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There is slightly more information in the grant overview from EPSRC http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/ViewGrant.aspx?GrantRef=EP/I01196X/1 although it is quite light of specifics.
The proposal appears to be usual blend of new modulation techniques, all optical switching and the usual "green" nonsense which is required to get anything approved these days.

Avoid the press-release reprinting site, and go for the pictures.

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2010/Pages/spinalimplant.aspx

Not sure about the funding in the rest of Europe, but in the UK anyone moderately competent can get funding to do a PhD, which means that they get a non-taxable stipend for the three years that works out close to after-tax amount of an entry-level graduate salary.

I'm in Cambridge, UK, and though I work in industry I still have plenty of ties to the university. I'm afraid I don't recognise the picture you are painting.

In the current academic year, the basic research council funding for a PhD is £13,290.

Under the current tax system, that is equivalent to a gross salary of just under £16,500.

The average starting salary in IT was probably higher than that a decade ago, and much higher if you're talking about working in London and/or working for a big name company that goes after the academic high-flyers.

I also think various friends who are doing PhDs, several of them in Computer Science, would laugh at your description of "spending three years being paid to have fun". Relatively few of my friends have actually completed their PhDs within the "normal" three-year/ten-term window, and many have found themselves writing up and jumping through the final hoops for several months afterwards, while trying to do a full time job as well; funding doesn't extend just because the research/write-up does!

Perhaps both human and "ferret" anti-smuggling techniques will be used. Although, I'd be pretty pissed if I lost my job to a ferret.

According to the research site, this is going to replace dogs and dog handlers the most:

The team are developing a device that matches the sensitivity of a sniffer dog yet avoids the problems of becoming distracted, tired or confused associated with using an animal. The compact robot, or 'cargo screening ferret', will be able to navigate cargo loads, and detect multiple illegal substances, even in low concentrations, using a series of specially-developed sensors.

From their government grant:

In this proposal we aim to develop a new approach to cargo screening where we take sensors to the contraband within cargo containers using mini-robots, providing rapid and highly sensitive detection of a range of contraband. A variety of technologies and methods are available and routinely used for the screening and detection of illegal substances and materials within cargo containers. These external screening systems are typically bulky, expensive and require ultra-high sensitivity as the sensor is remote from the cargo. Further, detailed investigation requires either time consuming unpacking of the cargo or the need for staff to enter the cargo putting them at risk of contamination from the contraband. This proposal addresses both the development of novel sensors and their delivery to the point of detection through the use of a robotic system / thus the sensing devices must be compact, low power and lightweight to be best tailored to use in this way. The development of effective sensors is designed to "make a difference" / to be able to detect specifically (and in very low concentrations) given illegal substances. The sensors developed are targeted to match the sensitivity of dogs in detecting substances, but not having the problem of distraction, tiring or confusion, with a much longer on-duty time, due to the inanimate nature of the sensor. The key advantage is that the sensors are able to detect multiple specific substances in compact devices ideally suited to mounting on the small robotic vehicle to be used for the delivery of the sensors to the region where the measurement has to be made.

So if you're a dog that relies on sniffing out cargo containers, you have about five years to look for other work.

You could look at the original press release here.

Aren't some solar panels made with GaN as well? Will this help them too?

Looks likely. Cambridge are researching that too, e.g. both fields are covered by the following grant application.

The other approach to solar cells we will pursue is high-efficiency inorganic multilayer solar cells. The basic idea is that by stacking layers in the order of their bandgap, with the layer with the largest bandgap at the top, light is converted into electricity in the most efficient way. We propose to build an innovative multi-layer solar cell based on GaN/InGaN/Si. The GaN layer will absorb the UV part of the solar spectrum, the InGaN layer the blue and green parts and the Si layer the yellow, red and near-IR parts. The theoretical efficiency is above 60%. Such a cell would be too expensive for large-area applications, but would be designed to be used at the focus of mirrors that concentrate the solar light, which will make the technology competitive.

GaN-based white lighting is extremely efficient and if used in our homes and offices it could save 15% of the electricity generated at power stations, 15% of the fuel used, and reduce carbon emissions by 15%. However for GaN-based white lighting to become widely used in homes and offices we have to increase the efficiency still further and reduce the cost. We will research various ways to increase the efficiency. To reduce the cost we will grow GaN-based LED structures on 150mm (six-inch) silicon wafers instead of the current growth on two-inch sapphire wafers. This would reduce the LED cost by a factor of ten. Cambridge will grow such LED structures and UCSB will process them into LED lamps.

Details of Grant

I'm no bioscientist, but could this project be modified to something which harvests energy from the sun and then can discharge it in a was in which electrical or bio-mechanical energy could be generated?

Who gets the -1 duh?

You didn't specify "other than as petroleum-type fuels" in your original post.

The non-sarcastic answer to your question is that in theory, yes, you could make a biological equivalent of a photovoltaic solar panel.

However, it might be more efficient if bacteria just used the sun's energy to make hydrogen gas, and then we used the hydrogen for fuel cells or to burn as clean energy.

>Who's building it..

Good question.. If you read their status reports at the HECToR website you find that:
  "It has been decided to go with a short list of three bidders: Cray, Dell and NEC."

So, no chance for a nice Power6 from IBM or a Niagra system from Sun.. WTF?
You cant even find out the basic machine requirements, since
"The Statement of Requirements will be a classified document.."

But they are so confident of the final system that they decided to cancel the initial experimental prototype, and just take delivery of the production system. Oh, and they dont have anyplace to put it, so they will outsource the hosting and facilities management too.

EPSRC project status http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchFunding/FacilitiesA ndServices/HighPerformanceComputing/HECToR/Project Status/default.htm

"A prototype of the scanner, called MONSTIR"

my theory has been proven a dozen of times in restaurants kitchens

But not necessarily by "a detached groups of researchers."

However, with difficulty new PhDs have in finding employment in their fields, restaurant workers may be well be qualified to test theories. They could publish their findings in "The Golden Arches Journal of Kitchen Thermodynamics".

What a rip off my doctorate won't cost me a penny, although these people have stummed up quite a bit.

In the UK there is a fudge between doing a PhD and getting a proper job. It's called an Engineering Doctorate and basically means you do two years of training (management + technical) and research in University and then two years at a sponsoring company.

The blurb claims that graduates of the course are better prepared to get top jobs in industry and better paid. The money is definitely better than a PhD during the course, since you get at least 4500GBP more per year. You also get two years of hands on research at the company, putting you in a better position at the company than PhD students if you want to stay there.

However, having done the course for a couple of years, it seems to attract an annoying number of bullshitters being trained in management speak. There are also relatively few people who have done this course as there are also only a few places at any of the centres in the UK.

In the UK there is a fudge between doing a PhD and getting a proper job. It's called an Engineering Doctorate and basically means you do two years of training (management + technical) and research in University and then two years at a sponsoring company.

The blurb claims that graduates of the course are better prepared to get top jobs in industry and better paid. The money is definitely better than a PhD during the course, since you get at least 4500GBP more per year. You also get two years of hands on research at the company, putting you in a better position at the company than PhD students if you want to stay there.

However, having done the course for a couple of years, it seems to attract an annoying number of bullshitters being trained in management speak. There are also relatively few people who have done this course as there are also only a few places at any of the centres in the UK.