Strategy for growth goes for innovation in scienceThe Institute’s chief executive, Bob Kirby-Harris, has welcomed the government’s new strategy Going for Growth, which outlines policies for supporting hi-tech entrepreneurs and a £70 m investment in three manufacturing research centres including one for photonics and one for liquid metals. But he said that a similar commitment to research funding and science education was needed.Full story: www.bis.gov.uk/growth and www.iop.org

Young physicists shine at Dublin exhibitionThe Institute of Physics Prize at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in January went to Zoe Cheng and Fiona McLaughlin of Loreto College, Coleraine. The Institute of Physics in Ireland had a stand at the event in Dublin, where members demonstrated physics principles, including the science of surface tension (pictured). Full story: www.iopireland.org

Physics in a flash

Contents

The newspaper of the physics community February 2010

The STFC goes under scrutiny

National research facilities, such as the Diamond Light Source and ISIS, should be managed as part of a new national research laboratory rather than by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Institute has said in its response to a review of the STFC set up by Lord Drayson. The response also sug-gests specific ways to protect research budgets from the impact of currency fluctuations and to address the needs of different parts of the research community.

The review was announced by Lord Drayson on 16 December 2009, on the same day that the STFC publicized the results of its prioritization programme for spending on research. The chair of the STFC, Michael Sterling, is involved in disucssions as part of the review, which is due to be completed by the end of February.

Making the announcement, Lord Drayson said: “It has become clear to me that there are real tensions in having international science projects, large scientific facilities and UK grant-giving roles within a single research council. It leads to grants being squeezed by increases in costs of the large international projects, which are not solely within their control.”

The Institute’s response also highlights these issues. It says that the STFC has many fixed costs associated with running national facilities and the creation of the STFC (through merging the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils with the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council) has not solved the problem of balancing capital investment with the operational costs of national facilities.

Stakeholder representationIt argues that a national research laboratory on mul-tiple sites should be established to oversee national facilities. This would be run by a laboratory director reporting to a stakeholder board with strong univer-sity representation, and be funded by subscriptions from each research council.

Currently the STFC also covers the costs of UK subscriptions to international facilities. These include facilities such as CERN, the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory, which are used by particle physicists, astronomers and nuclear physicists, whose work is funded by the STFC – as well as those used more widely by UK researchers, such as the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

The Institute recommends that the research coun-cil that gives grants to the predominant users of an international facility should take responsibility for

the main part of that subscription.In addition, the Institute argues that the costs of

exchange-rate fluctuations and changes in GDP that affect subscriptions should be borne centrally by gov-ernment and not by the research councils.

The Institute’s response says that long-term, curi-osity-driven research should not be made to com-pete for funding with the short-term operating costs of national facilities. It says: “The cuts to research grants have been a major issue of concern since the Science Budget Allocations were announced in December 2007 as a consequence of the £80 m short-fall in STFC’s budget. The impact of the grant cuts has been highly uneven across physics departments but has affected all of them as STFC funding typically accounts for anything between 25 and 80% of depart-mental income in a range of research areas.”

However, it says that research grants for astronomy, nuclear physics and particle physics should remain the responsibility of the STFC. It argues that it would be counterproductive to break the connection between planning facilities and scientific exploitation in these areas. Though there have been suggestions that these research areas should be moved into the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Institute says that this would be undesirable as they are unsuited to the EPSRC’s funding mechanisms.

To see the full response, visit the higher education and research section of the Institute’s website and

click on “Consultations” then “Research”.

The Institute has also produced a response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s inquiry into the impact of spending cuts on science and scien-tific research. •

“The impact of the grant cuts has been highly uneven.”

The Institute has called for structural changes within the research councils, as Heather Pinnell reports.

The ATLAS end cap is prepared in Liverpool for its journey to CERN.

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Interactions February 2010

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COUNCIL NEWSBranch activities were the main focus for discussion when the Institute’s Council met on 26 November 2009.

A number of branch chairs attended the informal morning session to present the work of Institute members in the nations and regions, and to share their experience with Council. Council was impressed by the range of activities undertaken by branches, from political advocacy to schools outreach.

Council went on to consider the report of a working party charged with reviewing the structure and operating model for branches. The report recognised that the national branches in Ireland, Scotland and Wales have a wider role to play than that of the English regional branches, dealing as they do with national governments and liaising with education networks.

Council accepted the report’s proposals for a more flexible branch model that would accommodate the different roles of individual branches. Its key recommendations, which were agreed by Council, include: a welcome for member-led evolution of the branch network (e.g. the creation of new branches); direct representa-tion of the nations on appropriate Council boards and committees; and enhanced communication to all members about branch activities outside their own immediate area.

The working party’s report confirmed that the branches are a key part of the Institute, enabling members to become involved in activities and to help to develop and deliver the Institute’s strategy. The report explained that the working party’s recommendations were designed to ensure that physics can continue to benefit from the enthusiasm and experience of active members in a changing world.

Council approved the Institute’s budget for 2010. It noted with appreciation that significant savings have been made to ensure that the Institute will remain financially secure despite recessionary pressures.

Members also approved the election Manifesto for Physics (covered in the front page story of December 2009 Interactions), and endorsed the co-option to Council of Jonathan Flint, chief executive officer of Oxford Instruments.

2 newsFocal point

The number of academics engaged in physics research in the UK has increased by 12% in the last five years, with biophys-ics and biological physics grow-ing by 30% in that time. The largest growth numerically has been in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology and space physics, which saw a net gain of 60 peo-ple, and high energy and particle physics, which added 51 people.

The figures were obtained for the Institute’s Survey of Academic Appointments 2004–2008 United Kingdom and Ireland, published in January. It provides a snapshot of the phys-ics community on 1 December 2008, when 1852 academics were engaged in UK physics research. Of these, 32% were professors, 27% were readers or senior lec-turers, 18% were lecturers, 11% were research fellows, and the remaining 12% were univer-sity teachers, teaching fellows, experimental officers or other physics-related staff.

The survey, to which 47 out of the 48 university physics depart-ments in the UK responded, excluded postgraduates, post-

docs or technical or adminis-trative staff. Eight out of the 11 departments in the Republic of Ireland took part.

In the UK, 88% of academ-ics were male and 12% female, compared to 91% male, 9% female in 2004. The Institute is delighted by this development and by the continuing health of physics research, but there is concern that the full impact of recent funding cuts is yet to

be seen. The number of phys-ics graduates emerging is hold-ing up and universities can still attract overseas staff, but there are worries that this is not sus-tainable in the long term and that the picture could be very different in five years’ time.

The 36-page report is avail-able online at www.iop.org/activity/policy/Publications/file_38783.pdf.Heather Pinnell

Two members of the Institute received awards in the Queen’s New Year Honours. Donal Bradley (pictured right), Lee-Lucas Professor of Experimental Physics and deputy principal of the faculty of natural sciences at Imperial College London, was made a CBE for services to sci-ence. Philip Britton, headmaster of the boys’ division at Bolton School, was made an MBE for services to physics.

Among other physicists hon-oured were Susan Ion, visiting professor at Imperial College London and chair of the UK

Fusion Advisory Board, who was made a dame commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to science and engineer-ing, and David Kerridge, who received an MBE for services to geophysics. He is head of sci-ence, Earth hazards and Earth systems science, at the British Geological Survey.

Prof. John Holman, national director of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Programme, received a knighthood. MBEs went to Melanie Thody, head of out-reach at Imperial College, for

science communication, and to Harry Jones, project manager at the ISIS Second Target Station, for services to science.

The highest honour of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the Gold Medal for Astronomy, has been awarded to Institute

member Prof. Douglas Gough of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge.

The RAS also honoured Institute members Prof. James Hough of the University of Hertfordshire, who receives the Herschel Medal; Elizabeth Stanway of the University of

Bristol, who receives the Winton Capital Prize; and Frank Lowes of the University of Newcastle, who receives the Award for Service to Geophysics.

Institute member Prof. Carlos Frenk, of the University of Durham, will give the RAS’s 2010 Darwin Lecture.

Three-dimensional height mapping of a fly’s eye using a laser-scanning microscope.

Prof. Donal Bradley received a CBE.

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New Year brings honours for physicists

Medals awarded to astronomers

Academic numbers are up

Interactions February 2010

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NEW FELLOWSWojciech Fundamenski, Raymond Goldstein, Dino Jaroszynski, Gail McConnell, Richard Pike.

NEW MEMBERSAndrei Andreyev, Thomas Baker, Thomas Betts, Leopold Blaauw, Deirdre Black, David Boyce, Andrew Cannon, Alastair Chester, Lionel Coates, Robert Dahlgren, Tao Dai, Michelle Dickinson, Inna Gitman, Cristina Giusca, John Green, Gordon Hill, Stuart Jackson, Liyun Lao, Valerio Lucarini, Joanna Mason, Ioannis Metsios, Jarlath Molloy, Sukina Natarajan, Fabrice Pierron, Simon Pitts, Daniel Pooley, Arnau Rios Huguet, Stephen Roe, Jonathan Russell, Alireza Salehi, Markus Schulte, Om Sharma, Jordan Skittrall, Philip Walsh, Jonathan Wiseman, Alan Woolley.

IN MEMORIAMDavid Arthur Byrne (Marlborough), Reginald Keith

Davies (Barmouth), Philip J Day (Stockport), Donald Downer (Ashford), Ralph Eburne, Bernard Figgins, Ronald Freedman (Kingsbury), Roy Garstang, Suresh Jain (Delhi), Thomas Land (Bakewell), Thomas McFarlane (Glasgow), Richard George Moore (Ulverston), Michael Northwood, Ernest Putley, Rowland Reid-Jones, Matthew John Smith (Stafford), John Tearle, James Wakefield (Newtownards), Ian James Wilson (Thatcham).

ANNOUNCEMENTSl The Institute’s Women in Physics Group (WIPG) is inviting applications for the Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year Award 2010. Shell is donating a prize of £1000 for the winner, who will have graduated with a physics degree in the last three years and be working as a physicist or undertaking postgraduate study. Applicants will have made a substantial contribution to physics and may also have undertaken activities to

encourage others. For details, visit www.iop.org/veca. The closing date is 26 February.

l SciCast Physics, the Institute’s competition to make a short film explaining a principle of physics in less than 2.5 minutes, is now open for entries. Individuals or groups of any age can take part, but they must be from the UK or Ireland. Films submitted will also be eligible for other Planet SciCast prizes. For details, visit www.planet-scicast.com/physics. The closing date is 16 April.

MEMBER OFFERl Online subscription prize drawManfred Buck from St Andrews, Fife, is November’s prize-draw winner and James Tutt from Milton Keynes is December’s prize-draw winner. They each receive a 4 GB data stick. For your chance to win a data stick, pay your membership subscription online at http://members.iop.org.

notices

Editor Heather Pinnell, Production Editor Paul Nash, Art Director Andrew Giaquinto. Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 1NT, UK. Tel +44 (0)20 7470 4800; fax +44 (0)20 7470 4991; e-mail interactions@iop.org; web http://members.iop.org.

Interactions February 2010

Visit www.iop.org/Calendar for further information about the listed eventsFEBRUARy 2010

John Porter Memorial Lecture: Universal Appeal? Adventures in Astronomy EducationMerseyside BranchChadwick Lecture Theatre, University of Liverpool4 February, 6.30 p.m.

Shaping the Defective NanoworldInstitute of Physics in IrelandUniversity College Cork; University of Ulster, Jordanstown; Trinity College Dublin8, 10 and 12 February, 4.00 p.m.

Valentia Observatory: From the Heights of Weather Balloons to the Depths of EarthquakesInstitute of Physics in IrelandNational University of Ireland, Galway; Queen’s University Belfast; National University of Ireland, Maynooth8, 10 and 12 February

From Fleming to Penryn: Celebrating over 100 Years of ElectronicsLancashire and Cumbria BranchUniversity of Lancaster9 February, 6.30 p.m.

End in FireLondon and South East BranchRutherford Lecture Theatre 1, University of Kent9 February, 7.30 p.m.

Spacecraft I have Known and LovedLondon and South East BranchBerril Lecture Theatre, Open University, Milton Keynes9 February, 7.30 p.m.

Building Quantum Computers: Is the End Near for the Silicon Chip?Midland BranchPoynting Physics Building, University of Birmingham9 February, 7.30 p.m.

From Lodestone to Spintronics and Magnonics*London and South East Branch76 Portland Place, London W110 February, 6.00 p.m.

1957 Windscale FireSouth West BranchBristol Grammar School16 February, 7.00 p.m.

Search for Dark MatterSouth Central BranchLecture Theatre M, University of Surrey17 February

Quantum Information TheoryInstitute of Physics in IrelandQueen’s University Belfast; Waterford Institute of Technology; University College Dublin22, 24 and 25 February

How to Read Stellar BarcodesYorkshire BranchThe Conference Auditorium, University of Leeds22 February, 7.00 p.m.

The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and TitanYorkshire BranchDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield23 February, 5.00 p.m.

Positron Imaging: From Medical Uses to Industrial ApplicationsMidland BranchPoynting Physics Building, University of Birmingham23 February, 7.30 p.m.

Physics and the Financial MarketsInstitute of Physics in ScotlandRoyal Society of Edinburgh, Edinburgh23 February, 7.30 p.m.

The Invisible UniverseManchester and District BranchJohn Dalton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University24 February, 6.30 p.m.

Nanometrology: Traceable Measurement of Tiny Dimensions*London and South East BranchLindop Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield24 February, 7.00 p.m.

Holographic Ghost ImagingSouth West BranchFrank Lecture Theatre, University of Bristol24 February, 7.00 p.m.

Accelerator Driven Thorium ReactorsMerseyside BranchPhysics Department, University of Liverpool25 February, 6.30 p.m.

Events requiring registration are marked with *

events

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Interactions February 2010

At a time when many people are concerned about the UK’s manufacturing base and are working to foster innovation, the Science Museum in London has been running an exhibition that is shamelessly nostalgic about the post-war period of optimism towards science and technology. Called “Dan Dare and the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain”, it seeks to celebrate and even recapture the enthusiasm for technology of the 1950s and 1960s mirrored in the Eagle’s cartoon strip, which it sees as emblematic of the age.

Dan Dare, “the colonel of the international space fleet”, was the main character in the lead story of the Eagle, a weekly for children selling 900 000 copies, which first appeared in April 1950. While he had

adventures in space battling his arch enemy the Mekon, back on Earth, war had been abolished and science and technology had solved many of the problems of humanity.

The character’s popularity coincided with a rapid expan-sion of technologies in Britain,

including computing, civil avia-tion and nuclear energy. There was a new market for domes-tic consumer goods, such as fridges, televisions and wash-ing machines, while military technology was also expanding. This is reflected in the exhibi-tion, which displays objects from the period as diverse as a Rolls Rapide twin-tub wash-ing machine and a Bloodhound guided missile.

Some of today’s innovators cite “Dan Dare” as an influence on them, the exhibition organis-ers say. Certainly the artist who created him, Frank Hampson, had such an aim in mind. He said of his work: “I wanted to give hope for the future, to show that rockets, and science in gen-eral, could reveal new worlds, new opportunities.”

The exhibition is open until 1 November. For details, visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.

Heather Pinnell is editor of Interactions.

A storyboard with original artwork by Don Harley for a “Dan Dare” comic strip.

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Dan Dare takes off again for scienceHeather Pinnell reports on an exhibition that seeks to recall post-war faith in technology.

“I wanted to give hope for the future, to show that rockets and science could reveal new worlds.”

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