Centre for Rapid Online Analysis of Reactions (ROAR), Phase II

The Centre for Rapid Online Analysis of Reactions (ROAR) at Imperial College London was established in 2018, with the award of a strategic equipment grant, and offers three main capabilities: High-throughput automated reaction platforms (robots) for screening reactions in parallel; in situ analytics for studying reaction progress (kinetics); and continuous flow reactors. The primary objective of ROAR is to provide access to capital equipment to support data-led research, including statistical approaches and data analysis associated with kinetic and high-throughput experimentation. During the first phase of its operation, ROAR has successfully established itself as a UK Flagship facility for the EPSRC Dial-a-Molecule Grand Challenge, and recognised by Imperial College as a Centre of Excellence. During this period ROAR has provided support to both Imperial College research groups and external users via open calls for proposals, fostering the growth of a user community that brings together over 85 groups from across the UK, including SME's, as well as global companies looking for the unique technological capabilities. In Phase II of the project, we wish to expand our activities to provide more training material for centres for doctoral training, and to support a new academic strategy at Imperial (DigiFAB Institute). The Resources Only award will allow us to expand our Operations Team, needed to implement workflows to improve sharing and accessibility of our equipment, by operating an equipment loan pool, and remote experiments. Over this period, we will also be assessing the user demand and feedback, to identify sustainable pathways forward.