Transcript STFC-Council-0409 - Particle Physics and Particle Astrophysics

Physics and Astronomy
ATLAS
Neutrino physics
UKNF 23-04/09
Dark Matter
T2K in Japan
High Impact, World Leading
Science in STFC priority areas
Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Vital Statistics
STFC areas comprise ~50% of the department
• 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
• Teaching
• Big contribution including all year tutors
• Quality
• RAE: 4th = in Russell group physics
• Student satisfaction: =1st in Russell group physics
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Astronomy Highlights
Astrocam
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
High Energy Physics Highlights
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Particle Astrophysics Highlights
• Dark Matter
• highest publication rate on dark matter
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Particle Theory Highlights
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
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
•
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Radio nuclide detection
Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Astronomy Facilities
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Unique facilities: Neutron Beam
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Knowledge Exchange: Security
From Dark Matter and Neutrino
Physics to Anti-terrorism
• STFC can make a much bigger
•
impact if coordinated properly
Biggest terrorist threat is a nuclear
device - very difficult to detect needs new technology
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
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Sheffield project funded by HMO,
EPSRC, Corus Ltd. to develop efficen
anti-terrorist neutron detectors
Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Future Strategy
Income Diversity
• Government funding (HMO)
• Expanding nuclear security activity; group is
•
•
•
•
Focus STFC activity
on Priority Areas
More
Interdisciplinary
activity
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leading member of Government Advisory Body
RNREV
Industry funding: KTPs (Sheffield leads)
EU funding (FP7,8): ILIAS, LAGUNA, EURECA....
RCUK: EPSRC/NERC - e.g. climate change
Regional: Yorkshire Forward....
• Higgs and SUSY: ATLAS, ATLAS upgrade
• Neutrino Physics: T2K, T2K upgrade
• Dark Matter and Gravitational Waves
• Building blocks of the Universe, extreme
environments
Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Future Strategy
LIGO, SKA, JWST, ATLAS, E-ELT,
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
Issues
Please don’t damage the Top Soil!
you don’t produce more trees by
fertilizing the leaves
leaves
Products and life
branches
Serendipitous Development
top soil
Curiosity driven fundamental science at Universities
balance between facilities and science/exploitation
top-down targets do not
The light bulb was not invented by
deciding to invest in the candle industry
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Neil Spooner - Sheffield
University links
erdisciplinary Centre for Security and Crime
Detection
Department of Physics and Astronomy - Prof. Neil
[particle
detection
Spooner
technology]
Department of Electronic
and Electrical Engineering - Prof. N.
[low energy x-ray and photon detection
Allinson
technology]
Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering - T.
[pattern
recognition
Dodd
technology]
Department of Computer Sciences - S.
Maddock [3D computer graphics and imaging technology]
New Business Research
Fellow
coordination
links to industry and outside
organisations
interdisciplinary links