Interview with Prof. Sir Konstantin Novosolov

• Inventing new ideas is easy. • Transforming them into real technology products is hard. The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at the University of Manchester has done a good job of supporting innovation from inception to industrialisation. Building a high profile through years of consistent messaging it has provided the foundations for networking where academics, industrial companies, and individuals can get together to commercialise application using graphene and 2D materials. This short paper summarises their approach from initial the concept to the commercialisation.

This Special Edition was produced for the World Future Energy summit in Abu Dhabi, January 2020. The”Abu Dhabi” edition was a collaboration between ourselves, the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre and Khalifa University of Science and Technology, This special edition of the journal references both Nobel prizewinning scientists who became famous for isolating and characterizing the wonder material that is graphene. Professor Konstantin (Kostya) Novoselov features in the section about the world’s first graphene hackathon at the GEIC. Teams of doctoral students were given the same set of resources including graphene ink, and were told to invent a useful device, make a working prototype and deliver the business pitch - all within 24 hours. The teams did just that. Kostya is mentioned here because he made a surprise visit to see what the students had created. Professor Andre Geim also features in this edition. He rarely gives interviews so it is a special treat to include this interview for the first time in this edition. Andre gives us his views of the state of the art of this rapidly evolving field and tells us about his latest work. Joining Andre in the Thought Leadership section, we have Steve Griffiths from Khalifa University of Science and Technology. Steve shares with us his view of graphene and how he sees the advanced materials agenda developing in the foreseeable future. James Baker, CEO of Graphene@Manchester is one of the highest profile people in the world of graphene. James also gives us his unique view of the rapidly developing field of graphene and shares insights into the cooperative nature of the collaboration between the UK and Abu Dhabi. If you are new to the world of graphene and 2D materials we have included the ‘Introducing Graphene’ section. This will quickly give you the foundational understanding of the technology. If you are more advanced in your awareness, you will find articles of interest in the ‘Technology and Commercial’ section. We have curated highlights from around the world and gathered them in this one document. Please note this is a print edition, we only have limited numbers left.