The University of Southampton has a distinguished heritage that can be traced back to the creation of the Hartley Institution in 1862. The Hartley Institution became a university college in 1902. It was renamed Hartley University College, and subsequently became University College Southampton. In 1952, HM The Queen granted the University of Southampton a Royal Charter to award degrees in its own right, conferring full university status. Today, the University of Southampton is in the top one per cent of world universities (QS World University Rankings 2015-16) and is a forward-thinking institution that aspires to change the world for the better. Through education, research, innovation and enterprise, we provide opportunities that transform the lives of our students, our community, society and the economy. The University is one of the UK’s top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning. As a founder member of the Russell Group of 24 major research-intensive universities of the UK, we offer a high-calibre study environment. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2014), over 97 per cent of the University’s research environment has been assessed as world-leading and internationally excellent. We are ranked eighth in the UK for research intensity and 11th in the UK based on the volume and quality of our research. We are proud to have the best Music department in the country on the basis of the quality of our research (REF 2014). Our world-leading engineering ranking is confirmed by our submissions to Electronic and Electrical Engineering and General Engineering, both ranked first in the country for the volume and quality of their research. The University is also ranked in the top five nationally in ocean and Earth science, nursing and allied health professions, history, modern languages and social policy (including criminology, demography, gerontology and sociology). We are ranked among the top 20 universities in the UK according to the Complete University Guide 2017, Guardian University Guide 2017, and The Times University Guide 2016. Our multidisciplinary approach brings world-class researchers from across the University together to address global challenges such as climate change, global health, hi-tech crime and our ageing population, crossing the boundaries that traditionally separate subject areas to pioneer innovative solutions. Here are a few research highlights: - For 60 years, Southampton researchers have been at the forefront of the global revolution in digital communications. The University is the birthplace of the optical amplifier technology that led to the development of the Internet and created a global telecommunications network. - Our staff and students have worked to support over 1,000 elite athletes as part of their preparation for the Beijing, Vancouver and the London 2012 games. Their engineering excellence has contributed to sports that won 50 per cent of Team GB's medals at the London 2012 Olympics, and is now supporting athletes for Rio 2016. - Our researchers have created technology to store the history of the human race in a simple piece of glass for billions of years. Using optical discs made of nanostructured glass, they have already saved copies of important documents, such as the King James Bible, the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Magna Carta in the format. A standard-sized disc can store around 360 terabytes of data, with an estimated lifespan of up to 13.8 billion years and withstand temperatures of 1,000°C. - Our engineers designed and flew the world’s first ‘printed’ aircraft, which could revolutionise the economics of aircraft design. - Our researchers have discovered communities of species previously unknown to science on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents. Other deep-sea expeditions revealed details of the world's most extreme deep-sea volcanic vents, five kilometres down in a rift in the Caribbean seafloor - Southampton is a world leader in biometrics and is at the forefront of research into gait biometrics that identifies and recognises people by the way they walk. The science has the potential to revolutionise the methods used by security agencies to identify criminals, it has improved national security and has been used in covert surveillance to identify terrorists in ports and airports. - Our research into the natural antimicrobial properties of copper is helping to tackle one of today’s most formidable healthcare challenges – hospital superbugs such as MRSA and norovirus. Southampton research has shown that copper completely destroys the bacteria’s DNA in minutes. - Our researchers are at the forefront of improving our understanding of musculoskeletal and metabolic conditions throughout people’s lives, and through that understanding to develop preventive strategies. - The University leads the UK in cancer immunology research. Our exciting discoveries are moving out of the laboratory into clinical trials, where they are already making a world of difference to people with cancer. We are currently fundraising £25m to build a new Centre for Cancer Immunology, due to open in 2017. Through connecting world-leading scientists with cutting-edge facilities, the Centre aims to accelerate research progress and save more lives from cancer. Find out more at www.southampton.ac.uk/youreit - Our geographers are leading high-resolution mapping projects to help the development of countries around the world and aid response to disease and natural disasters by providing information about population distribution, demographics and movement. For example, ‘WorldPop’ develops global population mapping that, among its many other projects, is helping the world to understand the scale of the Zika epidemic. - Our researchers are using cutting-edge technology such as satellite imaging, computer simulations, X-ray imaging and the latest geophysical analysis to uncover our cultural heritage. A groundbreaking collaborative project led by Southampton has been exploring the Roman harbour city of Portus in detail and continues to make exciting discoveries. To read more about our world-changing research, visit http://www.southampton.ac.uk/research/impact/highlights.page For the University Strategy, see www.southampton.ac.uk/strategy