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Mr Darling was given a taste of the wide variety of activity at the university by Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, who led a tour round some of the facilities and research groups that have enabled interdisciplinary collaboration and practical applications.

Following lunch with some senior Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ researchers, Mr Darling was welcomed to the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research by its director, Professor Salvador Moncada, who provided an overview of the institute's innovative set-up as an interface between basic research, product development and the pharmaceutical industry.

Next stop was the recently opened London Centre for Nanotechnology, a joint venture between Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ and Imperial College London. Mr Darling was introduced to the centre's key activities in health care, information technology and environmental science and how the centre's collaborations have already provided fruitful results in diverse areas such as oil recovery, healthcare products and high-temperature electronics.

After a presentation from Professor Steven Currall, director of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Centre for Enterprise and the Management of Innovation, the final stop of the tour was the fluidisation x-ray laboratory at the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Centre for CO2 Technology, where Mr Darling was keen to learn about Professor Stef Simon's award-winning advances in producing clean energy with zero carbon emissions.

Commenting on his impression of the day, Mr Darling said: "I am very impressed by the huge range of work being conducted at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾, a lot of which will be transferable into commercial applications of huge benefit to the whole of the UK. Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ is certainly a centre of excellence in the heart of London."

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Image 1: Mr Darling at the London Centre for Nanotechnology

Image 2: Mr Darling and Dr Paola Lettieri in the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Centre for CO2 Technology

Image 3:Left to right: Mr Darling, Professor Salvador Moncada and Professor Grant in the Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research

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