David Burt, Chief Engineer at e2v becomes visiting Professor at The Open University

The Open University has recently bestowed upon David Burt, Chief Engineer at e2v, the position of Visiting Professor to recognise his contribution towards the training and research activities at The Open University, specifically within the e2v Centre for Electronic Imaging (CEI) based at the University’s Milton Keynes campus. It also recognises his many important contributions to the imaging field over the last four decades, including scientific publications, contributions to technical books, and patents.

The e2v CEI is a collaboration between The Open University and e2v, a leading global provider of technology solutions for high performance systems. The Centre, which was established in October 2008, is dedicated to the research and development of advanced technologies for scientific image sensors. One of the core goals of the CEI is also the training of PhD students in the development of detector technology and scientific applications using the technology to provide a source of highly qualified individuals into scientific, industrial and government disciplines.

As part of this leading knowledge exchange activity between academia and the technology industry, the e2v CEI works with several key employees from e2v to ensure good alignment of the research activity with the needs of industry. As part of this, David Burt has been seconded to work at The Open University for typically one day per week. David brings a wealth of experience, obtained over several decades in the field in semiconductor imaging. He particularly helps with the training of PhD students, of which there are currently seven full-time members within the e2v CEI group and a goal to grow this number to approximately twelve students in coming years.

Professor Holland, Director of the e2v CEI at The Open University said “This award recognises the outstanding contribution David has made to the field during his professional career. We hope it will lead to many joint opportunities in the future, helping to underpin a strengthening collaboration, where the research has a strong industrial focus, and contributes to the competitiveness of UK industry. David’s contribution is particularly welcomed by the PhD students who all appreciate his significant contribution to training and provides them with the extra dimension of industrial relevance to their research.”

Jon Kemp, Marketing and Applications Manager at e2v said “e2v has decades of heritage supplying higher performance image sensor solutions thanks to our employees, such as David, who were amongst the first to develop silicon image sensors. He is a highly valued member of our team and we are proud that he is also contributing to the e2v Centre for Electronic Imaging at The Open University. Partnerships, such as this will support innovations in e2v’s imaging technology for many years to come.”