| Spending review: Is poor advice betraying UK science and engineering? The UK is reputedly poor at capitalising on its scientific excellence. Is this due to a lack of vision in the advice given to politicians?Crises provide opportunities, as every good manager knows.From my point of view as a particle physicist there is a very dangerous kind of opportunist lurking in and around Whitehall. You don't have to be a genius to realise that if swingeing cuts are made in the science budget, huge damage will be inflicted on the scientific standing and economic future of the UK. But some influential people in the science policy arena see this as an opportunity to remove an annoying anomaly - the UK's leadership in particle physics. In particular they seem to loathe CERN, the world-leading laboratory of which the UK is a founder member. I'm sorry if this sounds paranoid, but the evidence is they are out to get me.I don't think this threat comes from politicians and I don't detect a massive change here between Labour and the coalition. David Willetts is on record praising CERN (and Margaret Thatcher's decision to stay in it), and in his speech on Wednesday Dr Vince Cable also highlighted CERN's contribution.But there is something badly wrong when Sir David King, president of the British Science Association and a former government chief scientific advisor, chooses the day the Large Hadron Collider puts exciting science in the news with a positive story to accuse us of "navel gazing". Or when Lord Browne, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is asked about priorities and immediately tells the government to cut science, especially maths and physics, and most especially particle physics and CERN. (Even if the authority with which he speaks may be dubious.) And then, seizing the "opportunity" of Cable's speech, the Chemical Engineers wade in. With even a (very old) picture of the science they want to stop.If this is what they will say in public, I dread to think what they say in their private chats with ministers or civil servants.In my darker moments I worry that the actual council of STFC (which funds particle physics) is part of the problem. I desperately hope I am wrong, but I would feel a lot better if Philip Greenish, CEO of the RAEng and a member of STFC council, had distanced himself from the ill-informed attack the RAEng made on STFC science. Or failing that, if Professor Michael Sterling, the chair, hadn't backed him up. Do they agree that particle physics, which is in their custody, should be for the chop?When Professor Bill Wakeham was commissioned to produce a review of UK physics in light of the dire state of STFC finances many feared he was another who saw the CERN budget as something which would be better spent fighting climate change or subsidising industry (to take the apparent preferred destinations of Sir David and Lord Browne respectively). However, his report triumphantly vindicated STFC science, concluding that particle physics and astronomy were two areas in physics where the UK was genuinely world leading.The tragedy is that there is such a lost opportunity here. CERN is a target simply because it is large and visible. This high profile should be a huge strength for the whole breadth of science and engineering.Why could Sir David King not appear on Newsnight and say "Yes, this is brilliant! Look how exciting science is! And we must harness the excitement and the new knowledge it brings to solve some of the problems facing us!"Why could the RAEng not say "Particle physics is an adventure where exciting engineering is essential, from software and the invention of the world-wide web, through electronics and the invention of touchscreens, to the challenges of large-scale cryogenics. Be an engineer, be at the scientific and technological cutting edge, and be part of the economic recovery."Do engineers in general agree with what is being said in their name? Lyn Evans and Steve Myers, past and current leaders of the LHC, are UK engineers, for goodness sake! This is a real, classic example of lack of vision in the UK failing to capitalise on real UK excellence. The science and engineering budget, as far as anyone can tell, makes a big net return to the economy. The whole thing, from medical research to maths, is comparable to the amount lost in unpaid taxes and wrongly paid benefit. These grandees should be out there arguing the relative priority of (for example) climate research in the context of all government spending, not against CERN.This has been something of a partisan rant, everyone is nervous about the coming cuts. But I don't think it is special pleading, it is an objection to being specially pleaded against. Particle physicists are not generally more expensive than other scientists, we just have fewer, bigger and more visible projects which seem to make irresistible targets for some.Yesterday I was depressed to hear Dr Vince Cable accepting that big cuts would happen, and repeating tired lines about economic focus. However, he did also talk about backing excellence, and there is clearly still room for some discussion. Given the unquestioned excellence of UK particle physics, (and many other areas of curiousity-led science) perhaps the opportunists should take care.Everyone in receipt of taxpayers money should have to justify themselves, especially now. We can and do. Particle physics is an essential part of the scientific culture of the UK, and that culture is critical to our future as a nation, and globally as a species. I hope at least some of the people who have the ear of the government also have the eyes to see.CernHigher educationResearchResearch fundingScience policyUniversity fundingVince CableEducation policyJon Butterworthguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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