The United Kingdom officially joins European XFEL
The UK joined European XFEL as the research organization’s twelfth member state. In a ceremony at the British Embassy in Berlin, representatives of the UK government and the other contract parties including the German federal government signed the documents to join the European XFEL Convention. The UK’s contribution will amount to 26 million Euro, or about 2% of the total construction budget of 1.22 billion Euro (both in 2005 prices) and an annual contribution of about 2 % to the operation budget. The UK will be represented in European XFEL by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) as shareholder.
Editorial – Pulling together after Brexit
Like many physicists in the UK, I spent the final Friday of June in shock. Voters in Britain had just opted by a margin of 52% to 48% to leave the European Union (EU) – and suddenly nothing in the world seemed to make sense any more. I’d never really thought a majority would want a British exit (Brexit) from the EU. As with the referendum over Scottish independence from the UK in 2014, I’d assumed voters would come to their senses at the last minute.
Editorial – BREXIT: What’s next?
What a summer! After the Brexit referendum of June 23 the international events rolled in at an incredible pace: killing of police officers on July 7 in Dallas (TX-USA) followed by another one in Baton Rouge (LA_USA) on July 17 (without mentioning Orlando (FL-USA) mass shooting a month before), the truck attack in Nice, FR on July 14, the Turkish military coup on July 15, etc., and this is only a small excerpt of what has happened in that month. Not easy to write an editorial under such an avalanche of negative events, reported and amplified over the normal and social media. Under such circumstances it looks to me that the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union was a long time ago. This is certainly the consequence of all the news that we collect worldwide and integrate over a short period of time. Even the European Football championships already long gone.
CERN – Statement about UK referendum on the EU
Dear Colleagues,
Many people have expressed their concerns about the consequences of the 23 June vote in the UK for CERN, and for the UK’s relationship with CERN. CERN is an intergovernmental organisation subject to its own treaty. We are not part of the European Union, and several of our Member States, including Switzerland, in which we are headquartered, are not EU Members. Britain’s membership of CERN is not affected by the UK electorate’s vote to leave the European Union. We look forward to continuing the very constructive relationship we have shared with the UK, one of our founding members, long into the future.
UK Government to strengthen Science and Innovation
On 17 December 2014, the UK government presented its science and innovation strategy for 2016-2021 in its publication Our plan for growth: science and innovation. This document strongly supports a knowledge based economy, and the UK government is committing £5.9 billion capital to support scientific excellence from 2016 to 2021, the most long term commitment to science capital in decades. Investment in research and other forms of innovation helps businesses to reach higher productivity, create high quality jobs and develop new markets and services. In order to address the challenges ahead, the proposed plan is based on 6 elements: deciding priorities, nurturing scientific …
NPA VII
The Nuclear Physics in Astronomy VII conference [NPA VII] will be held in York, United-Kingdom, from 18-22 May 2015.
NPA VII is the 7th edition of a series of conferences held every 2 years, organised by the EPS Nuclear Physics Division. The 2015 conference will bring together experts from different backgrounds: nuclear physicists, astronomers, cosmo-chemists, etc. They will discuss all topics related to astrophysics including the Big Bang, the latest observation and …
International Year of Light News
IYL 2015 activity in United Kingdom
On 25 September 2015, Aston University Institute of Photonics Technology [AIPT], the Library of Birmingham and Community Arts Group, the Flatpack Film Festival, will deliver an afternoon and evening of demonstrations…
SPIE International Year of Light photo contest is open
The SPIE International Year of Light photo contest is open. Submit your work by 30 September 2014 and show how light and light-based technologies play a vital role in our everyday lives. The contest is open to anyone…
Research performance in the United Kingdom
Physics may be not the most important field of research in the United Kingdom [UK] but its impact is significant. This is the conclusion of a report entitled “The UK’s performance in physics research”.
In April 2014, the UK Institute of Physics [IOP] together with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EPSRC], and the Science and Technology Facilities Council [STFC] published a report on performance in physics research in the United-Kingdom based on bibliometrics and case studies. Science Metrix, an independent research…
Blackett Laboratory, place of dozen discoveries
The Blackett Laboratory, home of the Department of Physics of the Imperial College based in London, United-Kingdom, was designated as EPS Historic Site on 30 April 2014. The Imperial College physicist Professor Tom Kibble had the privilege to unveil the commemorative plaque in presence of a large audience and EPS President John Dudley. Prof. Antonino Zichichi, past EPS president and member of the Blackett Group was invited to give a talk at the ceremony.
Since its inauguration in 1961, the building has hosted numerous eminent physicists, including…
NPL named birthplace of atomic timekeeping
The National Physical Laboratory [NPL] has been officially declared by the European Physical Society [EPS] Historic Site as the birthplace of atomic timekeeping. The announcement was made during a dedicated event at NPL in Teddington, United-Kingdom, on 31 January 2014 and a plaque commemorating the historic occasion was unveiled.
The EPS Historic Sites Award recognises places in Europe that have made an exceptional contribution to physics. The award recognises NPL as the place where the first practical atomic clock was built, a landmark which has changed global timekeeping and made modern communications and location services possible…
The state of physics in the United Kingdom
The Institute of Physics [IOP] in the United Kingdom [UK] has just released a report detailing a wealth of statistical data about staffing levels in UK physics departments between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012. Higher education in the UK has expanded enormously in the last 20 years or so and this data captures some of that expansion in the growth of staff numbers. The headline figures show that staffing levels in higher education have increased by 21% since 2003-2004 with physics staff increasing by 20%. This is quite impressive given that a lot of expansion has occurred in the newer universities that do not teach physics and at the same time a number of physics departments have closed…
Ferroelectrics UK
The Ferroelectrics UK will be held in the University of Sheffield, United-Kingdom, on 17-18 January 2013.
The 2-day meeting brings together researchers working in the field of electroceramics to discuss topics ranging from fundamental crystal chemistry to novel device applications.
Invited speakers are Jurgen Roedel (TU Darmstadt, Germany), Dragan Damjanovic (EPFL, Switzerland), Satoshi Wada (Yamanashi, Japan), Ian Maclaren (Glasgow, UK), Pim Groen (TNO/Delft, Holland), and Jiri Hlinka…
