The Science, Innovation & Tech committee have written the most amazing letter to DSIT/UKRI/STFC:
"What is clear is that, despite your assertions to the contrary... widespread cuts have been proposed before adequate consultation with those affected was undertaken. This is wholly unacceptable" 💪🔭⚛️🧪
Excellent points made by ECRs in this ⬇️ meeting. Any potential change to PPAN needs open and constructive consultation and dialogue, and include the particular needs of supporting long term, large scale collaborative research and international context in each area.
Agreed. STFC programme managers do an amazing job at keeping the programme going within budget. They understand the needs of international collaborations and multi-year/decade endeavours; we don't do many different things, but up to now, thanks to the programme managers, we have done them well.
Banger measurement. This started as an mphys project in Manchester and was led by some great people to work with.
Physics at risk: UK science leader on what's wrong with the latest funding cuts www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Great! ⬇️ Photonics is so underpinning to so many sectors. It's a valuable UK asset.
Two excellent hearings last week ⬇️; the articulate cases made by all physicists and the focussed questioning of both committees, bravo to all. There is a lot to work through here. How we got to here, what motivated decisions, what really is going on, what is the future.
HERE WE GO!!!! Final year of @cern.bsky.social #LHC Run 3 coming up .... and then a metamorphosis into high luminosity LHC #HL-LHC (when we'll get most of our data).
Some thoughts on this : Michele again conflates the cern subscription with our ability to do science. By cutting lhcb's upgrade but paying the subscription, we are paying for something our researchers can't benefit from either in publications or technology transfer.
Here is my run-down of today's Science, Information & Technology Committee hearing (House of Commons) where @jonbutterworth.bsky.social @si-wills.bsky.social & I argued for no funding cuts, & Prof. Michele Doughtery explained why they were needed. The public gallery again packed with physicists 🔭👩🔬⚛️
Want to analyse our @lhcb.bsky.social data? Well ... now you can:
Follow this morning's SITC session if you have *any* interest in @ukri.org and STFC funding, including @jonbutterworth.bsky.social and the Astronomers Royal:
committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
..."roughly" shows how previous funding maps onto the new "buckets"....... although it's only an inter-year comparison and doesn't show how these levels have changed between years. Good luck!
UKRI funding changes are raising serious concern across the UK science community. More than 50 university physics leaders including all 23 Russell Group universities with physics facilities have warned that proposed cuts risk undermining innovation-led economic growth.
🔗 www.ft.com/content/a235...
What a super meeting at @waltoninstitute.bsky.social exploring the opportunities for Ireland at @cern.bsky.social this morning. It's such an exciting time - and what brilliant facilities and research at the institute too!
noway! I've just had a meeting in @jodrellbank.bsky.social and not seen the resident pheasant. What a good excuse to go back....
CaSE ask for clarity, transparency over #UKRI figures, and impact monitoring ⬇️⬇️
I'm sure this⬇️ is an accidental, unplanned, undesired consequence. But it's pretty consequential: "a fundamental betrayal of more than two decades of scientific leadership and a blow to the foundational stability of European big science"
I am living the nominative determinative dream....
This is an amazing place, that makes amazing science happen. You want to test the boundaries of particle physics? Find new forces and types of matter? You need technology and skills like this.....
Started. The research was ongoing. Same story for LHCb 2030+.
In the CASE report (reporting on the select committee)he "stated a need for UKRI to be more efficient and that they will shoulder £100m of the £162m STFC cuts, by looking to be more efficient with their facilities." (not sure if for 1 year or more)
www.sciencecampaign.org.uk/analysis-and...
More comment on potential damage to physics ⬇️. "Difficult choices have to be made but they have to be good choices" - or profound damage ensues.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Hi Ben, this is really interesting, so many good points about the buckets, the oversight, motivation. Im also interested in the time history of papers you show from OpenAlex. How did you define UK share? (specifying UK doesnt capture the big authorlist papers for me, would welcome advice!)
I've written about the UKRI funding situation and the 'buckets' explainer, looking in detail at QR, STFC and Quantum. www.ersatzben.com/p/the-bucket...
Yes. There's a whole ecosystem that needs to be balanced; this research doesnt just deliver scientific breakthroughs, it trains people for industry, develops new tech for new applications and future growth, attracts top talent to the UK, enables science diplomacy, enables our future.
Letters from astronomers, particle physics and @iop.org ⬇️: the dangers to skills, knowledge, leadership and our future economy and society; the impacts of "uncontrolled and irreversable damage".
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
This ⬇️; the impacts of sudden, unprepared cuts to projects. It's not just science that's lost. It's people. Skills. International collaboration. Opportunity. Futures. Future growth.
Physics cuts put livelihoods, investment and reputation at risk www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
This ⬇️, the other Infrastructure project deprioritisations, the 30% cuts planned at STFC, are not "doing fewer things better". These long term endeavours are already streamlined like a whippet. This UKRI funding rebalancing will result in the UK losing world leading science. #UKRI #STFC #physics
Article from @physicsworld.bsky.social about the decision to withdraw UK funding from the @lhcb.bsky.social upgrade, without which LHCb will not be able to exploit the high luminosity LHC (which the UK has already paid for via the CERN subscription).
physicsworld.com/a/cern-upgra...
