A New Dawn in Scientific Research

The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC), which includes Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire (one of Net North West's members), has merged with the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) to form The Science and Technology Facilities Council.

The new research council was established on the 1st April 2007 and will cover all the programmes, activities and facilities previously operated by CCLRC and PPARC, plus responsibility for research in nuclear physics which has been transferred from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EPSRC].
 
Commenting on the new council Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive Officer said, “My ambition for the new Council is to shape a future in which the science we support, the facilities we operate, the technologies we develop, and the way we interact with industry and run our business are envied both nationally and internationally.
 
CCLRC and PPARC both had significant achievements and a reputation for world-class research, but we can do more. We have a huge opportunity to develop a really coherent strategy for ‘big science’, to increase our influence in international organisations and make a change in the exploitation of the resulting technology.”
 
The Council has a wide ranging science portfolio including astronomy, particle physics, particle astrophysics, nuclear physics, space science, synchrotron radiation, neutron sources and high power lasers. In addition to Daresbury the Council operates two other internationally renowned laboratories; The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh.

A resilient network with high speed and large capacity is essential to support the complex nature of this type of research, and to support the new projects that this merger will bring. Net North West will continue to provide this for Daresbury Laboratory, so contributing to ground breaking scientific research in the future.

For more information visit The Science and Technology Facilities Council website

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