Dr Richard Bowman he/him

The OpenFlexure project is a global community of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and hobbyists centred on an open-source design for the hardware and software of a capable laboratory microscope. My research group are at the heart of this project, developing new microscopy capabilities with novel hardware and software, and sharing these in a way that promotes equity of access and reproducible instrumentation development. The open research practices we champion not only enable partners in the Global South to manufacture, use, and maintain sophisticated instruments without relying on imports, but also enable us to reach a new level of transparency and reproducibility in instrumentation rersearch.

My research career has been spent developing and using automated laboratory instruments, centred on optical microscopy. My current research group acts as a hub for microscopy know-how, sharing hardware and software with a network of collaborators in Glasgow and further afield, and working with them to develop new solutions to research and diagnostics challenges. More generally we are keen to apply laboratory automation to a wide range of challenges in the physical and life sciences, and to develop the underlying technologies that make laboratory automation accessible to the widest possible range of researchers, regardless of location, funding, or discipline.