Local Interest
Perhaps Jodrell Bank can see the Future
By Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Jul 3, 2008, 16:10

STFC announces ambitious £1.906bn science funding programme

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) on Thursday 3 July announced a three-year £1.906bn funding programme which will maintain UK scientific leadership in physics and astronomy and operate world-leading facilities for the benefit of UK scientists.

STFC’s Council met at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire on 1 July and agreed to the programme following a three-month consultation overseen by STFC’s advisory Science Board and its panels. More than 1,400 submissions from UK and international experts were considered during the consultation.

STFC confirmed its intention to contribute to the operating costs for the eMerlin radio-astronomy facility. STFC is working with the University of Manchester and other stakeholders to find a viable way in which eMerlin operations can be supported on a shared cost basis. Together with STFC’s investment in development for the next generation facility in radio astronomy, the Square Kilometre Array led by the University of Manchester, this should secure the future for the famous Jodrell Bank Observatory.