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Dyson sinks £1.4m into Cambridge engineering chair

Intellectual vacuum

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Vacuum-maker James Dyson has plunged over a million pounds into funding engineering research at Cambridge University.

And he doesn't just want the funded boffins looking at vacuum cleaners. One of the billionaire's stipulations for the post is that it will encourage speculative research into areas that may not be commercially viable now, but could provide technologies for the future.

The billionaire will put £1.4m into a 10-year professorship in fluid mechanics at the university and will also fund post-graduate research and provide cash for individual projects.

Dyson and Cambridge University have previously collaborated into research on carbon nanotubes, which could be used for things as various as replacing the copper in electrical wires, making cloth bullet proof clothing and manufacturing paper-thin batteries.

"They are researching in areas in which we are interested but they can do what they want to do. We are hoping that something interesting comes out of it. If it does we will take it up and hopefully commercialise it," he told the Guardian. Cambridge University will retain the patent and license the technology.

But the core work of the funded chair will on fluid mechanics, especially airflow in fans and compressors in the hope of bringing better cooling to the many machines that use fans – from laptops to cars.

Fluid mechanics was the research area that led to Dyson's innovations with vacuum cleaners and hand driers. ®

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Drat

I really did think this was going to be about new, high-tech seating.

Possibly with built-in beer.

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Actually, sounds like a bargain

Put 1/1000-th of your wealth into something (that's like $250 or something for mere mortals like you or me), get plenty of kudos for it *and* get the first commercialisation opportunity to make huge amounts of money off of any useful ideas/inventions they come up with.

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"Fluid mechanics was the research area that led to Dyson's innovations with vacuum cleaners..."

That's funny.

Dyson admitted on a TV he stole(sorry was inspired by) the idea whilst walking past a Sawmill. The conical fan used to pickup all the sawdust was doing the same job for decades if not longer.

JD then 'ran' home and used a kitchen oil funnel in tandem with a normal vacuum cleaner.

In summary he just reduced the size.

Mediocrity borrows.Genius steals

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