Their work is conducted on a microscopic scale, creating machines that could fit on a human hair.
Welcome to the world of nanotechnology, where extremely small really is beautiful. Don't be frightened by the jargon. Yorkshire scientists are producing minuscule devices that have everyday uses.
They aren't an unfocused group, tucked away in a remote, cobweb-covered corner of a lab. Earlier, this year, Yorkshire Forward announced a £5m funding package for Yorkshire academics involved in nanotechnology.
Around £2.12m of this cash will be spent on creating a Nanofactory, based at the University of Leeds in partnership with the universities of Bradford and Sheffield. The funds will be used to refurbish facilities and create the UK's first nanomanufacturing centre, with a focus on consumer products. With so much public cash invested, the pressure is on the academics to deliver. So how will they change our lives?
Let's start off with the Polymer Centre of Industrial Collaboration (Polymer CIC) at the University of Bradford, which is working on micro moulding biomedical products. The team – including Dr Ben Whiteside – is trying to bring crystal clarity to millions of people who can't hear properly. They are attempting to correct severe hearing problems using hydroxypatite cochlear ear implants, which require tiny components.
The Polymer CIC is also working with a biomedical company to produce artificial bone compositions which are less likely to be rejected by the body. The compositions can be moulded to form scaffolding-like structures that help rebuild tissue.
Rachael Calvert, the Science and Innovation Marketing Manager at Yorkshire Forward said: "The implanted structure is biocompatible and gradually reabsorbs into the body, without causing bad side effects."
These "nanoceramics" are tougher than traditional implants, so the patient should soon be striding out with confidence.
Ever wanted to have a PC screen that's portable, wafer thin and can be rolled up? The University of Huddersfield might be able to help you.
The university's Precision Technologies Centre of Industrial Collaboration (CIC), is working with a leading electrical company to develop "nanoscale" optical coatings that can be used in the development of flexible plastic PC display screens.
Taylor Hobson Professor Liam Blunt of the University of Huddersfield, a member of the Precision Technologies CIC team, explained: "We are doing coating for polymers – a flexible plastic – which has really thin coatings and can be used as part of the display on a PC.
"We are quite a way from achieving it, but it will be very exciting. You could get a screen, put it in your pocket and walk away. Its size will only be limited by the size of a human hand."
Soccer's hard men have a little more bite, thanks to the work of Professor Ian Ward and his team in the physics department at the University of Leeds.
Using nanofibres they have created a tough, lightweight shinguard for Nike, and also produced sturdy baggage. The next phase is a move into the car industry.
Perhaps the sexiest – and superficially least accessible – nanotechnology project is the curiously named "snomipede" device, which is being pioneered at the University of Sheffield.
The snomipede consists of a large number of tiny probes which will operate at the same time, like many pens writing together to make tiny structures. The result will be a tool for manufacturing molecular structures with great precision and speed.
Ms Calvert added: "One of the uses for this technology will be the development of new tools to study protein structure and function. Proteins are important in controlling body functions and diseases. The amounts of proteins and their functions are controlled by each person's DNA, their genetic code, but understanding this relationship is hard because detection of proteins is difficult.
Miniaturised devices for detecting and analysing proteins will be made using the Snomipede, which will be used to build arrays of proteins that can be used to test for the presence of specific proteins, and build artificial protein structures to probe the behaviour of cells."
These miniature devices could be used for personalised medicine. Doctors will be able to build up a patient's genetic profile, and find a treatment that fits them like a glove.