'Large Hadron Colliders All Round!'

A large hadron collider. Come on: you know you want one.

It has come to our attention that some people may be swayed by the promises of R&D investment made by the major parties when it comes to voting in the general election on June 8th. Both Labour and the Conservatives have promised to increase spending on research and development to 3% of GDP, and the Lib Dems have pledged to 'double' R&D spending across the economy. 

Don't listen to them. They'll promise it all and deliver nothing. When it comes to empty promises, only one party has the necessary track record: The Fundermental Understanding of Critical Knowledge for All party. We are committed to strong and stable research leadership. We recognise that 3% of GDP is a derisory insult to the the people of this great country of ours. It is positively European. It reeks of garlic and foreignness. 

ARMA Election Shock

Exciting news from a tense election night at the Association of Research Managers and Administrators. In a result that would have moistened with tears of pride the eyes of a Politburo member, the ARMA cadre nominated each other for election and were duly returned unopposed, as follows:

• Director of Training and Deputy Chairperson of the ARMA Board 2011: one valid nomination was received from Mrs Jill Golightly, Newcastle University: proposed by Pauline Muya (Birkbeck College, University of London) and seconded by Douglas Robertson (Newcastle University). Mrs Golightly is declared elected and no ballot is therefore necessary.
• Director of Conference Planning of the ARMA Board 2011: one valid nomination was received from Mr David Coombe, London School of Economics and Political Science: proposed by Lita Denny (University of Manchester) and seconded by Linda Parker (King`s College London). Mr Coombe is declared elected and no ballot is therefore necessary.
• Treasurer of the ARMA Board 2011: one valid nomination was received from Ms Steff Hazlehurst, Institute of Education, University of London: proposed by Peter Townsend (Loughborough University) and seconded by Ian Carter (University of Sussex). Ms Hazlehurst is declared elected and no ballot is therefore necessary.
• Non-Executive Director of the ARMA Board 2011 (three years): one valid nomination was received from Dr Stephen Conway, University of Oxford: proposed by Kathy Brownridge (University of Leeds) and seconded by Jill Golightly (Newcastle University). Dr Conway is declared elected and no ballot is therefore necessary.
• Non-Executive Director of the ARMA Board 2011 (one year): one valid nomination was received from Dr Nathaniel Golden, Keele University: proposed by Sheena Bateman (Keele University) and seconded by Katie Holland (Nottingham Trent University). Dr Golden is declared elected and no ballot is therefore necessary.
  

Yes, yes, I know, this fabulous result is due to apathy from the rest of us. But maybe there's a lesson to be learnt from this, and ARMA should push for wider participation from the sector, before it disappears into its own navel.

Politicians on the Case

In response to the Campaign for Science and Engineering, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have expanded on their manifesto pledges for science and engineering.
The Conservatives are pledging to postpone the Research Excellence Framework (REF) by two years. In addition they stated that, if an appropriate system for measuring impact cannot be found, they will scrap it altogehter.
The Lib Dems intend to increase the number of postdoc places by reducing 'under-utilised' PhDs. They will also move Science more centre stage by moving the Government Office to the Cabinet Office. They also hope to tackle the crisis in UK physics, which is taken to mean they will deal with the budgetary problems over at STFC.
The full responses can be seen on the CaSE blog. The Labour response to CaSE is due shortly.