Memorandum 5
Submission from the Radio and Space Plasma
Physics Research Group, University of Leicester
SCIENCE BUDGET
ALLOCATION
1. We are aware that a number of written
submissions have been made to the IUS Select Committee investigation
of the Science Budget Allocation in response to the statement
in the STFC Delivery Plan (11 December 2007) that "We will
cease all support for ground-based solar-terrestrial physics facilities".
These submissions emphasise the UK-wide community view of the
scientific and societal significance of these facilities, and
the negative impacts that will result from the intended cessation
of support. The purpose of this submission is to draw specific
attention to the effect of this decision on the research programme
of the Radio & Space Plasma Physics (RSPP) group in the Department
of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Leicester, currently
the largest university group undertaking research in this discipline,
and its inappropriateness in relation to the STFC's stated mission
and remit.
2. During the past 20 years the RSPP group
at Leicester has built a world-leading research programme in ground-based
solar-terrestrial physics, based on applications of radar techniques
to studies of the polar upper atmosphere. It has designed, built,
and now operates radar facilities in Iceland, Finland, and on
Svalbard within the Arctic Circle, the scientific discoveries
from which have resulted in major national and international awards
to Leicester staff, and the acquisition of a world-class reputation
for both scientific and technical excellence. The announcement
of the STFC decision promises to bring this programme to an end,
with the loss of both scientific and technical capability, and
the waste of major investments over recent years both personal
and financial. The high-power Spear radar facility on Svalbard,
in particular, was completed only two years ago at a cost to the
former PPARC of over £2 million, with a planned scientific
programme of at least 10 years. The STFC decision will thus disrupt
and terminate productive careers at Leicester, resulting in the
dismissal of both scientific and technical staff, waste substantial
investments of public money, and damage the UK's reputation and
prestige through our withdrawal from international collaborations
to which we are major contributors.
3. Withdrawal of support for ground-based
solar-terrestrial physics will also have major negative impact
on the training of young scientists, who through their work at
Leicester gain hands-on experience of research using world-class
experimental facilities. Such direct experience has now become
a rarity within the STFC remit, where much of research training
is conducted at considerable distance using data from large international
facilities. The loss to economic benefit and knowledge transfer
will also be considerable. Radar systems commissioned from us
by other international institutes are currently operating in Alaska,
Antarctica, and Japan, earning income to the UK that has exceeded
the initial research council investment, and related negotiations
are currently in progress with institutes in China and Russia.
Such activities cannot be sustained in the absence of an on-going
research programme at Leicester. The scientific knowledge gained
from this research also has immediate applicability eg to defence
radar systems, mitigation of the effect of "space weather"
on technological systems, and in novel techniques for geological
exploration.
4. The existing and future potential for
world-class scientific research at Leicester, the contribution
to the training of young scientists, and the immediate strong
contribution to knowledge transfer, are all in direct line with
the government's vision for the mission of the new research council.
Against this background the STFC's own decision to withdraw all
support from this area of work seems perverse, and to have been
arrived at without rational basis. Three recommendations follow.
(i) That a detailed independent pre-implementation
review be undertaken of the STFC Delivery Plan, in particular
of the intent to cease support for ground-based solar-terrestrial
physics facilities.
(ii) That there should be an enquiry into
the transparency of decision-making within the research council,
including the operation of peer-review, appropriate representation
of the client community within the policy-forming structures,
and the level of consultation and discussion with the community.
(iii) Consideration should be given to transferring
grant-awarding activities in this specific field (and possibly
across the board) from STFC to another body eg EPSRC or NERC,
with appropriate transfer of funds. As a consequence of recent
events we have lost confidence in the ability and willingness
of the present research council and its executive to provide appropriate
future stewardship of university research in our discipline to
the benefit of the nation.
February 2008
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