Neil Spooner - SheffieldUKNF 23-04/09
Physics and Astronomy
High Impact, World Leading Science in STFC priority areas
ATLAS Dark Matter
Neutrino physics T2K in Japan
Neil Spooner - SheffieldUKNF 23-04/09
Vital Statistics
• People
• Astronomy: 6 academics, 4 PDRAs, 9 PGs
• Particle Physics and Particle Astrophysics: 9 (11) academics, 15 PDRAs, 15 PGs, technicians
• Particle Theory and Cosmology: 3 (2 in Maths) academics...• Funding
• Astronomy: standard grants
• Particle Physics and Particle Astrophysics: HEP rolling grant (£4-10M); HMO; EPSRC; industry
STFC areas comprise ~50% of the department
• Teaching
• Big contribution including all year tutors• Quality
• RAE: 4th = in Russell group physics
• Student satisfaction: =1st in Russell group physics
Neil Spooner - SheffieldUKNF 23-04/09
Particle Astrophysics Highlights• Dark Matter
• highest publication rate on dark matter
Neil Spooner - SheffieldUKNF 23-04/09
Unique facilities: Boulby £3.2M JIF award to the Department - opened by Lord Sainsbury in April 2003
From Dark Matter to Underground Science• SKY climate change project
• Radio nuclide detection
Neil Spooner - SheffieldUKNF 23-04/09
Knowledge Exchange: SecurityFrom Dark Matter and Neutrino
Physics to Anti-terrorism
Fixed Portals• US government recent contracts totaling $1.15B for next generation radiation portals•Worldwide 16,000 installations by 2010•Vast majority still use 3He detectors
• STFC can make a much bigger impact if coordinated properly
Sheffield project funded by HMO, EPSRC, Corus Ltd. to develop efficent
anti-terrorist neutron detectors
• Biggest terrorist threat is a nuclear device - very difficult to detect - needs new technology
Neil Spooner - SheffieldUKNF 23-04/09
Future StrategyIncome Diversity • Government funding (HMO)
• Expanding nuclear security activity; group is leading member of Government Advisory Body RNREV
Focus STFC activity on Priority Areas
• EU funding (FP7,8): ILIAS, LAGUNA, EURECA....
• Higgs and SUSY: ATLAS, ATLAS upgrade• Neutrino Physics: T2K, T2K upgrade
• Industry funding: KTPs (Sheffield leads)
More Interdisciplinary
activity
• RCUK: EPSRC/NERC - e.g. climate change
• Regional: Yorkshire Forward....
• Dark Matter and Gravitational Waves
• Building blocks of the Universe, extreme environments
Neil Spooner - SheffieldUKNF 23-04/09
Issues
Please don’t damage the Top Soil!
The light bulb was not invented by deciding to invest in the candle industry
balance between facilities and science/exploitation
Curiosity driven fundamental science at Universitiestop soil
Serendipitous Development
Products and life
branches
leaves
top-down targets do not
you don’t produce more trees by fertilizing the leaves
University links
Interdisciplinary Centre for Security and Crime Detection
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering - Prof. N. Allinson [low energy x-ray and photon detection
technology] Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering - T. Dodd [pattern recognition
technology]Department of Computer Sciences - S. Maddock [3D computer graphics and imaging technology]
Department of Physics and Astronomy - Prof. Neil Spooner [particle detection
technology]
New Business Research Fellowcoordination
links to industry and outside organisations
interdisciplinary links