philanthropic grant of £750,000 towards their new state-of-the-art biodetection centre. 

Set to be located on the top floor of the university’s new, multi-million-pound School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Sciences (SPECS) building, the Wolfson Centre for Biodetection and Instrumentation Research will turbo-charge research and development into biosecurity threats including airborne pathogens, crop diseases and biowarfare. 

Wolfson Centre is now a year into its three-year construction.  

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The award from Wolfson Foundation is the largest ever philanthropic grant received by the university and will ensure the Wolfson Centre for Biodetection and Instrumentation Research will be equipped with top-of-the-range facilities able to advance the university’s internationally renowned biodetection work. 

Announcing the decision today on Tuesday, January 24, Wolfson Foundation chief executive Paul Ramsbottom said: “By supporting the University of Hertfordshire’s experts in this field, alongside the next generation of biosecurity researchers, the new centre will improve protection for the population as a whole. We are delighted to be supporting Hertfordshire in this way.” 

Deputy dean for the university’s School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Sciences, Associate Professor Daniel McCluskey, who co-leads on biodetection research, said: “This funding will enable us to do a much greater range of activity as a precursor to expanding our capabilities and will allow us to apply 40 years of knowledge into a wider range of applications tackling some major, real-world issues.”