Almost everything about UCU is so depressing. UK HE really needs its union to be more professional and less riven by hacky left wing politics.

Good morning!

Some thoughts on the select committee appearance by the boss of UKRI, Ian Chapman yesterday. It’s a long watch but can be seen here: parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/... Thread 🧵

Looking forward to a week of discussion of all the ways cosmological datasets can be combined to learn more at KITP #cmblss-c26

Ian Chapman ‘very sorry’ for not engaging on funding changes Full piece from me on the spicy SITC hearing I attended in person earlier today. MPs (led by chair @chionwurah.bsky.social) grilled UKRI CEO on escalating concerns in the R&I community www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Last week, RPN broke a string of stories on significant changes to funding across a number of research councils (see thread below) This morning, UKRI chief executive is appearing at the Commons science committee, where he is being asked about them by MPs Here are some key moments so far 🧵

Judge Reyes’s conclusion: “There is an old adage among lawyers. If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table. … Having neither and bringing the adage into the 21st century, [Noem] pounds X (f/k/a Twitter).”

Saw a California moray eel and a tiny shark still in its embryo at The REEF - a student run aquarium at UCSB. Such an amazing place. Tragic to hear it’s at risk of closure due to the harsh university funding environment. msi.ucsb.edu/facilities-s...

After a year of protests from astronomers, authorities have abandoned plans for a giant, light-polluting renewable-energy facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert

Looking forward to spending some time at KITP. It’s a gorgeous setting.

STFC incurs extra costs to run facilities that serve multiple research councils; astro and particle physics research burn as a result. STFC has always been a strange beast.

Preparing to fly to sunnier climes for the next month. Looking forward to some exciting science conversations!

BREAKING: UKRI shelves physics infrastructure projects worth £280m Major international collaborations with Cern and US Department of Energy in jeopardy, as agency pulls back funds Scoop by @francesjones.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Feels like @ukri.org is doing a great job of squandering good will at the moment. They really need to be communicating much better around the research councils cuts. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/three-u...

Scientists are concerned that curiosity-driven research is set to be further cut back after three research councils confirmed they have paused funding opportunities. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky #researchfunding https://ow.ly/lpvO50Y67ku

It really feels like the government wanted the bling of big headline investment in AI, Quantum, etc but hasn’t really thought through the corresponding cuts to the research councils. It’s causing chaos with no one visibly articulating any up side. www.science.org/content/arti...

Wrote something about what we're facing in funding for fundamental science - and why it matters: www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-01... 🔭 🧪 #academicsky #Oxford cc @ox.ac.uk

I really want to a workshop in California this weekend, but the universe keeps throwing up roadblocks and I’m starting to feel jinxed.

New Science Technology & Facilities Council (STFC) letters confirm major funding reductions to areas including particle, nuclear and astrophysics, with a similar process expected for national facilities and labs. While investment in quantum, AI and green tech is welcome, the IOP warns cutting (1/3)

Reduction in funding by UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council would be ‘most drastic’ cut to curiosity-driven science ‘in a generation’ warn scientific leaders #highered #EduSky

“A more sustainable level for STFC's PPAN budget is likely to be around 70% of what this budget grew to in 24/25”. It’s not like the funding situation was great to begin with.

In UK astro news, the Executive Chair of our funding council #STFC, Prof Michele Dougherty, has written to the community. TL;DR: skint. Bad times ahead for UK astro, particle physics, facilities etc 🧪🔭

Science and Technology Facilities Council seeking £162m in cuts by 29-30, with existing research projects facing axe, @resprofnews.bsky.social reveals. Backdrop is wider funding shift at UKRI. Big story from @francesjones.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

I wonder if it will both all these ex-Conservative MPs when they realise Reform is less a political party and more an instrument for Farage.

It's like watching a doctor remove all the infected organs and wondering if they'll be enough left to allow the uninfected patient to live.

When you blow everything up it tends to produce rubble, not some utopian future.

My god there’s a lot of companies that want to use AI and dashboards to revolutionise the classroom!

As an educator, it’s easy to forget what a huge market EdTech constitutes. Just bonkers how much money flowing through tech and AI.

Yeah, you can’t say you’re going to screw someone over, out of naked self-interest, and then expect the other person to forgive & forget, just because you ultimately don’t follow through.

I’d lost the habit of flying, but seem to be regularly at airports at the moment. There are some moments of zen.

Well the #DYNAVERSE Excellence cluster is officially inaugurated! Watch out for lots of exciting science centered around radio astronomy and “Our Dynamic Universe” over the next seven years. dynaverse.astro.uni-koeln.de/our-mission

The Quest to Build a Radio Telescope That Can Hear the Cosmic Dark Ages spectrum.ieee.org/lunar-radio-...

Flat cash spending on curiosity-driven research from 2026 to 2030 doesn’t sound like a great outcome for UK science #ukri www.ukri.org/news/ukri-se...

Not the sort of letter committed to paper by a well man. "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace"

The UK Conservative Party really is falling apart. It’s completely self inflicted, but still something of a tragedy for UK politics.

Pondering the unreality of death. It is at once the most concrete of things, but often also the most tenuous. The absence of death can feel just like an absence. One that will be corrected someday when they walk through the door and are present once more. Except they never do and never can.

Feeling very nostalgic for Caltech. It really is a gorgeous campus. Sunny SoCal was a good place to be a PhD student. :)

Well the only positive thing I can say about my recent period of engagement with the UK state care system is that it’s over. Truly soul destroying and inhumane (and clearly massively under resourced).

I once had some mild respect for Zahawi. He seemed more sensible than many of the clowns in the Johnson government. Sad to see him fall so low & become so desperate.

First time I’ve had a “Black Ice” day, but very sensible given the predicted freezing rain and sub-zero temperatures.

Wonderful snowy day in Bonn today.

Some very fine scientists being celebrated in these RAS awards. Congratulations to them all!

The Gerald Whitrow Lectureship goes to Professor Richard Battye, of @manchester.ac.uk. 👏 ⤵️

The Ian Robson Lifetime Achievement Award, previously known as the Service Award for astronomy, goes to Professor Raman Prinja MBE, of @ucl.ac.uk. He's been recognised for his extensive contributions to astronomy education, public engagement, and academic leadership. Well done Prof Prinja! 🎉 ⤵️

The Eddington Medal has been won by Prof Debora Šijački, of @cambridgeastro.bsky.social, who said she was "profoundly honoured". She's made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the role Active Galactic Nuclei play in the evolution of galaxies, clusters of galaxies and the universe. ⤵️

This year's Herschel Medal, which honours investigations of outstanding merit in observational astrophysics, has been won by Prof Andrew Bunker, of @oxfordphysics.bsky.social. He called the accolade a "great honour", adding: "It's been a very exciting time to work on incredible data from JWST." ⤵️

We're delighted to announce the winners of the 2026 Royal Astronomical Society Awards! 🥇🥈🏆 First up, our prestigious Gold Medal has been awarded to both Professor Shrinivas Kulkarni, of @caltech.edu, and Professor Andrew Jackson, of @ethz.ch.🏅🏅 Congratulations! 🎉🥳 ⤵️

RIP Sandys. It’s a tragedy for both family and for Twickenham. Sandys Fishmongers was a real institution. Queuing for their fish at Xmas a rite of passage. teddingtontown.co.uk/2026/01/08/s...

This is *excellent* forensic journalism by The Times: clear explanation using video evidence. This is the best of Times journalism. Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Eric and Wendy Schmidt are funding a 3-meter space telescope with a coronagraph, and three ground-based observatories: the Deep Synoptic Array, the Argus Array, and LFAST. Funds have been committed and officials say they hope to be operational by 2029. #aas247 www.astronomy.com/science/eric...