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School of Physics and Astronomy

Head of School

Institute for Astronomy

Institute for Particle & Nuclear Physics

Institute for Condensed Matter & Complex Systems

EPCC

HoI HoIHoI HoI

+4 HoIs = School Executive Committee

Research Committee: DoR + HoIs + othersKT committee: HoI + DoR + others Will merge (and probably slim down!) Jan 2011

Director of Graduate School

Director of Publicity and RecruitmentDirector of Teaching

HoS, HoIs & Directors report to School Academic Board

= Departments of Natural Philosophy, Mathematical Physics & Astronomy

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EPCC 36 grants 47% EC, 49% EPSRCIfA 27 grants 68% STFC ICMCS 43 grants 60% EPSRC, 22% RS/RSE IPNP 20 grants 98% PPARC/STFC

Research income (past 5 years)

Overall:~ 25% EPSRC~ 36% STFC

£13.7M

£14.4M

£14.7M

£14.9M

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Institute for Astronomy

JCMT (Hawaii) SCUBA

Highlight: survey astronomy

• Observation• Statistical analysis• Theoretical interpretation

Characteristics and issues

• Facilities dependent• Technology advantage: proximity of ATC (but future?) • Need to take advantage of opportunities

LOFAR

Near Far

Observation

Theory

SU

PA

1

Priority

Traditional strength

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Institute for Particle & Nuclear Physics

Theme 1: finding the Higgs @ LHC (CERN)

Theme 2: nuclear astrophysics

Already in LHCbJust joint ATLAS (SUPA2 priority)Associated theory and supercomputingPhysics beyond the Standard Model

FAIR (ca. 2017) – nuclear reactionsBoulby – dark matter

Characteristics & issues

• Very few international facilities compared to astronomy• Very dependent on STFC priorities non-perturbative changes (Boulby closure)• Local experiment/theory balance in particle physics (5 vs. 9 FTEs)

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Institute for Condensed Matter & Complex Systems

Hard condensed matter: extreme conditions physics (CSEC)

• High pressure/high T • Low T magnetic field/high purity (SUPA1 success!)

Soft condensed matter

• Strength 1: the physics of ‘model’ colloidal suspensions• Strength 2: very large scale simulations ( patented new material)

Biological Physics

• Major investment in SUPA2 (+ NPL)• Multi-scale (molecules, cells, ecosystems; ps to years)

Characteristics & issues

• ‘Small science’ – driven by unforeseeable new developments on short time scales• Heavy reliance on central facilities• Very highly interdisciplinary• Currently very focussed on fundamental end, with less attention to applications• Priority: substantial re-orientation towards energy + drug discovery

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• A leading HPC centre in the world• “Best example of commercialising the science base in Scotland” (Scottish Enterprise)• ‘In physics but not simply physics’ (collaborators from all 3 Colleges)• 95% funded by external contracts and grants (50:50 academic : industry)

• Strength and priority: Driving HPC and data in Europe

Location No Companies

Value Examples

Scotland 16 £490,000 Prospect FS, OHM Surveys, DEM

UK 8 £1,270,000 Rolls Royce, AWE, ICR

Europe 86 £1,790,000 Atos Origin, SAP, FLE

World 1 £300,000 ISI

A major issue: how to maximise REF impact?

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Cross-institute ‘unique selling points’

Actual

• Interdisciplinarity

• Close in-house collaboration between experiment, theory and simulation

• Embedding e-science and HPC in all areas

• Balanced breadth

Potential

• Detector technologies

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Strategic challenges/threats

• Balancing big science vs. small science

• Almost total reliance on RCUK funding

• Culture change vis-à-vis KT and ‘impact’ (in the REF sense) …

• … and set up the structures to facilitate it!

• Reorientation towards RCUK (and HM Treasury!) priorities (energy, F&D)

• New Physics Education research effort

• College plans for central workshop

That’s all folks!