Fire destroys part of Southampton Optoelectronics Research Centre

Southampton, England--A major fire October 30 at Southampton University's Highfield Campus partially destroyed the Mountbatten Building, in particular the area containing the microfabrication facility. The Mountbatten Building houses research laboratories and offices for the Optoelectronics Research Centre and the School of Electronics and Computer Science.

According to news reports, no one was hurt in the fire but the building was gutted, and It took more than 100 firefighters nearly ten hours to bring the fire under control. Damages are estimated at £50 million (US$88 million).

"The last 48 hours have been rough on all of us, but surprisingly positive," said Prof. David Richardson. "While the fire was still being fought on Sunday we were already thinking of ways to continue with some of the work that was done in the fabrication facilities that were destroyed. We immediately received some generous offers from local companies and other Universities, and the staff and students have been fantastic. We developed a plan of action by Monday morning that we are now executing."

There are still several issues to sort out, but some of the research projects based in the Mountbatten Building are expected to resume within a few weeks, Richardson added.

"The way that both staff and students have pulled together makes me proud to be a part of the ORC," he said. "We always talk about the family atmosphere here, but this has proven just how valuable it is. From senior staff to first year PhD students, people have taken responsibility and initiative to help mitigate against the effects of the fire. We have also had support from our friends and colleagues around the world, those that have worked here or know us, and that makes a great difference. I have no doubt that we will emerge from this stronger than ever."

The Optoelectronics Research Centre was established in 1989 by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It is one of the largest and most successful photonics groups in Europe, comprising more than 60 state-of-the-art laboratories and more than 120 research staff.