ALICE simulator
A new ambulance driving simulator will be publicly launched later this year. Named in honour of a former student, the simulator aims to examine emergency driving behaviour and stress responses and ultimately, operational safety for paramedics, patients and other road users.
The ALICE simulated ambulance project is in memory of former student Alice Clark, a 21-year-old paramedic who tragically lost her life in the line of duty just three months after qualifying from the University of Greenwich.
Prof Sharon Weldon, Dr Damian Poulter, Charles Everard, Rob Slee and Andy Buttery, along with industry partners MXR and Simulation Collective, co-developed the bespoke ambulance simulator to deepen our understanding of the real-world challenges faced by paramedics and improve safety through evidence-informed training.
In November 2025, the multidisciplinary team received an additional £100,000 from the Research Capital Investment Fund to expand the project, allowing them to further develop the simulator to a motion-based simulator with enhanced realism and data capture capability.
Ambulance driving at high speeds in critical situations carries significant risk- yet it remains an area that is often underrepresented in training and research. With changes to ambulance driving regulations on the horizon, we hope this initiative honours Alice’s memory and leads to lasting, meaningful change.
Since launching, the project has received significant interest from NHS trusts across the UK and international partners.
Research success in the EU
Professor George Loukas from the Centre for Sustainable Cyber Security has secured a new Horizon Europe project, HOMAGE, which will help Europe’s essential services better prepare for and respond to major disruptions caused by cyber-attacks, physical incidents or extreme weather.
The project focuses on how people make decisions under pressure and combines this with AI to support faster, clearer and more coordinated responses during crises. The University of Greenwich is leading work to model human decision-making in stressful situations and is also developing a 'Playback Studio' that can replay incidents by bringing together data from systems, AI and human actions into a single timeline.
Our innovations will be tested in different pilots, including with Gatwick Airport, helping improve how critical services recover from cyber and physical disruptions and maintain public trust.
Research success continued
Professor Kevin Lam from the University of Greenwich has secured support through two prestigious European research grants, further raising the university’s international profile in sustainable chemistry and advanced molecular science.
The first, eCARB-X, is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship project hosted at Greenwich that will develop new electrochemical methods to build valuable drug molecules in cleaner, safer, and more sustainable ways.
By using electricity, from renewable sources, as a precise tool for chemical synthesis, the project aims to reduce reliance on hazardous and fossil reagents and open up greener routes for pharmaceutical innovation. Professor Lam is also a partner in Electrify-It, a major four-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network that brings together an outstanding European consortium including the Max Planck Society, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the University of Göttingen, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, the
University of Strathclyde, and other leading academic and industrial partners. Together, these awards place the University of Greenwich alongside some of Europe’s most recognised research institutions, showcasing its strength in international collaboration, cutting-edge science, and the training of future research leaders.
This is a powerful example of Greenwich making its mark on the European stage through research that is ambitious, globally connected, and focused on delivering a more sustainable future.
Psychology researchers secure funding to develop immersive XR tool for chronic pain
Researchers at the University of Greenwich have secured £299,000 in funding from Innovate Mindset XR to develop VIVID, a wearable Extended Reality (XR) device designed to support people living with chronic lower-back pain and co-occurring depression or anxiety.The project is led by principal investigator Professor Jorge Lopes Ramos, alongside co-investigators Dr Natalie Bowling and Dr Harry Farmer, both Senior Lecturers in Psychology within the Faculty of Law, Arts and Sciences (FLAS) and the Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences (FEHHS).
Worn as a belt or band around the waist, VIVID works by delivering targeted vibrations to the lower back, synchronised with audio played through bone-conducting headphones. Together, these sensations are designed to create a sense of reassurance and psychological safety gently encouraging users to build up regular walking activity over time.
Chronic lower-back pain affects around 11 per cent of the UK population and can make even short periods of physical activity feel daunting. For many, the condition is compounded by depression or anxiety, creating a cycle that is difficult to break without tailored support. VIVID aims to interrupt that cycle through an approach rooted in research into the therapeutic benefits of touch for both physical and mental health.
Central to the project is a co-design process that brings together patients and clinicians from the outset, ensuring that lived experience shapes every stage of development. Natalie and Harry are working directly with these groups to make sure the device reflects the real challenges people face and offers something genuinely useful in everyday life. With its combination of immersive technology, therapeutic design, and community co-creation, VIVID has the potential to open new pathways for the millions of people whose daily lives are shaped by chronic pain and to demonstrate how XR innovation can serve real-world health needs.
CIRCUBATT – AI-enabled circular battery supply chains
As Europe races to secure its clean energy future, one critical challenge remains largely out of sight: what happens to batteries when they reach the end of their life?
CIRCUBATT is a €5m EU Horizon project running from 2025 to 2027, led by Prof. Li Zhou, Assoc. Prof. Hetty Sun, Dr James Duong, Dr Maggie Xu and Prof. Petros Ieromonachou from the University of Greenwich Business School. Alongside ten academic and industry partners spanning the UK, Europe and Switzerland, the team is working to transform how batteries are designed, used, and recovered — building smarter, more sustainable supply chains from the ground up.
At the heart of the project is a simple but urgent question: how do we stop valuable materials from being lost, and harmful waste from being created, at every stage of a battery's life? To answer it, the team is combining AI-driven analytics with real industry pilots, policy engagement and hands-on knowledge exchange moving research out of the lab and into the places where it can make a genuine difference.
In late 2025, the consortium secured additional support to expand its network of industry collaborators, enabling deeper pilots with SMEs in battery manufacturing, energy storage and recycling, businesses that stand to benefit most from smarter circular economy practices.
Battery supply chains touch almost every part of modern life, from electric vehicles to grid storage yet, the systems for recovering and reusing battery materials remain fragmented and underdeveloped. With EU battery regulation evolving rapidly, CIRCUBATT aims to put evidence-based insights directly into the hands of those shaping policy, while giving industry the tools to act now.
Since the project launched, it has attracted growing interest from manufacturers, recyclers and policymakers across Europe, all looking for practical pathways to a more circular battery economy.