Physics cuts may harm UK industry

 

Gallery

By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 12 Dec 2007 at 12:22

An £80 million shortfall in research funding could see many of the country's top physicists out of work. The Science and Technology Facilities Council has warned that over-budget projects such as the Diamond Synchrotron near Oxford have caused an £80 million shortfall in their budget, which the government seems reluctant to cover.

"The shortfall is £80 million and obviously discussions are still ongoing about what happens next. We're holding a town meeting tomorrow," says an STFC spokesperson.

If the extra budget isn't found, then the council will have to reassess its whole program, says the spokesperson. Initially the council suggested that the best option would be to totally close one project - the synchrotron radiation source near Manchester. However, this plan was vetoed by MPs, and the council now says that budget cuts will be spread across its entire range of projects.

"It's going to have a major effect on research in the UK," says Professor Nick Brook, head of the particle physics group at the University of Bristol. "And it could well have a knock-on effect on UK industry."

"Many things such as MRI scans were developed for particle physics. You go through a prototype phase, and then you go to industry to develop these devices on a commercial scale. I also worry about the knock-on effect of attracting students to study particle physics."