Cavendish Laboratory set for new era of innovation as Ray Dolby Centre

The Cavendish is one of the world’s most influential science laboratories. In the 150 years since its founding, scientists from the Lab have fundamentally changed our understanding of the physical world.

It is where the electron, the neutron and the structure of DNA were discovered, and where new frontiers in physics research – such as unlocking the secrets of dark matter and origins of life in the universe, as well as addressing the energy crisis for a sustainable society and translating quantum science to the technologies of tomorrow – are being explored.

Thirty-one affiliates of the Cavendish Laboratory have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

The new facility – which features 173 laboratories, lecture halls, learning and collaborative spaces, workshops, cleanrooms and offices – is set to revolutionise physics research and education at Cambridge, and boost innovation in key areas such as semiconductors, quantum communications, new methods of disease detection, and large-scale energy generation and storage.

The Centre was officially opened by Dagmar Dolby, Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice, and Professor Mete Atatüre, Head of the Cavendish Laboratory.

Named in recognition of an £85 million donation from the estate of Cambridge alumnus and sound pioneer Ray Dolby, along with £75 million support from the UK government through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Ray Dolby Centre stands as a testament to Ray’s enduring legacy and commitment to scientific innovation.

In addition to its importance for researchers at the University of Cambridge, the Ray Dolby Centre is also a world-class facility for the UK. Much of the specialised research equipment in the new building is being made available to academic and industrial researchers at other UK institutions.

Serving as a national hub for physics, the Ray Dolby Centre hosts the new EPSRC National Facility, CORDE (Collaborative R & D Environment). CORDE will foster collaboration between industry and university researchers and enhance public access to new research.

The Ray Dolby Centre also marks a return of sorts to the Cavendish Laboratory’s roots. The original Cavendish on Free School Lane, while small and cramped, encouraged discussion and collaboration between researchers simply because space was at such a premium.

While much larger than its Victorian predecessor, the Centre has been designed to encourage similar conversations, in part through a central ‘street’ that staff and students will pass through each day. This space to think creatively is something Atatüre says is vital to research impact.

He says: “Scientific impact happens when you create the right environment for people to think outside the box. The greatest impacts on society – including the Cavendish’s biggest discoveries – have happened because of that combination of technological capability and human ingenuity.

“Science is getting more complex and technically demanding with progress, but now we have the facilities we need for our scientists to ask those questions, in the pursuit of discovering creative paths to the answers – that’s what we hope to create with the Ray Dolby Centre.”

While the facilities of the Ray Dolby Centre are at the cutting edge of science, an older, humbler technology can be found in many of the building’s spaces: blackboards and chalk. Atatüre says these are another important connection to the Cavendish’s past.

“You can’t rely on hi-tech alone,” he said. “When you write in chalk, it stays on your fingers, the same way it stayed on James Clerk Maxwell’s fingers when he taught. It’s your link to the past, no matter what you’re doing today, whether that’s data intensive science, or computational physics beyond our imagination.

“Our legacy shouldn’t be just in the museum, it’s all around us, in everything we do. Cambridge has been here for more than 800 years, and little things like blackboards and chalk help remind us of that.”

The formal opening of the Centre also marks a significant milestone in the development of the Cambridge West Innovation District, home to the University’s world-leading research in physics, engineering, and computer science. Purpose built for innovation and discovery, it brings together a community of the brightest minds to solve some of the world’s most complex problems.

“The Ray Dolby Centre is a state-of-the-art national facility for physics which sits at the heart of the emerging Cambridge West Innovation District,” said Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

“This unique environment is transforming how the UK does science, creating the leading location in Europe that brings together academics, entrepreneurs, and industry. It will be at the forefront of AI, quantum, and climate research, catalysing the growth of UK science and technology.”

Unlike many other scientific laboratories, the Ray Dolby Centre has been designed with the wider community in mind. Much of the building is open to the public, including a café space, outreach and exhibition spaces organised around six courtyards.

The Centre also provides a new home for the Cavendish Museum, where objects from the Cavendish’s history are on prominent display, including Watson and Crick’s DNA model, the cathode ray tube used to discover the electron, the particle accelerator Cockcroft and Walton used to split the atom, among many others.

“The Ray Dolby Centre will make a significant and much welcome addition to the Physics research and innovation community in the UK,” said Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, UKRI CEO.

“It will inspire future generations and foster new collaborations, not least through its innovative plans for equipment sharing and opportunities for users from across the UK to benefit. I am delighted to be able to join in celebrating this remarkable occasion.”

The Ray Dolby Centre was designed by the architecture and interior design practice Jestico + Whiles and constructed by Bouygues UK in partnership with executive design partners NBBJ and BDP. The Wolfson Foundation and Humphrey Battcock are among other donors backing the project, together with the University Capital Fund.

The new facility is designed to match the most exacting standards of current research, serving the needs of future generations of undergraduate and graduate students much more effectively than is possible on the Cavendish’s existing site, which dates from the 1970s. Capacity for public events has also been incorporated in the design, so that the Cavendish’s extensive programme of work with schools, and with the general public, will continue to serve the local population well into the future.