News & Analysisphysicsworld.comSidebandsClimate inquiry clears researchers“We saw no evidence of any deliberatescientific malpractice in any of the work ofthe Climatic Research Unit and had it beenthere we believe that it is likely that wewould have detected it.” That is the mainconclusion of an independent panel ofscientists, nominated by the UK’sRoyal Society, to scrutinize the scientificmethodology of researchers at the ClimateResearch Unit (CRU) at the University ofEast Anglia. The seven-member panel wasset up by the university and chaired byLord Oxburgh – a geologist and formeroil-company executive. The report, whichlooked at 11 “representative publications”from CRU members over the past 24 years,was commissioned after private CRUe-mails were hacked last year and madepublic. Critics alleged that the e-mailsshowed that the scientists incorrectlyinterpreted data to support man-madeclimate change and flouted freedom-ofinformationrequests to make data andcomputer code available.Egypt tops African physics outputEgypt, Nigeria and South Africa dominatescientific output in Africa, according to anew study from Thomson Reuters. It foundthat researchers in Egypt were the mostprolific in the north of the continent,accounting for 30 000 papers between1999 and 2008 – three times more thanfrom scientists in Tunisia. Nigeria was thedominant nation in central Africa,generating 10 000 papers in the sameperiod, while scientists in South Africa ledthe way in the south of the continent,publishing 47 000 papers in the decade to2008. Egypt is Africa’s top nation forphysics – producing 1880 papers between2004 and 2008. South Africa was secondwith 1194 papers and Algeria third with933 published articles.Diamond wins £110m upgradeThe Diamond synchrotron light source inthe UK has received £110m of funding thatwill allow it to complete 10 morebeamlines. The planned upgrade, whichshould be completed by 2017, will bringthe total number of beamlines at thefacility to 32. The bulk of the money(£97.4m) comes from the Large FacilitiesCapital Fund (LFCF), which supportsinvestments made by Research CouncilsUK – the umbrella organization for theseven UK funding councils. The remaining£13.8m comes from the Wellcome Trust –a UK-based biomedical charity. Diamondcurrently has 17 operational beamlines,which in two years’ time will be extendedto 22.10Space scienceUK launches space agency to manage all contractsA new body that will be responsiblefor the UK’s space policy and bringall key budgets for space under asingle management was establishedlast month. The UK Space Agency(UKSA) will manage about £250m incontracts each year, including theUK’s contribution to major Europeanprojects such as the 73.4bn Galileoglobal positioning system and theGlobal Mon itoring for Environmentand Security initiative. Both projectsare currently supported by the UK’sdepartment for transport, and the de -partment for environment, food andrural affairs, respectively.The UKSA, which will have itshead quarters in Swindon, will be ledby David Williams, director generalof the British National Space Centre,until a permanent chief executive isappointed within the next six months.“The action we are taking shows thatwe’re really serious about space,”said science minister Lord Draysonat the agency’s launch last month. Heclaimed that the agency will helpthe UK’s space industry to grow from£6.5bn to £40bn a year and createAn Iranian physicist who disappeared lastJune during a pilgrimage to Mecca inSaudi Arabia has apparently defected tothe US, where he is working for theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA).Shahram Amiri, who did research innuclear physics at Malek AshtarUniversity of Technology in Tehran, isthought to be co-operating with the CIA toconfirm their intelligence assessmentsabout Iran’s nuclear-weaponsprogramme. The CIA has so far kept quieton the <strong>issue</strong> and it remains unclearwhether Amiri had any connections withIran’s nuclear programme.According to various reports, Amiri wasinvolved in producing radioactive isotopesfor medical applications at Malek AshtarUniversity of Technology. The universitylies across the street from FEDAT – aninstitution run by the country’s Ministry ofDefence that carries out research anddevelopment on nuclear weapons.According to the Washington-basedorganization Iran Watch, in 2005 officialsin Germany linked the university to workon proliferation-sensitive nuclearactivities and the development of rocketsOn the upThe UK Space Agencywill manage about£250m in contractseach year.100 000 jobs within the sector overthe next 20 years.The UK currently spends about£300m per year on civil space re search,a large fraction of which – some£240m in 2009 – goes on the country’smembership of the Euro pean SpaceAgency (ESA). The rest of the cash isspent on its membership of the Eu ro -pean Organisation for the Exploi -tation of Meteorological Satel lites,which launches and maintains Earthobservationsatellites and is currentlyfunded by the UK’s Met Office.At the UKSA launch, Drayson andbusiness secretary Lord Mandelsonalso announced a £40m InternationalSpace Innovation Centre (ISIC) to bebased at Harwell in Oxfordshire nextto the European Space Agency’s technicalfacility, which opened last July.Designed to bring together industryand academia, ISIC will seek to ex -ploit data from Earth-observationsatellites, use space data to understandclimate change, and advise onthe “security and resilience of spacesystems and services”.Michael BanksMiddle EastIranian physicist ‘defects’ to the USOnce you haveacquired theknowledge ofuraniumenrichment,it is almostimpossible toremove itfor nuclear weapons.Reza Mansouri, a physicist at Iran’sSharif University of Technology, toldPhysics World that he had never heard ofAmiri’s name before it came to light in themedia. “So you can imagine how he stoodin the physics community in Iran,” hesays. According to Steven Miller, a<strong>special</strong>ist on Iran at Harvard University’sKennedy School of Government, itappears most likely that Amiridisappeared voluntarily.Amiri is not the first individual withsuspected connections to Iran’s nuclearprogramme to disappear and reappear inthe West. Possibly the best known isAli Reza Ashghari, a former deputydefence minister, who disappeared froma hotel in Istanbul three years ago andreportedly provided intelligence to theCIA. But Amiri’s loss is unlikely to affectthe Iranian nuclear programme. “Onceyou have acquired the knowledge ofuranium enrichment,” says Miller’scolleague Jason Blackstock, “it is almostimpossible to remove it.”Peter GwynneBoston, MAPhysics World May 2010
physicsworld.comNews & AnalysisPolicyUS changes course on nuclear-weapons strategyUS President Barack Obama has signalleda new approach to nuclearweaponspolicy that limits their useagainst other states and documentshow the country will ensure the viab -ility of existing stockpiles. The Nuc -lear Posture Review (NPR), whichsets out the US’s nuclear strategyover a 10-year period, also calls for ahighly skilled workforce to ensure“the long-term safety, security andeffectiveness of the nuclear arsenaland to support the full range of nuc -lear-security work”.The last NPR was conducted in2001 during the George W Bush ad -ministration, which kept its findingsclassified. The latest review, releasedlast month and made fully public, concludesthat the US will not use nuclearweapons against non-nuclear statesthat are “in compliance” with theNuc lear Non-proliferation Treaty,even if they attack the US with biologicalor chemical weapons. How -ever, the review makes it clear thatNorth Korea and Iran do not fall intothat category.Carried out by the US Departmentof Defense and the Department ofEnergy, the review notes the need forhighly trained scientists and engin -eers to “sustain a safe, secure andeffective US nuclear stockpile as longas nuclear weapons exist”. It alsosays that existing nuclear weapons’lifetimes could be increased, rulingout the need for manufacturing new“reliable” replacement warheads.This had been recommended late lastyear by the JASON advisory group –a collection of independent scientistswho advise the US government onscience <strong>issue</strong>s.Some disagree with Obama’s decis -ion not to update the US’s nuclearweapons. “I think the administrationSigning upUS President BarackObama and RussianPresident DmitryMedvedev havesigned a newagreement onnuclear weapons.Chuck Kennedyhas made a mistake by not supportingthe [production of] reliable replacementwarheads,” says Jay Davis,found ing director of the DefenseThreat Reduction Agency and a formerLawrence Livermore NationalLaboratory scientist who is now presi -dent of the Hertz Foundation.Immediately following the review,Obama and Russian President DmitryMedvedev signed up to the START-IITreaty, which will dramatically reducethe number of deployed nuclearweapons that each country has from1762 to 1550 for the US and 1741 to1550 for Russia. Although the Senatemust ratify the treaty by a two-thirdsmajority before it can come into force,it was welcomed by JASON memberSidney Drell, a senior fellow at Stan -ford Uni versity’s Hoover Insti tutionand former deputy director of theSLAC National Accelerator La bor at -ory. “Re ducing the reliance on nuclearweapons and reaffirming the commitmentto go to zero is a strong and goodbasis,” he says. “And the commitmentto continued support for a science andtechnology base is important.”Peter GwynneBoston, MAUK parties spell out science policies ahead of 6 May general electionConservativesAdam AfriyieShadow minister forinnovation, universitiesand skillsBackground: After a BSc inagricultural economics fromImperial College London, in1993 Afriyie became founding director of ConnectSupport Services – an IT services company. Afriyiewas elected as MP for Windsor in 2005. After servingin a range of committees on civil aviation and onscience and technology, he was made Conservativeparliamentary leader for technology, media andtelecoms in 2006 and then shadow minister forinnovation, universities and skills in 2007.Pearls of wisdom: “Our science base is a valuablenational asset. Economically, politically andsocially, it underpins the prosperity and wellbeingof our nation.”What the manifesto says: “Initiating a multi-yearscience and research budget to provide a stableinvestment climate for research councils.”Manifesto wordcounts: science/scientists (8);innovation (8); research (9); universities (14);physics (0)LabourPaul DraysonMinister for science andinnovationBackground: Draysoncompleted a BSc inproduction engineering atAston University in 1982,gaining a PhD in robotics in 1985. After becomingmanaging director of Lambourn Food Company in1986, he co-founded the Oxford-based vaccinecompany PowderJect Pharmaceuticals in 1993,where he was chairman and chief executive until2003. In October 2008 he was appointed as theminister of state for science and innovation, takingup a seat in the cabinet. In June 2009 he took onadditional responsibilities as defence minister.Pearls of wisdom: “Science isn’t peripheral to thedecision facing the country. It is central: to growth,to prosperity and wellbeing.”What the manifesto says: “We are committedto a ring-fenced science budget in the nextspending review.”Manifesto wordcounts: science/scientists (6);innovation (11); research (7); universities (17);physics (0)Liberal DemocratsEvan HarrisLiberal Democratsspokesperson for scienceBackground: Evan Harris is aqualified doctor, havingcompleted his education atthe Oxford Medical School.After working as a junior doctor at theRoyal Liverpool University Hospital and theJohn Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Harris became anMP for Oxford West and Abingdon in 1997. In 2001he became shadow secretary of state for health,and since 2005 he has been the Liberal Democratspokesperson for science.Pearls of wisdom: “We recognize that science,technology and engineering have to be key driversof our economy as we move out of recession.”What the manifesto says: “In the current economicclimate it is not possible to commit to growth inspending, but the Liberal Democrats recognize theimportance of science investment to the recoveryand to the reshaping of the economy.”Manifesto wordcounts: science/scientists (12);innovation (5); research (9); universities (8);physics (0)Physics World May 201011
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