Friday, October 03, 2008

UK Physics: In Good Health, or Damaged?

I don't know! And I think no one seems to know due to all the contradictory reports.

I didn't write about this earlier because I wanted to wait and see what the reaction and review will be. I shouldn't have waited, because it has only created more confusion. The Wakeham Review, conducted at the behest of the UK Department of Universities Innovations and Skills, was done to analyze the health of UK's physics program after the budget disaster befalling the UK's high energy physics and astronomy/astrophysics programs. So what did the review panel's conclusion?

According to The Financial Times, it is in "good health". BBC News seems to also concur.

But The Register thinks that UK Physics has been damaged by the budget bloodbath. The same sentiment is also in the report at PhysicsWorld.

Are they all reading the same report?

Zz.

2 comments:

noddeat said...

IMHO, it is too early to make conclusions. If the cut will continue for 2009, 2010 etc. then one will see the consequences.

And yet, UK scientists still have access to the EU grants, don't they?

Anonymous said...

The report itself is here:

http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/cmsweb/downloads/rcuk/reviews/physics/review.pdf