Posted: 16 September 2022
Applied Thermal Control (ATC) are a UK manufacturer of high quality recirculating chillers based in the East Midlands. With strong links to both UK and international universities, we are the supplier to university laboratories who require precision temperature control, including the department of Physics at The University of Nottingham.
The School of Physics and Astronomy are just one of the departments at the University ATC work with, supplying quiet compact chillers. The School currently comprises approximately 800 students and 150 staff and researchers. After further expansion in 1999 to include astronomical research the School became the School of Physics and Astronomy. Pioneering research has taken place at the University including the development of LEDs, along with participation in The Graphene Flagship, a consortium of organisations researching future and emerging materials technologies. Developments for 2017 include a new optical lab exploring characteristics of semiconductor microchip materials.
The University of Nottingham has also long been involved with developments in Magnetic Resonance techniques. Famously Professor Sir Peter Mansfield won a Nobel Prize in 2003 with Paul Lauterbur for recognition of their pioneering early work on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) which was first proposed in the 1970’s. In acknowledgement of this work at Nottingham University there has been a recent celebration of 25 years of MRI research within the School.
The School was rated third in England in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise (REF). An indication of the research quality overall, 37% was categorised to be ‘world-leading’. REF assesses both the quality of recent research as well as the impact on society of earlier research by the School.
Applied Thermal Control have a long history with the School, understanding cooling requirements and supplying reliable chillers for numerous research projects. John Middleton, Facilities Manager to the School of Physics and Astronomy said “we use ATC chillers to support some of the work we do here at Nottingham University as we value reliable, quality equipment and trust companies who can provide us with excellent customer service and expert technical support.”
These are exciting times for the School; future aims include diversity and integration of subjects and the collaboration of groups working together. They now offer blended subjects, for example Physics with Nanoscience or Physics with a European Language. Joint groups and collaborative working is becoming more common as analysis in medical use also becomes more prevalent.
The University have a rule to prohibit the use of mains water for experiments as part of their environmental credentials, subsequently using chillers to recycle water. ATC supply a range of high quality chillers to the School for various purposes and research. Some of the coolers are housed outside due to space and storage constraints and depending on the research being carried out precise temperature control is required from -150⁰C to 24⁰C. Some of the experiments include the use of liquid nitrogen.
As a valued customer, the Physics department contacted us regarding adding to their existing cooling system as part of the development of the facilities and expansion of the research they carry out. With extensive chiller expertise and an experience in the research laboratory sector we understand the need for reliability of equipment and the implications of any downtime in research. We provide high quality chillers, technical support and back our range of chillers with maintenance programs to provide a positive customer experience.
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