Open letter to the Science Minister from Heads of Physics

The Institute of Physics provides secretariat support for the UK Heads of Physics Forum, made up of the leaders of UK university physics departments.

The Forum has today published an open letter to Lord Vallance, the Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, signed by heads of physics schools and departments expressing their concern about funding changes by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The 58 signatories collectively represent 45 universities across the UK, and 23 of the 24 Russell Group universities.

We are hosting this letter on our website in our secretariat capacity for the Heads of Physics Forum.

Open letter to the Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear from UK Heads of Physics Departments

Dear Lord Vallance,

We write collectively as Heads of Physics Departments across the UK to express our deep concern regarding the reductions to the STFC research grants funding. These changes risk undermining science’s fundamental role in improving our prosperity, health and quality of life, as well as delivering sustainable growth through innovation, productivity, and scientific leadership.

Physics is a foundational enabler of the priorities set out in the UK’s Science and Technology Framework and the Plan for Growth. It underpins progress in semiconductors, quantum technologies, advanced computing, space, green energy, medical imaging, defence, financial services, and artificial intelligence. One in 20 UK jobs relies on physics-related knowledge and skills, and physics-intensive businesses make a substantial and growing contribution to national productivity.

Physics underpins the entire innovation pipeline, providing the low-TRL, curiosity-driven research from which future transformative technologies emerge. Cutting investment in foundational research would damage the UK’s capacity for long-term, disruptive innovation.

The UK’s international standing in physics is a strategic asset. With 26 Nobel Laureates in Physics affiliated to UK institutions and five universities ranked in the global top 50, the discipline is central to the UK’s global scientific brand. Frontier areas such as particle physics, astronomy, and nuclear physics are especially important: approximately 90% of undergraduates cite these fields as a primary reason for studying physics. They serve as powerful gateways into STEM and generate high-value skills in data science, AI, advanced instrumentation, and computing, precisely the capabilities required to deliver the Government’s growth and technology objectives.

Constraining these areas risks weakening the very talent pipeline on which the UK’s innovation economy depends. Fundamental physics also delivers substantial public engagement and cultural impact, strengthening public support for science and reinforcing the UK’s reputation as a global scientific leader.

The majority of STFC grant funding supports university-based research groups and national laboratories that maintain and develop the UK’s core research capability. Reductions at the proposed scale would lead to contraction of research groups and greatly diminish the UK’s capacity to conduct and benefit from world-leading fundamental research.

This would materially reduce the sector’s ability to support national missions in clean energy, advanced manufacturing and security, and would directly counter the objective of strengthening the UK’s domestic R&D base. It would be inconsistent with the ambition set out in the Science and Technology Framework and the Government’s Plan for Growth.

We are particularly concerned about the UK’s capacity to lead the scientific exploitation of major international projects. An abrupt pause in funding for key international science programmes risks damaging UK researchers’ competitive advantage into the 2040s. The UK’s strategy of selective, high-impact participation in globally leading facilities has long been recognised as a national strength, including by the REF Physics Panel. It has enabled the UK to secure senior leadership positions at organisations such as CERN and the SKAO, reinforcing our reputation as a reliable and strategic partner.

However, subscriptions to world-leading international facilities alone do not generate growth, influence, or return on investment. Impact depends on strong and stable university research groups, postdoctoral researchers, technicians, and software and instrumentation teams capable of exploiting these facilities. If these capabilities contract, the UK will be unable to realise the scientific, economic, and geopolitical benefits that these long-term investments were intended to secure.

While we welcome the commitment to curiosity-driven research, long-term programmes cannot be paused and restarted without lasting damage to capability, investor confidence, and international credibility. We therefore ask that the Government work with UKRI and STFC to:

• Stabilise the curiosity-driven grants line for physics areas within STFC at a minimum of flat funding in real terms, alleviating the tension between grant lines and facilities funding within STFC, and provide multi-year clarity consistent with a strategic approach to R&D investment.
• Protect the postdoctoral researchers, postgraduate research students, technicians, and specialist software and instrumentation teams that are essential to maintaining sovereign capability and delivering economic impact.
• Address facilities cost pressures through dedicated and equitable mechanisms so that external shocks do not singularly erode the UK’s research base in STFC-funded research areas.
• Develop a long-term infrastructure and exploitation strategy that ensures the UK remains a trusted, high-value partner in globally leading science projects, in alignment with the Science and Technology Framework.

As Heads of Physics Departments, we are already experiencing reputational risk in an intensely competitive global talent market. Strategic clarity and stability are essential to ensure that a thriving university physics sector can help the UK retain and attract the students and researchers who will deliver future growth, resilience, and technological leadership.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss practical, solutions-focused options that protect UK capability, strengthen the skills pipeline, and ensure the nation secures full economic and strategic value from its long-term investments in science and innovation.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Stephen Ashworth, Physics Lead in School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, University of East Anglia 
Professor Mete Atature, Head of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge 
Professor David Bacon, Director of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth 
Professor Philip Best, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh 
Professor Daniela Bortoletto, Head of Sub-Department of Particle Physics, University of Oxford 
Dr Rich Boakes, Head of School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth 
Professor Stewart Boogert, Director of the Cockcroft Institute of Accelerator Science and Technology, University of Manchester 
Professor Andrew Boothroyd, Head of Department of Physics, Oxford University
Professor Philip Burrows, Director of the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, University of Oxford
Professor Paula Chadwick, Head of Department of Physics, Durham University
Professor Cathie Clarke, Co-Director of the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge
Professor Daniel Colquitt, Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool
Professor Nick Dorey, Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge
Dr Angela Dyson, Director of Physics, Newcastle University
Professor Andrew Fazakerley, Head of the Department of Space and Climate Physics, University College London
Professor Pedro Ferreira, Head of Astrophysics, University of Oxford
Professor Mark Fromhold, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham
Professor Erik Gauger, Global Head of the Research Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University
Professor Stephen Gibson, Head of Department of Physics, Royal Holloway, University of London
Professor Haley Gomez, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University
Professor John Gough, Head of Department of Physics, Aberystwyth University
Professor Keith Grainge, Director of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester
Professor Sarah Green, Head of School Engineering Physics & Mathematics, Northumbria University
Professor Marty Gregg, Head of School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast
Professor Sebastian Hoenig, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton
Professor David Ireland, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow
Professor Roger Jones, Head of Department of Physics, Lancaster University
Professor Jonathan Keeling, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews
Professor Prem Kumar, Co-Head of the Department of Physics, Swansea University
Dr Tomasz Lukowski, Head of Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire
Professor Ian McCarthy, Head of Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University
Professor Jennifer McManus, Head of School of Physics, University of Bristol
Professor John Methven, Co-Head of the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading 
Professor Kelly Morrison, Head of Department of Physics, Loughborough University
Professor Tasnim Munshi, Head of School, Keele University
Professor Paul Newman, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham
Professor Mark Newton, Head of Department of Physics, University of Warwick
Dr Costis Papageorgakis, Head of Department of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London
Professor Chris Parkes, Head of Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester
Professor Francesca Palombo, Head of Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter
Professor Kevin Pimbblet, Head of School of Digital and Physical Sciences, University of Hull
Dr Andrei Pisliakov, Head of Mathematics and Physics, University of Dundee
Dr Silvia Ramos, Head of School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, University of Kent
Professor David Richards, Head of Department of Physics, King's College London
Professor Anne Skeldon, Head of School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Surrey
Professor Stephen Smith, Head of School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, University of York
Professor Stefan Söldner-Rembold, Head of Department of Physics, Imperial College London
Professor Daniel Thomas, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds
Professor Daniel Thompson, Co-Head of Department of Physics, Swansea University
Professor Simon Vaughan, Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester
Professor Tim Veal, Head of Department of Physics, University of Liverpool
Dr Carolin Villforth, Head of Department of Physics, University of Bath
Professor Derek Ward-Thompson, Institute Director of Maths, Physics and Astronomy, University of Lancashire
Professor David Waters, Head of Physics and Astronomy, University College London
Professor Stephen Wilkins, Head of Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex
Professor Luke Wilson, Head of School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, The University of Sheffield
Professor Paul Williams, Co-Head of the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading
Professor Mark Wyatt, Co-Director of the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge