In the UK, the University of Warwick’s physics department has been awarded a five-year grant of £1.7 million (about $2.7 million) for its initiative “Creating Silicon Based Platforms for New Technologies.” The project will focus on energy harvesting, “cooltronics” and zero-power electronics and could be key in combating global climate change. The grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will help the department’s Nano-Silicon Group continue its research. Due to start in October, the grant will help develop epitaxy techniques, whereby novel materials are created by depositing one atomic layer at a time. Such materials could have applications in health monitoring.