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Date Announced: 27 Aug 2010
UK-based Institute of Physics warns against potential impact of cuts to UK science base.
An article in today’s Guardian, Friday 27 August 2010 – “UK scientists on collision course over £1bn research cuts” – highlights the possible impact on UK physics of a 25% cut in government funding.
Commenting on the article, IOP Chief Executive Dr Robert Kirby-Harris said “We recognise the pressures on public expenditure, and we know that the government has difficult choices to make. But we believe it would be disastrously short-sighted to impose cuts at this level on investment in physics.
“The possibility of significant cuts in the training of young researchers is deeply worrying. A major impact of physics research is the production of a highly skilled workforce. 40% of physics PhDs move on to work in the private sector, in areas such as health, national security, energy and environment. It is hard to see how it could be in our national interest to reduce this pool of talent.
“ISIS and Diamond are world-class facilities, of great value to researchers from universities and industry across the physical and bio-medical sciences. Withdrawal from CERN would seriously damage our reputation and reduce our ability to influence the direction of international science. In all three cases, the UK has invested public money in outstanding facilities; pulling out before we have reaped the anticipated returns would make very poor economic sense.
“As the government itself has recognised, science and innovation will be one of the main drivers of growth in a rebalanced economy. We believe the government should demonstrate its commitment to this vision through continued investment in a strong research base.”
E-mail: lena.weber@iop.org
Web Site: www.iop.org
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