Silsoe Spray Applications Unit
Find us: Building 42, Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedford, MK45 4HP
​Call us: +44 (0) 1525 306810
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Email us: contact@ssau.co.uk
Archived News
SSAU has received our new VisiSize N60 from Oxford Lasers that will let us further improve our spray and aerosol characterisation capabilities.
(May 2018)
We are happy to announce that SSAU has received a new state of the art VisiSize N60 from Oxford Lasers that will let us further improve our spray and aerosol characterisation capabilities. The new equipment will allow us to produce even more reliable data by providing us with a faster and more stable setting-up and a higher data acquisition rate. Additionally, with a longer focal length, it will let us characterise a wider range of nozzles and spray plumes.
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In the next months, in collaboration with Oxford Lasers we will investigate the possibility to increase our range of image services to other areas of spray application research like droplet-target interaction, etc.
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For additional information about our spray and aerosols characterisation services, and more detailed information about the new equipment please follow the links below.
SSAU was present at AAB's (Association of Applied Biologists) International Advances in Pesticide Application conference (IAPA 2018), that took place in Brighton on 9-11 January 2018.
(January 2018)
SSAU played an active role at IAPA (International Advances in Pesticide Application) 2018, a three-day conference organised by the Association of Applied Biologists (AAB) that took place on 9-11 January 2018 in Brighton, in which researchers from around the world discussed progress with the development of pesticide application technology.
Dr. Clare Butler Ellis presented three papers showing some of the latest work done by SSAU in collaboration with different companies, research institutions and universities in the pesticide drift and spray droplet sizing areas.
SSAU presented, "Contemporary Agrochemical Approaches to Wide Area Decontamination of Bacillus anthracis (WADA)", at the Chemical and Biological Defence Science & Technology Conference that took place in Long Beach, California
(4th December 2017)
Christine and Clare attended the Chemical and Biological Defense Science and Technology (CBDS&T) Conference in Long Beach, California at the end of November. Christine outlined SSAU’s work in her presentation: Contemporary Agrochemical Approaches to Wide Area Decontamination of Bacillus anthracis.
It was a huge conference, with many parallel sessions on a whole range of topics. While it might be difficult to see how the work we do at SSAU is relevant to the US Department of Defense, a walk through the enormous poster session showed many topics where the science relating to agrochemicals and defence overlap:
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Dispersion of aerosols and vapours in the environment
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Real-time detection and identification of biological and chemical substances
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Exposure assessment for workers and bystanders
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Novel materials for protective clothing and measuring their efficacy
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Decontamination/elimination of biological substances from surfaces
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Use of different application equipment for decontaminants
Some of the amazing cutting-edge technology which is being developed may never be cost-effective in agriculture, but who knows what might be available in 5 to 10 years. It was noticeable that the defence work being undertaken relating to aerosols and decontaminant application is probably lagging behind agriculture and that we could all make more rapid progress if we could work together. We at SSAU Ltd are doing what we can to help, and our efforts seem to be much appreciated!
The Silsoe Spray Applications Unit host the Amber Biopesticides Application Workshop for growers of protected edibles
(31st October 2017)
AMBER (Application and Management of Biopesticides for Efficacy and Reliability) - aims to identify practical ways for growers to improve the performance of biopesticides in their crop protection programmes. This workshop provided growers of protected edible crops the opportunity to learn more about a number of important factors that need to be considered when using biopesticides
Dr. Paul Miller has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
(9th Sep 2016)
The Royal Academy of Engineering is today proud to welcome 50 of the UK’s finest engineers as new Fellows on the day of its 40th annual general meeting.
Renowned engineers from across the country are elected to the Academy in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession. The 2016 list also includes two International Fellows, recognised for their significant contributions to engineering outside the UK.
Professor Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE FREng FRS, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “For 40 years the Academy has gathered the wisdom, ingenuity and expertise of the nation’s finest engineers to advance and promote excellence in the profession. I am delighted to welcome to our Fellowship 50 more of today’s very best engineering minds. From life-changing equipment revolutionising our hospitals to new tools that are enabling high-tech businesses to flourish, their work has delivered great value to society. We are very much looking forward to working with all our new Fellows as we continue to make the UK a leading nation for engineering innovation.”
The first meeting of the Fellowship of Engineering took place on 11 June 1976, when 130 leading engineers of the day including jet engine visionary Sir Frank Whittle, design guru Sir Ove Arup, and father of the UK computer industry Sir Maurice Wilkes were invited to Buckingham Palace by Senior Fellow HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Leading engineers have been elected to the Fellowship – later to become the Royal Academy of Engineering – every year since, and it now consists of around 1,500 engineers from across engineering disciplines in both industry and academia.
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Dr. Paul Miller receives scientific accolade from the European Society of Agricultural Engineers
Dr. Paul Miller, agricultural engineer and expert in all aspects of crop spraying and fertiliser application, has received the 2016 EurAgEng Award of Merit for Scientific Understanding, which is a bronze statuette - a replica of the statue that stood in the main building at the Silsoe Research Institute.
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Dr. Paul Miller currently resides as Technical Director, on the Silsoe Spray Application Unit's board of directors.