The Research Centre for Non-Destructive Evaluation (RCNDE) is a collaboration between industry and the Universities of Bristol, Nottingham, Strathclyde, Manchester, Warwick, Liverpool, Southampton and Imperial College London to coordinate the latest research on Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) technologies, matching it to the needs of industry – both now and in the future. The Centre was founded in 2003 and co-funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and its original 5 industrial members. Since then, the membership has grown to 12 Tier 1 industrial members. 2 Tier 2 industrial members, and more than 40 associate members, a category introduced in 2005 to incorporate vital technology providers and the key players within the supply chain. The industrial membership of RCNDE is represented by the NDE Research Association (NDEvR) and RCNDE is governed by the RCNDE Board.
Founded on the guiding principles of world-class scientific research and industrial application, the Centre is uniquely placed to help industry to face ever more challenging requirements for integrity and safety, and adopt new approaches to inspection and quality control.
2023 marks the 20-year anniversary since the launch of RCNDE. To celebrate what we have achieved since our launch in 2003, we have produced an anniversary publication. You can read and download the RCNDE “20 Years of Excellence with Impact” brochure here.
RCNDE’s Vision is to be the world-leading centre of excellence in NDE research through active partnership with the industrial user community.
RCNDE’s Mission is to continue playing a leading role in the UK and global innovation landscape by:
In 2021 RCNDE entered its fourth phase, RCNDE4, with a renewed drive to continue delivering its original vision to be the world-leading centre of excellence in NDE research through an active partnership with the industrial user community. With the aim of transforming NDE into a fully integrated part of the engineering life cycle, RCNDE4 is constructed around a wide portfolio of activities. These range from longer-term, higher risk adventurous research, through medium-term application research and short-term practical developments to technology transfer activities. Other activities include strategic leadership initiatives such as the NDT Leadership Forum, NDE 4.0 Working Group and various requirements-capture workshops in collaboration with the British Institute of NDT. In addition, RCNDE has a linked Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Innovation in NDE (FIND-CDT), co-funded by EPSRC and CNDE’s industrial members, which provides an excellent route for members to access emerging technology and trained NDE engineers and scientists. This connection also establishes a technology transfer pipeline in which student projects further develop fundamental research originating from RCNDE towards industrial application.
