Particle Physics Town Meeting 2010

John WomersleyDirector, Science Programmes

March 2010

Outline

• Programme Prioritisation and implementation • Particle Physics Grants• New Accelerator Centre at Daresbury • Drayson/Sterling Review of STFC• UK Space Agency• Comprehensive Spending Review

Programme Prioritisation

Programme Prioritisation

Focuses support on highest priorities within each area

Support (at reduced funding levels) the following projects:

• Particle Physics – ATLAS + upgrade, CMS + upgrade, and LHCb at LHC,

GridPP, T2K, SuperNEMO, neutron EDM, IPPP at Durham• Nuclear physics

– NUSTAR at FAIR

Programme Prioritisation

• Astronomy– ESO telescopes (VLT, VISTA and ALMA), R&D for ELT and SKA;

KMOS, Dark Energy Survey, SuperWASP, operation of ING, and JCMT (SCUBA2) to 2012

• Space– Aurora, Cosmic Vision (including LISA, LISA Pathfinder and Solar

Orbiter missions), GAIA, Rosetta, Bepi-Colombo, Herschel, Planck and JWST (MIRI) missions, post-launch support for Swift, Stereo and Hinode

• Particle Astrophysics– Gravitational wave searches

Programme Prioritisation

• Increased support for Diamond– though not as much as the full aspiration

• ISIS– though not as much as the full aspiration

• ILL– Flat cash

• ESRF – Reduced UK share after 2016/7 as Diamond

• Vulcan – 10 PW upgradeHiPER – 2010 fusion review

Programme Prioritisation

• Balances the budget from 11/12 onwards (flat cash)

• Supports campuses and gateway centres• Supports new accelerator centre at DL

– also Cockcroft Institute and MICE• Assumes international subscriptions all held to flat cash

– except ESRF (2016) as Diamond – any ESO subscription growth for ELT will be found within the

astronomy programme• Reduces funding for studentships and fellowships

by 25% across the board

Particle Physics advisory panel

• Highest Priority: ATLAS and CMS exploitation and upgrades; LHCb exploitation; nEDM, eEDM, T2K, theory

• Involvement essential: Direct dark-matter search experiments; LHCb upgrade; Linear Collider accelerator and detector R&D; neutrino detector R&D/ neutrino factory accelerator R&D; Neutrinoless double-beta decay; CDF/D0

• Limited involvement: High-precision muon experiments; MINOS; NA62• Future opportunities: High-luminosity flavour factory; Future high-precision

kaon experiments; LHeC; Muon collider• Involvement not foreseen: CNGS; Precision charm experiments;

g – 2; Belle; MEG; Nova; Precision neutrino mass experiments; Reactor neutrino experiments.

Projects supportedRoll-out of commitments or limited support

Particle Astrophysics advisory panel

• Essential: Gamma rays, Neutrinos, Dark Matter, Gravitational Waves

• Essential for exploitation of current facilities: CMB-Polarisation, Cosmic rays

• Encourage innovative ideas and support for small projects: Inverse Square Law test, eEDM

Projects supportedRoll-out of commitments or limited support

Feedback

• Feedback letters sent to all PIs.• PPAN and PALS reports released at http://

www.scitech.ac.uk/About/Stats/Rev/intro.aspx. These include the feedback on each project.

• This plan is predicated on internal savings:– 20% of savings in 2010-11 will come from internal cuts

to operational budgets and staffing costs (£11M)– Reductions in programme support will also affect staff

within STFC departments who are funded as part of project grants

• Ongoing efficiency gains each year to re-invest in science• Essential that STFC delivers on these

Internal savings

We have completed a thorough reprioritisation of STFC’s programme, starting with community consultation.

We will support only the highest priority items in each area.

This requires some painful reductions in support - in all the areas of science supported by STFC.

STFC has presented an affordable, sustainable plan within a constrained budget.

The programme priorities give us a firm basis for prudent planning in tough times to come.

Accelerator Centre

New Accelerator Centre

• The centre will focus on accelerator science and technology development– for future major scientific facilities – for the broader applications of accelerators in novel

areas such as security, energy, and medicine. • Accelerator workshop held in Swindon in June 2009

identified many opportunities in both areas, but no clear mechanism to take forward

• Centre will seek partnerships and external funding to enable this mission

Synergies

• Focus on applications will complement Cockcroft which is perhaps more academic in focus– but co-location should lead to strong partnership

• Will work closely with new Security Futures Centre • Gateway centre role

• Need a name for the centre– National Centre for Accelerator Applications?

Broader Accelerator Strategy

• In addition to the new accelerator centre (including ALICE and EMMA), STFC will continue to support – The Cockcroft Institute– The John Adams Institute

subject to successful review of a new proposal after 2012– high power proton driver R&D– the MICE experiment at RAL.

Implementation - 1

• We expect all existing ASTeC staff to transition to the new centre

• We expect (almost?) all Photon Science Dept staff at DL to transfer, and possibly some Technology Dept staff later

• We foresee that the centre will occupy the ASTeC office space in the CI building

• Centre will operate ALICE and EMMA as a test facility– allow ALICE operation for science if self-funded

• 2010/11 budgets have been set on this basis

ALICE R&D @ Daresbury (RF, SRF, High Brightness E-Gun, Laser, NS-FFAG, Vacuum, Cryogenics, Diagnostics)

IR-FELTHzCBSLaser

High brightness E-gun

RF

SRF

Laser Source/Diagnostics

Diagnostics

Vacuum } Generically applicable

NS-FFAG

RF

MEIS and High PowerProton

Front End Ion Source

Cryogenics

Existing accelerators

High Brightness

Injector Test Facility

SRF Module and Security R&D

Facility

Laser Room

Control Room

KlystronRoom

SRF Cleanroom and Processing VTF

2

VTF1

Vacuum Support

Lab

Advanced X-Ray Source (Security, Energy, Health)

Laser & Plasma

R&D

RFSuppLab

High CurrentProton/Hadron

Facility

Accelerator R&D @ Daresbury (RF, SRF, High Brightness E-Gun, Laser, Proton, Vacuum, Cryogenics, Diagnostics)

Existing AND being utilised/implemented right now

Existing enclosure

CryoPlant

Future potential

Particle Physics Grants

Grants

• PP experimental grants are now in process of being issued – for 2+2 years from 1 October 2010.

• Grant funding level follows PPAN recommendations • Following council’s guidance, LHC upgrade non-core posts will

not be issued until the schedule and priority of the GPD upgrades is better understood. – Input from PPAN and from CERN

• PP theory – Proceeding with very small standard grant round this year

Grants Review

• Council has asked us to review the rolling grant mechanisms and process– Concern that PP system is overly complex– Many outside STFC appear to believe rolling grants are

“outmoded”, are “entitlements” etc.• Will set up a small panel with outside members • TOR being drafted

Studentships and fellowships

• 2010 studentship allocations announced – 235 studentships, a 10% reduction.

• 2010 Advanced fellowships offered – 12 fellowships, no reduction – Cancellation of the postdoctoral fellowships protected the

studentships and advanced fellowships from an expected 25% reduction.

• Consultation underway on balance of Studentships vs. Advanced fellows vs. Postdoctoral fellows for future years.

Impact on Universities

• By the end of any transition period, there will have been a significant reduction in grants and projects support for universities – In addition to the 25% grant reductions from CSR 07

• We will work with the universities, Funding Councils, EPSRC and other stakeholders, to understand the impact on physics departments and ensure that physics in the UK remains vibrant– BIS report Higher Ambitions – the Future of Universities in a

Knowledge Economy (2009): “We must use scarce resources well. In future this should mean more research concentration, not less, especially in the high cost scientific disciplines.”

Drayson/Sterling Review of STFC

Announcement from Lord Drayson

“...there are real tensions in having international science projects, large scientific facilities and UK grant giving roles within a single RC. It leads to grants being squeezed by increases in costs of the large international projects which are not solely within their control. I will work urgently with Professor Sterling, STFC and the wider research community to find a better solution by the end of February 2010.”

Lord Drayson 16 December 2009

Input to the review

• Michael Sterling met with Lord Drayson, BIS, other Research Coucil chairs & CEOs, astronomy & physics Heads of Departments, RAS forum, IOP, Wellcome.

• Input to BIS on programme spend by subject by year – past and planned future, international subscriptions, facilities.

• Independent input from community, other organisations.• Formal submission from Michael Sterling to Lord Drayson

with recommendations.

Lord Drayson’s announcement on 4 March

International subscriptions:• ‘For the remainder of this spending review, 2010/11, the

Department expects to continue to provide STFC with a level of protection similar to that which has been provided this year and last in respect of the additional costs of international subscriptions due to exchange rate changes’

• ‘From the next spending review onwards, BIS is looking at options for managing the currency risks better. BIS is working closely with the Bank of England on how to reduce the exposure of the STFC’

What does this mean in practice?

• For 10/11, it means STFC has to find the first £3M of any fluctuation due to NNI and exchange rate, and we should get compensation for any additional requirement.

• This assumption was already built into the prioritisation planning.

• From 11/12 onwards we may have full compensation but mechanism not agreed. Still potentially a risk to the Science Budget.

Lord Drayson’s announcement on 4 March

National facilities• ‘From 2011/12, RCUK will work with STFC to agree the

availability and support requirements for our large domestic facilities, Diamond, the Central Laser Facility and ISIS, at the beginning of each CSR period, with indicative planning covering the subsequent spending period, a total of some six years.

• The funding for the delivery of these agreed requirements will be allocated separately to STFC by BIS starting from the beginning of the next spending round, 1st April 2011, and will be managed independently from the remainder of its budget allocation. This will further increase STFC’s planning ability and will separate the funding of these facilities from STFC’s grant-giving function’.

Work on this started before the review

• BIS asked the Research Councils to look at future funding arrangements for facilities in July 2009. Defined as the UK based facilities - CLF, ISIS and Diamond.

• Cross Council discussions led by RDG.• Developed key principles that a good funding option would

need to address:– how to best target science and extract the most benefit

from large scale research facilities– how to optimise the operation– how to choose and manage the acquisition of large

scale research facilities.

RCUK has agreed the following aims

• Funders understand the operating costs and the drivers of costs at all stages for each facility – open book accounting

• Funders agree the desirable levels of long term support, but also regular reviews to allow for changes if needed

• Enable funders to commit to costs before demand is established but negotiate extra access at cost if level of demand changes

• Allow appropriate access by international researchers and UK researchers who do not currently hold Research Council grants

• No change to concept of the capital costs being funded from the Large Facilities Capital Fund

What does this mean in practice?

• Required capability and funding for each facility agreed at the beginning of each CSR period, with indicative planning for additional 3 years (3 + 3 model).

• This funding to be allocated by BIS to STFC on a ring fenced basis.

• RCUK Implementation group to be established to fill in the (many) details e.g. upgrade / replacement funding, international access, access for non grant holders.

• New model to begin April 2011.

Good news but the devil is in the details….

UK Space Agency• Announcement by Lord Drayson in December 2009 that

there will be a new executive agency to replace BNSC and bring together the six Government Departments, two Research Councils, TSB and the Met Office.

• Launch event 23 March 2010 – Lords Mandelson and Drayson

UK Space Agency

• Agency to come into being on 1 April 2010• Additional funding announced for the International Space

Innovation Centre (ISIC) at Harwell - £12M from the BIS Strategic Investment Fund, total cost £40M. Co-located with the ESA centre at Harwell.

• Space Agency to take over ESA subscription, and to represent the UK internationally

• Manage major EU projects including GMES, Galileo and the EU satellite centre.

• Space science grants to be “dual-key” STFC+UKSA• CEO to be recruited.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Light at the end of the tunnelor

oncoming public spending cuts?

CSR preparation

• Discussed at STFC Council in March 2010• Will start to develop scenarios (good and bad)• Base on the existing PPAN and PALS rankings• We are discussing how PPAN, PALS and SB can be involved in

the process

Reasons for worry?

• Public finances

Reasons for optimism?

• Successful work by the community to make science an election agenda item and raise its profile

– Thanks - and please keep it up • Opportunities offered by LHC, etc. • We have good arguments • Drayson Review and Space Agency means we are starting from a blank-ish slate

We are not alone in having good arguments…

Understanding the UniverseIn the next decade:• Our new ground and space-based astronomical observatories

will help to reveal the large scale structure of the Universe and better understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy

• Our experiments at the LHC will reveal the basic laws of nature at energies where our current models fail

• We expect to directly detect, for the first time, gravitational waves from distant cosmic phenomena

• We will explore the origins of the elements at FAIR• We will land a rover on the surface of Mars and search for

evidence of life … and much more

VISTA telescopeAccepted by ESO December 2009

VISTATelescope

M42 nebula

ZJKs – 600 sec

backups

Prioritisation Process

• in October Science Board defined target funding envelopes for each panel:

• Each panel was also asked to explore ±£10M scenarios

10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

PALS £94M £112M £116M £118M £118M

PPAN £375M £373M £347M £350M £348M

A small strategic shift of resources driven by the goal of supporting the fuller exploitation of our facilities, and maximising the impact of major public investments.

Strategic Initiatives

Diamond

STFC FacilitiesGrants, projects, students

InternationalSubscriptions

RCUK £14M

• Research Councils UK agreed that the other Research Councils will make up to £14M available to STFC from within the Science and Research Budget.

• This exceptional action, in FY2010-11 only, will assist STFC to move to a sustainable new strategy in line with the level of resource already provided to STFC by Government in CSR07.

• In particular it has removed the risk that STFC's existing research grants to universities for scientific exploitation activities would need to be terminated early.