Manchester joins US elite in Physics

22 Feb 2013

The University of Manchester has become the first British institution to join the prestigious Universities Research Association (URA).

URA is a consortium of 86 research-intensive universities – primarily based in the United States, but also from Canada, Japan and Italy – established in 1965 for the management and operation of research facilities in the national interest.

Manchester’s membership came about through its long-standing collaboration with Fermilab – the United States’s premier particle physics laboratory.

Stefan Söldner-Rembold, Professor of Particle Physics in Manchester’s School of Physics and Astronomy, said University staff had participated in many Fermilab experiments over the years, including DZero and MINOS.

“This new association with URA will help stimulate the University's involvement with ongoing and future Fermilab experiments, as well as bring other collaborative opportunities for staff and our postgraduate and postdoctoral students.”

Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rod Coombs, said: "There are many good things that may come from being a member of such a prestigious group of universities, which is why we were eager to join."

Representatives of URA's member universities sit on the Board of Directors of the Fermi Research Alliance LLC, through which URA, with the University of Chicago, operates the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. In addition, staff and students of member universities are eligible to compete for awards from URA's visiting scholars at Fermilab programme. Manchester students will also be eligible for the URA doctoral thesis award, and its postdoctoral students for URA's Tollestrup award.

Fermilab Deputy Director Young-Kee Kim said: "The University of Manchester has done important work at Fermilab and I'm very pleased that it's now a member of the URA. Particle physics research is a global endeavor, and the addition to the URA of an institution outside the United States reflects the internationality of Fermilab's partnerships."

As with any selective organisation, the URA accepts applicants who meet established criteria. Universities must show a commitment to fields the URA is interested in, including particle physics, high-energy physics and astrophysics. They must have at least 15 physics faculty members and at least 15 graduate students at the thesis stage.

URA Executive Director Marta Cehelsky added: "The University of Manchester is highly qualified. Their School of Physics and Astronomy has a tremendous reputation and we're proud to have the University as one of our members."

Manchester’s School of Physics and Astronomy can count several Nobel laureates among its past and present staff, including 2010 physics Nobel prize winners Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov. It was also recently awarded the prestigious Regius professorship by the Queen.

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