Major boost for Physics in the South East

The South East Physics Network (SEPNET) will have a collaborative Graduate School providing advanced research training for PhD students across the region and offering innovative MSc programmes. The consortium will also support joint research themes in astrophysics, particle physics, condensed matter physics and radiation and detector instrumentation.

A co-ordinated outreach programme to stimulate interest and aspiration among pupils in the region’s schools will draw on the resources of the six departments involved, and the consortium will also mount a knowledge transfer programme which will include a one-stop shop for regional employers.

Announcing the award at the HEFCE annual conference on 7 April, Professor David Eastwood, the Chief Executive of HEFCE, said that the six departments had been facing serious challenges if they continued to work in isolation. ‘The key to unlocking their potential has been to facilitate and support their collaboration so that they can secure greater levels of activities and leverage additional funds. By working in collaboration they can raise the quality of teaching and research, building on the strengths of the individual departments, and broaden the contribution of physics both through research and the development of highly skilled students.’ (See note 1).

Welcoming the announcement, Professor John Turner, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey, who convened the team which prepared the bid, said that the key to success was the sense of common purpose which had grown up among the physics departments in the region, and their commitment to making physics contribute to prosperity and well-being of the region: ‘The SEPNET collaboration is a pragmatic, farsighted and joined-up response to the challenges which face physics in the UK. With this help from HEFCE, our physics colleagues, working together, will be able to advance leading edge research but also bring on new generations of young physicists. With support from large regional employers in high tech sectors such as QinetiQ, IBM, WS Atkins, and the National Physical Laboratory, and a network of SMEs, they will be able to address the needs of industry for new science and for advanced training in high-level skills.’

Professor Peter McDonald, Head of Physics at Surrey, said: 'Our department has a strong tradition of combining pure research with applications, in such areas as nuclear physics, condensed matter, and radiation and detector instrumentation. SEPNET will enable us to work with colleagues across the region to strengthen further our industrial links and our portfolio of Master’s programmes.'