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IOP president Keith Burnett outlines a ‘pivotal’ year ahead for UK physics
- Governments starting new terms this year will need to address mounting economic, social, security, environmental and technological challenges. Science, including physics funding, will need to form part of the UK government’s spending review this spring. A 10-year funding cycle for R&D activities could instil confidence in researchers but physics funding will need to be protected if UK economic growth through industry is to be successful. The new government’s strategic defence review, due for publication later this year, will need to consider research security needs to protect, not hamper, future UK physics research. As we celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology that marks the centenary of the initial development of quantum mechanics by Werner Heisenberg, 2025 is a reminder of how the benefits of physics span over decades.
- The physics sector in the UK generates £229bn gross value added, or 11% of total UK gross domestic product. Labour productivity in physics-based businesses is strong at £84 300 per worker, per year. A pivotal year for UK universities will see securing financial stability and future, and protecting physics departments' world-leading research and preparing the next generation of physicists that they do so well, as major challenges.
- Emerging technologies, enabled by physicists’ breakthroughs, promise to transform the way we live and work, and create new business opportunities and open up new markets. A clear, comprehensive and long-term vision for R&D would instil confidence among researchers and innovators, and long-term and sustainable R&D funding would enable people and disruptive ideas to flourish and drive tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
- Decisions over the next few months will shape outcomes for years, perhaps decades, to come, for science as well as health and social care, education or international relations.
- The strategic defence review, due for publication later this year, will be important for physics given its core role in many of the technologies that contribute to the UK’s defence capabilities. Intellectual property and scientific innovation are some of the UK’s greatest strengths and it is right to secure them.
- Last year, the pressures faced by higher education institutions became apparent, with announcements of course closures, redundancies and restructures as a way of saving money. The rise in tuition fees has far from solved the problem, so we need to be prepared for more turbulence coming for the higher education sector.
- Physics-based industries are a foundation stone for the UK economy and are highly productive. If physics is not at the heart of this effort, then the government’s mission of economic revival is in danger of failing to get off the launch pad.
- The focus of the UK's industrial strategy will be on science and technology in positioning the UK for economic growth. Physics discoveries often take time to realise in full, but their transformational nature is indisputable, from fibre-optic communications to magnetic resonance imaging.
- The decisions over the next few months will shape outcomes for years, perhaps decades, to come. Urgency should not come at the cost of thinking long-term, because the implications of the decisions could be significant.
- Physics discoveries in particular can be hampered by overzealous security measures. Decisions about research security need to protect the future of UK physics research.
- 2025 is a reminder of the benefits of physics that span over decades. The country needs a stronger scientific workforce and that workforce will be strongly dependent on physics skills.
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