Agilent Technologies has announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art facility for spectroscopy research and development at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, UK.
The new site will be a major research and development hub for laser spectroscopy. It will also incorporate the firm's Raman spectroscopy business, formerly known as Cobalt Light Systems (acquired by Agilent in 2017).
The company is focusing on investment in two main areas: research and development to enable customers to perform better science, and harmonising existing product lines to ensure an optimal customer experience. The site will also accommodate the company’s Laser Spectroscopy Center of Excellence (LSCE), focusing on research and development in the field of vibrational spectroscopy.
The Harwell Campus spans 710 acres south of Oxford, UK, and is well-known as a hub for science and innovation. Harwell is home to over 200 organisations (public, private and academic), 6,000 people, and £2 billion of large-scale national science infrastructure. It is also where Agilent’s proprietary Raman technologies were originally developed by Prof. Pavel Matousek, and his colleagues at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and where Cobalt Light Systems was first established.
“I'm proud to see Agilent, and the Raman business we helped to establish, growing strongly and returning to Harwell,” said Prof. Pavel Matousek, a senior fellow at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Central Laser Facility. “The new facility is perfectly located for collaboration between the company's spectroscopy businesses and the large number of scientists and engineers we have at Harwell. I very much look forward to our future joint endeavours.”
“The growth in our molecular spectroscopy business created the need for a larger facility,” said Phil Binns, vice president, and general manager of Agilent's Spectroscopy division. “Our new flagship site will enable us to develop a truly unified approach to vibrational spectroscopy. The location will also facilitate greater collaboration with internationally acclaimed academic and scientific thought leaders based at this premier UK hub of scientific innovation.”
