Particle Physics TheoryTown Meeting

John WomersleySTFC Chief Executive

18 December 2013

STFC’s role – a reminder Our Vision is to maximise the impact of our knowledge, skills, facilities and resources for the benefit of the United Kingdom and its people. We deliver our mission through three distinct but interrelated functions:

1. Supporting University based research and skills development in astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics

2. Providing access to world leading large scale research facilities for UK researchers and industry

3. Building national Science and Innovation Campuses around our national laboratories to promote academic and industrial collaboration

What we have achieved• Restructured senior management team• Released from ‘special measures’, convinced BIS we are trusted

partners• Developed a much clearer sense of ‘who we are and what we do’

– PPARC and CCLRC merger now much more complete• Transformed relations with our communities• Positioned STFC as a ‘thought leader’• Managed flat cash without crises• Refreshed our science programme (e.g. E-ELT, FAIR)• Delivered major investment on Campuses (e.g. Hartree)• ISIC has become the Satellite Applications Catapult• New JV partner at Harwell• Discovered the Higgs…

The Higgs boson

Over 25 million people in the UK read this story in the press or saw it on television news

“The achingly glamorous world of big science”

Particle Physics• Our highest priority in particle physics remains the exploitation

of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. - ATLAS, CMS and LHCb (and ALICE) experiments. - Worldwide LCG (via GridPP)

• The ATLAS and CMS upgrades are highest priority projects - We have agreed funding for the Phase 1 and next phase of R&D- Phase 2 upgrades also required but cost and schedule a concern

• LHCb upgrade currently under review – future funding dependent on outcome of Programmatic Review

Particle Physics• Exploring neutrino mass and mixing with T2K and SuperNEMO

– T2K at JPARC in Japan, in which the UK holds key leadership roles, is a world leading experiment for the study of neutrino oscillations

– We are supporting the Demonstrator phase of the SuperNEMO project, a UK-France led experiment to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay.

• Engaging in future opportunities for a next generation long baseline neutrino experiment– Strong science case recognised in European Strategy for Particle Physics

• Support for nEDM experiment at ILL. – Cryogenic upgrade for nEDM needed for experiment to remain

competitive

Particle Astrophysics

• In the coming decade we expect to directly detect, for the first time, gravitational waves from distant cosmic phenomena – Exploitation of ground-

based Gravitational Wave Detectors

– Advanced LIGO (inc LIGO-India)

– LISA pathfinder

Particle Astrophysics• We are participating in pre-Construction Phase of the

Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)– providing funding for a 3 year R&D programme for CTA – This will place the UK in a strong position to lead the high-

energy component of CTA in the construction phase and ensure future access to data for the UK scientific community.

• Dark Matter also a strategically important area of research for the UK– Focused R&D funding for DM being provided by STFC. – UK community targeting Lux-Zeplin second generation

experiment using noble liquid detector technologies.

CERN

• LHC maintenance and upgrade programme is well underway

• UK company Arcade has won £1 million of contracts at CERN to upgrade ventilation systems

• Over the last three years UK companies have won £47 million in contracts from CERN

• From 2011 to 2012 the value to UK companies of CERN contracts rose by 52%

Square Kilometre ArrayDavid Willetts at MeerKAT site, Karoo, South Africa

• Project engineering phase underway• Project schedule approved• Anticipate early science in 2020

• Early capital contribution to help secure HQ in UK?

European Extremely Large Telescope

Dark Energy Survey (DES)• 5-year survey just started on a US

telescope in Chile, utilising a 570 megapixel camera, to gather data to explore the nature of dark energy

• STFC provided ~£2M to enable a UK consortium led by UCL to provide precision optics for the camera and to enable a UK lead in exploiting the science

Conventional widefield image Fluorescence microscopy Super-resolution (dSTORM) image

Collaboration with UCL group (Ian Robinson) based in RCaH investigating chromosome structure using lasers and X-ray imaging on Diamond. Advanced labelling techniques allow high labelling density of dyes suitable for super-resolution imaging.

dSTORM uses localization of single fluorescent molecules to build up an image at sub-50 nm resolution. The first of a number of super-resolution techniques to be commissioned on Octopus. 3D super-resolution to follow (funded by MRC).

Super Resolution Imaging on Octopus

International Panel Review of ISIS“The Review Committee is extremely impressed by the development and performance of ISIS. In particular by the fact that ISIS has, since its creation, being able to create a culture of innovation that has had

profound impact on and will continue to change the way neutron scattering is performed worldwide.”

“Very few research institutions have demonstrated similar drives toward innovation and spread of the resulting technological

development.”

Accelerator R&D• VELA is operational• First commercial users booked

with more in the pipeline• CLARA CDR completed

Nuclear Physics• STFC joined as an Associate

Partner in FAIR in May 2013

UK groups win time on a range of international facilities and lead many international physics programmes Isolde, Jyvaskyla, GSI, MaxLab, GANIL and JLAB Continue to play key role in LHC ALICE project

Making our case• House of Lords Inquiry on large

and medium-sized research infrastructures and e-Infrastructure in UK• Future needs• Strategic planning • Funding and governance

arrangements • Report just out• Recommends long term strategic

approach

Review mania

BIS Strategic Review

Lean

processes

Centres of Excellence

Triennial Review Implementation

RCUK

Governance

Review

We will participate fully, but these overlapping reviews, together with the increasing numbers of ‘routine’ BIS enquiries, are stretching capacity

Phase 1 • Francis Maude approved • 10 recommendations but no mergers Phase 2• Report in draft• Outcome likely to be amber-green• Final report end January earliestTR Implementation Group (TRIG)• First meeting two weeks ago• Aiming to sunset by Feb 2014

Triennial Review

• Unresolved issues in non-science budget• Ministerial discussions over next month to resolve and this will

have implications for the size of science budget• Science Minister not keen to see big changes to allocations• Allocations may go into New Year

Spending Review

“We are making difficult decisions on things like welfare so that we can invest in areas like science”

The Higgs Innovation Centre

• Investment to secure the UK’s science base and take the lead in cutting-edge science and technology

• The centre will provide cutting edge academic instrumentation and big data capabilities to support high tech start ups and academic researchers specialising in astronomy and particle physics

• TSB funded Materials and Manufacturing Launchpad • CERN Business Incubation Centre launched in November• supports businesses and entrepreneurs in turning

innovative technologies related to particle physics into marketable products

• The Sci-Tech Daresbury Science and Innovation Strategy approved by the Joint Venture

Developing Sci-Tech Daresbury

• New European Space Agency building• Modular building for rapid expansion of Catapult • New Innovation and Amenity Centre• New RAL Space Facilities building• New JV partner

Developing Harwell Oxford

STFC Impact Report 2013• Supporting UK space industry (worth £40

billion by 2030)• CERN technology benefits to the UK

economy• New vaccine for foot and mouth disease• New method for breast cancer biopsies• Tenant companies at Sci-Tech Daresbury,

delivered £35 million sales, attracted £63 million of investment and developed 147 new products

• Two million people reached last year in face to face engagement including 346,000 school children and 17,500 teachers

Consolidated Grants Review 2013• PP Theory consolidated grants review in 2013• Science Board approved Panel recommendations for grants

commencing October 2014• But final outcome is subject to Spending Review

– Majority of institute grants announced– PIs informed of positions to be funded if expected

funding is available• We’ve made preparations to minimise delay once funding is

known

Review of UK Phenomenology• Mid-term review of IPPP took place in 2013• Panel agreed IPPP made very positive impact on UK programme

– Instrumental in rejuvenating phenomenology in the UK • But Panel also agreed it’s appropriate to consider future ways to

support phenomenology– Especially if flat cash funding is to continue

• Panel recommended STFC undertake a strategic review of UK phenomenology in 2014/15– Review planning will begin soon– Science Board to consider membership and ToR in February– Will include community consultation

Vision for STFC• We are the national agency for strategic investment in

science– Real people on the ground doing real things– Trusted delivery partner for investment and innovation– We don’t just have spreadsheets, we have “achingly

glamorous,” billion-pound, world-leading facilities

What’s the next Big Thing?Your input welcome!

Making our caseWe are doing well! but…• General Election held before next need to argue our case • How can we make a visible difference to the UK?

– Economy, STEM skills, industrial strategy• How do we convince others to tell our story?• The breadth of STFC’s programme is a strength

– How do we maximise the benefits?– And how can increase the impact of all our programme?

We need your help and input!

Discussion