Many southerners are traditionally said to regard anything north of Watford Gap as a foreign country – but that old-fashioned notion of a north/south divide is something Gary Topp is anxious to dispel.
According to those in the know in the US, photonics – the technology of generating and harnessing light – will be a trillion dollar industry within the next decade.
Outside of wartime, nothing is more likely to stimulate technical innovation than space science and with developments as diverse as velcro and satellite navigation to its name, it is helping to reshape the world in which we live.