Comments on: Brian Cox soft guy, Sarah Montague hard guy

By: AstroTurf

AstroTurf — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:36:00 +0000

So, if I’ve got this straight, it’s between the conspiracy and the cock-up:

a) The conspiracy:
There’s been a strategic decision to move out of old-hat trailing-edge stuff like ground-based astronomy, and shift the funds into the brave new world of laser fusion and Mars exploration, but the change is too radical to get through the usual research council channels, so they need to manufacture a crisis to force it through.

b) The cock-up:
The morons can’t get their own numbers right.

The conspiracy theory would actually be quite a cunning plan.
Can’t help thinking it’s (b) though.
Does anyone know for sure yet?

By: The Anonymous Physicist

The Anonymous Physicist — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:41:43 +0000

It’s looking more and more like this was all done beforehand – the smoking gun is the apparent ring-fencing of laser spend, which points to HiPER if I was a betting man. Asset stripping is right.

By: andyxl

andyxl — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:03:15 +0000

Well.. it would be incorrect to describe the Diamond and ISIS costs as “over-runs” as indeed they have been known for some time – I didn’t know it was as long as 2003. The real point I suspect is that the CLRC budget didn’t have enough to cover these well known costs. So STFC inherited this problem and it has been shifted. Makes the merger look like asset stripping.

By: The Anonymous Physicist

The Anonymous Physicist — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:29:46 +0000

DIAMOND operation and ISIS-Target Station 2 are on-budget. DIAMOND remind us about it here:
http://www.diamond.ac.uk/News/LatestNews/12Dec07.htm

Ok, it is DIAMOND saying it, but it’s actually true. The operating costs were known about since 2003, and are more than the original 1999 costs because of increased scope (duh!). Of course, DIAMOND are blaming STFC (more accurately, Daresbury) which is grossly unfair and untrue. Also, there are many voices at Rutherford that are asking why DIAMOND is employing so many people. They are still advertising!
http://www.diamond.ac.uk/Jobs/CurrentVacancies/default.htm

I blame Wellcome Trust and the French – it’s all their fault for f**king up the siting decision back in 2000, the French because they wanted to let SOLEIL catch up with the UK, and Wellcome Trust ‘cos they don’t like the frozen north. I’m very tired of seeing DIAMOND literature with ‘Relenza’ plastered all over it like it’s just a big advertising hoarding, just as a way for NICE to stump up money for a cr*p drug that doesn’t work.

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:36:52 +0000

Surely now is the time for the head of STFC to resign – overseeing such a shortfall in funding in any ordinary company would result in a cull of the Board – why should Civil servants be in any different a position

By: andyxl

andyxl — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 21:24:37 +0000

As an astronomer, my answer would necessarily be biased.

By: Anon

Anon — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:18:32 +0000

surely the solution is cuts in money for these facilities then?

By: andyxl

andyxl — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:01:23 +0000

Errmmm yes and no. Diamond (and ISIS-2) costs are the UNDERLYING problem; but these costs were known a year ago, so they are not the problem of the RECENT panic; this is because STFC failed to convince Government to give them the money for this..

By: Pip

Pip — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:01:40 +0000

Take a look at the comments after this Nature news item
http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071211/full/news.2007.366.html

They are informed sources saying that the Diamond overspend is not the problem. One of them is an STFC insider who I spoke to a couple of days ago – who said that there has been gross incompetence in STFC’s CSR bidding process, including overlooking a submission deadline.

By: rob

rob — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:45:03 +0000

what a fiasco… facilities that have correctly forecast their costs will suffer horrendously to save facilities that have proven to have huge and erroneous budgets.

still, it could be worse – london olympics, anyone? or scottish parliament… long live the civil service, eh? where would we be without those delightful buffoons?

most accurate headline to date: “physicists eaten by giant donut”…