The UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) announced in mid-December a five-year plan that includes drastic cuts for physics. “This [plan] has involved tough choices affecting the entire program, including a managed withdrawal from some areas,” says Michael Sterling, chairman of the STFC, which funds all major physics programs and facilities in the UK.
The £115 million ($200 million) cuts to the STFC budget come on top of a £398 million reduction for the university education system, despite Prime Minister Gordon Brown stating in a speech a year ago that “the downturn is no time to slow down our investment in science but to build more vigorously for the future.”
Over the next three years, the STFC will pull the UK out of several international projects, including CERN’s Alice experiment, the Gemini telescopes, the New Light Source (NLS), and the UK Infrared Telescope; the complete list is included with...
