The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) welcomes the news that HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) has approved £12.5 million funding to promote and sustain physics provision in six departments in South East England to develop and support the regional and national economy.
The funding will support a new organisation - the South East Physics Network (SEPNET) - which will see the University of Kent, Queen Mary University of London, Royal Holloway University of London, Southampton University, University of Surrey and University of Sussex acting together to promote physics in the region, nationally and internationally. STFC are a key partner in the project.
Professor Norman McCubbin, Director Particle Physics at STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire said, "The HEFCE announcement is great news for physics in the South East. I'm really pleased that STFC is a partner supporting this new SEPNET organisation, and there will be substantial mutual benefit through joint appointments and collaborative work. The HEFCE award also gives a strong boost to existing ventures, for example the NExT Institute in particle physics. This is a particularly exciting time for physics in the research areas identified by HEFCE, and scientists and engineers here at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory look forward to working closely with our SEPNET colleagues."
View the HEFCE news release (link opens in a new window).
Notes for editors
NExT Institute
The NExT Institute (link opens in a new window) was created to promote close collaboration between experimentalists and theorists in Particle Physics. It was founded by the Particle Physics Department at the Science and Technology Facilities Council Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the High Energy Physics group at Southampton University. The Institute currently consists of a number of joint posts at lecturer and PDRA level, as well as joint studentships. The SEPNET funds will allow an expansion to include the Royal Holloway, University of London and Sussex University Particle Physics groups within NExT.
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Page last updated: 15 April 2008
by Natalie Bealing
