Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford's Department of Physics, responds to the news that University funding for astronomy and physics research will be cut by almost a third .
Modern astronomy is full of marvels. In recent years we have rejoiced in the success of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and been puzzled by the surprisingly vibrant early Universe it is showing us. We have found thousands of exoplanets , worlds around other stars, many of which are stranger than we had ever imagined possible, and which are teaching us about the potentially violent past of our own Solar System. New advances in radio astronomy are providing unprecedented insight into the behaviour of black holes , the Universe's most exotic objects, testing fundamental physics and writing a new, rich, history of the cosmos.
As astronomers prod and poke at the Universe, pushing back the frontiers of discovery, we do so with the full support of the public, in the UK and internationally. Whether participating in the citizen science projects which contribute so much to our understanding, watching Oxford's very own Dr Becky on Youtube , or encountering our science online or in the media , a vast public audience are participants in this grand endeavour. For many, an interest in astronomy - and the ability to hear about and participate in cutting edge research - is a gateway to a lifetime of engagement with science , and the students who study our subject emerge with skills in data analysis, AI and machine learning, and problem solving that are highly valued by the wider economy.
The effects of our science ripple outwards through the UK's communities and economy in other ways too. In a previous argument about funding, I found myself reminding Jeremy Paxman on the Newsnight sofa that 'the money doesn't actually go to space', but is spent here on Earth. Each of the missions, observatories and laboratories which contribute to modern astrophysics is powered by people, from the (mostly) early career researchers here in Oxford , designing instruments , building software , and producing knowledge from data , to the staff of places like the Rutherford Appleton lab down the road, to the growing cluster of satellite and space firms that call Oxfordshire home, to our national and international partners and beyond. Fifteen of the detectors that receive light from JWST's golden mirrors were built right here in the UK, and the growing UK space sector is intrinsically intertwined with and depends on academic projects.
The UK punches above its weight in scientific impact and in space-related industry. This should be a national success story, but instead we are facing the possibility of unsettling and destabilizing threats to funding for cutting edge science.
The UK punches above its weight in scientific impact and in space-related industry . This should be a national success story, but instead we are facing the possibility of unsettling and destabilizing threats to funding for cutting-edge science. STFC, the research council responsible for astrophysics, along with particle physics and nuclear physics, is expecting future budgets supporting facilities like our observatories to be just 70% of the current level, a potentially devastating cut at a time where costs are increasing. The resulting loss of jobs and reduction in roles could easily amount to hundreds of roles, spread around the country, let alone the loss of scientific opportunity as telescopes, missions and laboratories are shut down. These harms will last decades, but are imposed to make short-term budgets balance.
Applied science - and the workforce required by companies investing in clean energy or AI - depends on a strong scientific base, which is directly challenged by these changes.
The cause seems to be budget pressures across UK Research and Innovation (URKI), with 'curiosity driven research' now only one of a number of priorities, given equal status with supporting governmental priorities. Applied science - and the workforce required by companies investing in clean energy or AI - depends on a strong scientific base, which is directly challenged by these changes. STFC is especially vulnerable to budget cuts, because alongside support for projects like the upcoming Vera C Rubin observatory , now just weeks away from starting its survey of the sky with the world's largest camera (something we in Oxford have been intimately involved with), it must fund the network of national laboratories, as well as pay the UK's membership fees for organisations such as CERN and the European Space Agency. Our community is also reeling from recent delays to the grants that fund our early career researchers, hitting the most precarious members of our community.
A letter from UKRI chief executive Ian Chapman released on 1st February makes this clear. In an effort to reassure the broader research community he says the situation at STFC is 'unique among the UKRI councils because its cost base has increased significantly due to the type of facilities and services it manages'. What this means is that cuts to fundamental research in astrophysics, particle physics and nuclear physics - the areas which sit within STFC's remit - are being made because of the rising costs of the rest of STFC's program. Because our science happens to sit within STFC, it is being uniquely targeted for cuts. It amounts to damage that will last for a generation, being made because of a bureaucratic coincidence.
In a period where money is undoubtedly tight everywhere, we need to remember that spending money on fundamental sciences like astrophysics is an investment, one with short-term benefits to communities across the UK, and long-term pay-offs.
Continued uncertainty and the threat of the most significant budget cuts in two generations risk throwing away the UK's advantages in fundamental science. We have invested in projects like the Square Kilometre Array , now under construction in South Africa and in Australia, but headquartered at Jodrell Bank , yet risk missing out on benefiting from our leadership. We pay money to the European Space Agency (ESA), but without the capacity to properly fund our researchers, will not lead the exploration of space nor receive the commercial and industrial pay-offs that come from being involved in ESA's activities. We have a world-leading research base, capable of producing new insights, inspiring a new generation of scientists and benefiting the country, but are about to throw it away.
In a period where money is undoubtedly tight everywhere, we need to remember that spending money on fundamental sciences like astrophysics is an investment, one with short-term benefits to communities across the UK, and long-term pay-offs. The current threat is not, I think, the result of an assessment of the competitiveness or merit of the community's work - we would ace any such test - but rather an artefact of how research within UKRI is organised, making our fundamental sciences even more vulnerable to funding pressures and changes in policy than other fields. This needs to be reversed, and the UK's leading position in space and astrophysical sciences preserved, lest the benefit of our investments be felt elsewhere.
