Delivering impact - world class research, innovation and skills

Fast facts - world class research, innovation and skills

Supporting world class research, innovation and skills are core functions of STFC

Our vision is to maximise the impact of our knowledge, skills, facilities and resources for the benefit of the UK and its people. Here are just a few examples of how STFC is delivering this through its support of curiosity-driven and application-led research.

World class research

• The James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to Hubble, will produce the sharpest images yet of the farthest depths of the cosmos. STFC is playing a significant role in the development of the mission, leading a team from across Europe in the design and construction of MIRI, a pioneering mid-infrared camera and spectrometer. The structural-thermal prototype of MIRI was shipped to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in early 2010 where it will be used for vital pre-flight testing and validation of the system. Scientists and engineers at STFCs Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the UK ATC are now busy with their partners on the construction of the final flight model, bringing the Webb telescope closer to embarking on its journey into space.
  
  
• The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Europe’s particle physics laboratory in Switzerland, is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. It seeks to understand more about the origins and fabric of the Universe by colliding two beams of subatomic particles at very high energy and analysing the results of these collisions. Through STFC, the UK is one of the biggest contributors to this project – funding the UK’s particle physics programme, managing its subscription to CERN, and building key components across many areas of the machine itself.

World class innovation

• STFC Innovations Ltd is leading the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Technology Transfer Programme in the UK. This sees them identify opportunities to transfer ESA’s space technology and expertise into a wide number of non-space applications including: improving air purification in hospital intensive care wards; producing enhanced materials for sports equipment such as running shoes; monitoring offshore oil and gas fields; and helping manufacturers to develop or improve new and existing products.
  
  
• STFC is offering access to affordable, world-leading scientific facilities, expertise and business support to small and start-up high tech companies which, until now, has only been readily available to academic researchers and large budget companies. The Innovations Technology Access Centre at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory hosts several cutting-edge small research-based companies and interest is growing rapidly.
  
  
  
• STFC’s campuses at Daresbury in Cheshire and Harwell in Oxfordshire act as portals for international access to world class facilities and expertise, partnership and collaboration, and as melting pots for ideas driven by open innovation.The Harwell Campus is home to ESA in the UK and is attracting a range of other international agencies and space companies, including from Russia, France, Canada and Italy.
  
  
• STFC is helping create wealth and jobs from science and technology by linking researchers with industry, and by commercialising UK innovation. For example, UK firm Viglen was able to bid for and win £1.8m of contracts from CERN thanks to STFC’s subscription. This will see them provide some of the high performance computing and storage equipment needed to handle 15 million gigabytes data annually - enough to fill more than 20 million CDs. On average UK companies win around £15m every year in contracts from CERN.

World class skills

• More than 10,000 students have been reached by events run or contributed to by STFC during 2010’s National Science and Engineering Week.
  
  
• We fund the training of the next generation of researchers and skilled workers, including over 200 new PhD students every year in particle physics, astronomy, space science and nuclear physics.
  
  
• STFC exploits its laboratories and facilities as unique training centres with more than 700 students, funded by other research councils, receiving more than 9,000 PhD training days every year.

Contact

Julia Maddock
Manager External Communications
Tel: +44 (0)1793 442 094
Email: Julia.Maddock@stfc.ac.uk

For media enquiries please telephone: +44 (0)1793 442 094

the 'Delivering impact - world class research, innovations and skills' factsheet (PDF-3.2MB) (link opens in a new window)

Version 01 - May 2010