We are proud winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, in both 2019 and 2022.
The Durham Institute of Research, Development, and Invention (DIRDI) is an interdisciplinary scientific research institute established in 2021 and based at ORBIT NETPark, Durham.
DIRDI comprises Members and Fellows at all career levels, bringing together academics, industry professionals, and policymakers across disciplines. Our community includes scientists, economists, geostrategists, theologians, and historians, whose complementary perspectives strengthen the real-world impact of scientific research and help anticipate new frontiers of innovation, providing the necessary economic and geostrategic context to inform transformative applications of science. As of June 2026, DIRDI has over 650 Members and Fellows.
The institute offers some of the UK’s finest minds an opportunity to grapple with complex problems in line with DIRDI’s Five Aims. Helping UK scientists achieve their academic ambitions.
“Newtonian Discovery”
To undertake fundamental research into the physical laws of the universe for humankind’s advancement.
“Edisonian Commercialisation”
To undertake applied research across various scientific fields, generating technological development and generating a sustainable funding source for future Newtonian research.
The Next Newton
To identify and support the United Kingdom’s “Next Newton”, whomever they may be.
Identify and support future Nobel Laureates
To create an environment where future Nobel Laureates may be identified at an early stage and supported throughout their careers.
A Gateway into Academia for Economic Hope
To generate economic hope for anyone aiming to realise inventive or innovative ideas by connecting them with relevant expertise across TRLs.
Our Fellows and Members bring world-leading expertise in their respective fields, which combines with the experience of industrial and Visiting Fellows to provide a Research and Development capability “from idea to invention to innovation”.
It is in this spirit that we established the specialised units below:
These are nominally based across the Universities of Durham, Cambridge, Oxford, and Imperial College London.
Unlike typical research institutes, DIRDI is primarily commercially funded. Through the rapid commercialisation of promising R&D lines, the freedom to explore fundamental science is sustained. Without the inhibitors of prescribed grant-seeking processes and the pressure to produce publishable results, DIRDI members are encouraged to pursue blue-skies, curiosity-driven research with the utmost scientific integrity.
It is the faith that such research will drive world-changing, prosperity-generating innovation that will enable unconstrained funding. In the years to come, DIRDI aspires to grow and nurture its members throughout their academic and commercial careers, identifying and supporting the “Newtons” and Nobel Prize winners of the future, and delivering a critical mass of new research and scholarship.
Throughout the academic year, DIRDI hosts a number of events to bring together Members, Fellows, and Visiting Fellows. These include bi-termly dinners at Hatfield College, Durham, and elsewhere, the annual “Impact and Invention” Conference, the EEOPS-D drone competition, and a variety of seminars and talks. None of these events are compulsory to attend, and all are complimentary.
DIRDI comprises over 600 Members, Fellows, and Visiting Fellows supported by a core team at Coltraco Ultrasonics. Its activities are commercially funded through the rapid commercialisation of promising R&D lines.
Throughout the academic year, DIRDI hosts a number of events, which include termly dinners, the annual “Impact and Invention” Conference, the EEOPS-D drone competition, and a variety of seminars and talks. These are held across our community, which spans over 10+ leading UK Universities.
