Scientists at Durham University get £16.7m grant

Jan 28 2009 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

DURHAM University scientists working on the mysteries of the “big bang” by building a giant atom- smashing machine beneath the French-Swiss Alps have won a multimillion-pound grant.

The 10-year, £16.7m grant will be used to unravel the mysteries of how the universe was created.

Research surrounds anti-matter and dark matter, the possibility of extra space-time dimensions and the existence of the elusive Higgs boson – a particle believed to give other particles mass.

The grant was awarded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to Durham University’s Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP), which is a research centre dedicated to understanding what happens when high energy particles are smashed into each other at very high energies. IPPP experts are providing the theory and analysis behind a number of experiments to be carried out at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – a gigantic particle accelerator built 100m underground on the Swiss/French border at Geneva, which aims to recreate conditions in the early universe just after the big bang.

Professor Nigel Glover, director of the IPPP, said: “The IPPP has already won an international reputation for its research into particle physics. The new funding from STFC, together with the new investment from Durham University, will allow us to continue this vital link between theory and experiment and ensure that UK particle physics continues to thrive and play a pivotal role in large, ground-breaking experiments.

“It will also help the UK prepare for, and contribute to, the design and planning of physics programmes at future new facilities.

“The interplay between theory and experiment is vital to new developments and breakthroughs in particle physics and the understanding of our universe.”

Professor Keith Mason, chief executive of the STFC, said: “Funding the IPPP is a key element of STFC’s continued support of fundamental physics and we welcome the large investment in staff and buildings by the University.

“Since its creation in 2000, the IPPP has been a tremendous success and has revitalised phenomenology in the UK.”

The Rev Dr David Wilkinson, who trained as an astrophysicist and who is a Christian theologian at Durham University, is very supportive of the project.

Dr Wilkinson, Principal of St John’s College at Durham University, said: “As a Christian theologian and astrophysicist I am excited by the possibilities of the LHC. It in no way worries or undermines Christian faith and I welcome the possibilities of new insights into creation.”