🧵 Public science in the US has taken some heavy hits over the last year, but the White House OMB is proposing a series of changes that will result in a TKO for science as we know it unless we fight back. Here's what's happening, and why it matters. 1/n

I’m 95% of the way towards publishing in Nature. The remaining 5% of work is focused on obtaining a groundbreaking result and writing it up.

Equality is not conditional. Dignity at work is not negotiable. The EHRC Code of Practice has been published. UCU is examining it urgently. This is a significant and unsettling moment and we will not leave branches to navigate it alone. www.ucu.org.uk/article/1451...

If you wish to support our efforts, you can do so here. Any funds donated here will be used to off set any loss income suffered by those of us mabbing. www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding... You can also donate here: UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund Account number: 20346359 Sort code: 60-83-01

If you’re a physicist please sign this! ⚛️🧪

Physicists: please consider signing this open letter of support: nottinghamphysics.github.io/Open_Letter/ The University wants to cut a third of academic and related staff from the School of Physics and Astronomy.

Yesterday, 56 of our fab colleagues at the Physics & Astronomy dept in Nottingham, received “at risk of redundancy” letters. The Uni is planning to reduce the size of the Physics dept by almost a third.🧪⚛️🔭 Sign this petition to show them your support ✍️: nottinghamphysics.github.io/Open_Letter/

In the May 12th edition: - Quantum simulation of magnetic materials - Photonic quantum machine learning - quantum metrology via partial quantum error correction - Real-time QLDPC decoding - Quantum simulation of quantum non-equilibrium steady state More details and links below:

A trapped-ion quantum computer can experimentally simulate the stochastic dynamics of interacting open quantum systems in two dimensions using quantum trajectories. This enables the study of non-equilibrium transport phenomena. arxiv.org/abs/2605.08350

Every affiliated trade union has said that Keir Starmer cannot lead us into the next election and calls for a new leader. We need to show that we’ve learnt from the government’s mistakes and get on with delivering the change that people expected. 1/2

What can one even say any more. The Nothing will eat almost the entire sector if controls aren't brought into force. Hey, government! Anyone there? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’m just going to celebrate the fact that he’s not health secretary any more 🥳

2,700 staff at the University of Nottingham have received 'at risk' letters from the management. The same management which refused to cut their own pay, and the same management which refused to resign after losing £60 million on a disastrous attempt to build a new campus. #JoinAUnion

New paper from our group today! arxiv.org/abs/2605.08350 Using a quantum computer, we simulated trajectories of an open quantum system - that is, one that interacts with the surrounding environment, in this case by injecting particles at one end of a 2D lattice and removing them from the other. ⚛️🧪

This is a full-frontal attack on academic freedom. I hope some thesis advisors there will be brave enough to challenge it.

Hey, I wrote a thing about AI in astrophysics ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...

We were decorating hot cross buns today so I attempted to make a quantum physics one…I’ll have to work on my icing skills 😅

Watched the new Spiderman trailer, why is *this* the moment I’m excited by? 😅 (No, not Bruce Banner, what’s behind him!)

I know so many immensely talented people who are just not going to get jobs in academia. The number of post-docs and job openings is so much lower than just a few years ago. The conditions are brutal.

Weirdest Disney On Ice show I’ve ever seen

It’s Christmas Eve, I’m on holiday in France, and somehow I’m getting emails from a journal chasing me up about whether I’m going to review a paper. They want me to reply within 3 days! Even their own offices are closed right now, according to their website…

Are they actually trying to destroy British universities???

Solidarity with @uonucu.bsky.social members striking over the possible 200+ job cuts at the University of Nottingham, after 650 staff lost their jobs in the past two years. I also share their deep concerns about new plans to suspend 48 courses, including nursing, modern languages, and music.

She smiles and says “I will always love you”

Did @uniofnottingham.bsky.social consult any students before announcing the proposed course closures? @uonucu.bsky.social www.bbc.com/news/article...

You know it's a pretty bad decision when the response from people is to create about 100 different petitions... Sign every one. Let's fight this by all means necessary.

Wake me up when this has been independently verified by an external research group!

Some petitions to sign to protest Nottingham’s cuts! #AcademicSky Save Modern Languages - c.org/D5v6qstzyW Save Agriculture - c.org/bgxhcKVHYk

Mathematical Physics MSci at UoN earmarked for closure as mgmt start the cuts. As the custodians of Einstein’s famous blackboard, this is especially worrying. Will we still teach his greatest ideas in years to come? @uonucu.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

It's not just music and language courses- it's 48 courses across the university. But here's the thing- our UCU colleagues at other universities (like @Cardiffucu.bsky.social) have faced the exact same threats, fought back, and won. So we can too.

I can't express how damaging this is, music and languages aren't just optional extras, they are at the core of what a university does: cultivate knowledge and culture in the next generation. And if they'll cut those, what's next? It's institutional self-destruction. www.bbc.com/news/article...

I’ve always thought the problem with quantum computers is that they don’t cost nearly enough money (ideally, at least a million dollars per kg!), and should experience heavy vibrations and crushing G-forces after being calibrated. ⚛️🧪

Reminder of the preferred approach when sharing arXiv preprint links

As a theoretical cosmologist, I'm frequently asked "what is the benefit of the work you're doing for people's lives?" Nothing I work on makes money or cures disease. There are a few different answers one can give, at various levels of "convincing" / "actually relevant to why the work is done." 1/🧵

Dear students, unless UoN commits to rule out compulsory redundancies, I expect my Principles of Dynamics lectures to be affected by @uonucu.bsky.social industrial action next week. I was gonna tell you by email but the uni says we can’t. If you see this, pls let other students know

Just finished the final day of the Nottingham Workshop on Quantum Non-Equilibrium Dynamics!! Lots of great talks, and great discussions too 😄

We have made it clear from the beginning: our industrial action ends as soon as the university agrees to no compulsory redundancies. This is a demand that the university takes on the responsibility and consequences of their poor financial decisions without putting it on us.

After hearing this news, UCU branch representatives reached out to the university again demanding that compulsory redundancies for our members be suspended. They declined to remove this threat.

It’s a really dire situation in UK academia. Here at Nottingham, we’re being told to expect 20% cuts across the board. All because the university mismanaged its money: spending millions on a new campus without a plan, that now has to be sold! And now they want £50m more for a new medical building.

Check out my brand new handle 😎 By the way, this was literally as easy as uploading a single text file to my website (and making it publicly available). A simple guide: lucacozzuto.medium.com/how-to-use-g...

If you want to know more about our strike action, you can find it here: www.canva.com/design/DAGzC...

Strike action is ON!!! Next week will be the first of 4 weeks of striking from our members as we continue to say NO to the compulsory redundancies forced on us by the university for their poor financial choices. #StopTheCuts #SaveHE

Good news. The Royal Society has disgraced itself by keeping one of the most evil people in the world among its ranks. (In case you need reminding, it's estimated his cuts to USAID had ALREADY killed hundreds of thousands of people by July, and will kill 14 million by 2030)

The British Isles, according to the New York Times. (I think some of my old colleagues from Leeds might have an aneurysm if they see this!)

"My bold prediction? Scholar gets the axe within 5 years. Google will announce it with 12 months' notice, Bluesky will have a collective meltdown, universities will scramble for alternatives, and research workflows will be in chaos for years."

Tutorials begin at QEC2025 at @yaleqi.bsky.social. Here is an artistic rendition of some famous codes at the Google Quantum AI tutorial.

Calling all quantum steampunks! This proposed quantum thermochemical engine has a 1D Bose gas as its working fluid, and theoretical calculations show that it should combine near-maximum efficiency with high power output. Read more about it here: 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/quantum-th...

Not your usual grafitti… ⚛️