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Nanoco Group The development of quantum dots fuelled by an academic's entrepreneurial zeal 48 UNIVERSITY SPIN-OUT Nanoco, now Nanoco Group Plc, was established in Manchester as spin-out from the University's chemistry department. Nanoco specialises in the processes needed to manufacture large quantities of quantum dots 1 . Nanoco has a team of over 80 staff, a few of whom are based in Japan, the US and Korea but the majority are in Manchester. The Manchester base is focused on research and development, with at least 60 per cent of the staff in the city holding PhDs. The company's success has meant that it now finds it possible to attract staff to Manchester from all over the world. The company also hosts PhD and placement students from the University, which gives it a great opportunity to screen potential talent. Staff retention is very high. The founders were Professor Paul O'Brien, who is still at the University, and Dr Nigel Pickett, who received his PhD in the field of organo-metallics at Newcastle University. Nigel is Nanoco's chief technology officer. Nigel is an 'academic entrepreneur' and had worked in Atlanta at Georgia Tech. 1 Quantum dots are tiny particles, or 'nanoparticles', of a semi-conductor material that display unique optical and electrical properties which are different in character to those of the corresponding bulk material. The ability to precisely control the size of a quantum dot enables the manufacturer to determine the wavelength of the emission, which in turn determines the colour of light that the human eye perceives. Quantum dots can therefore be 'tuned' during production to emit any colour of light desired. The story of Nanoco and its development and growth is one of 'people and place'.