fst journal

The Journal of the Foundation for Science and Technology (formerly Technology Innovation and Society)

Volume 18, Number 1, October 2003

Assessing Research Sir Gareth Roberts: Making assessment more friendly Dr Chris Henshall: Full cost recovery Sir David Watson: Towards teaching only Clinical medicine Professor Sir John Pattison: Research support from the top Lord Turnberg: Charity collaborations Professor John Bell: The research platform Circumpolar North Graham Fry: Arctic diplomacy Dr Dougal Goodman: Arctic opportunities Professor John Lawton: A crucible of change Rt Hon. Michael Meacher MP: Conserving the Arctic Transferring technology Richard Parry-Jones: British motor sport David Richards: An insider’s view Stuart Smith: Motor sport’s broader contribution Obituary Lord Butterworth

THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND fst TECHNOLOGY THE FOUNDATION The Foundation for Science and FOR SCIENCE AND Technology TECHNOLOGY 10 Carlton House Terrace fst London SW1Y 5AH Telephone THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 020 7321 2220 Registered Charity No: 274727. A Company Limited by Guarantee No: 1327814 Fax 020 7321 2221 VICE PRESIDENTS The Earl of Shannon e-mail The Lord Flowers FRS [email protected] Dr Richard J Haas CBE LLD Hon ScD The Earl of Selborne KBE FRS Sir Brian Jenkins GBE Editor Viscount Runciman of Doxford CBE PBA Sir John Maddox FRS Sub-editors COUNCIL Charles Wenz, Trish Dent CHAIRMAN The Rt Hon the Lord Jenkin of Roding Production & Layout James McQuat The President of the Royal Society The Lord May of Oxford OM AC PRS FMedSci The President, The Royal Academy of Engineering Sir Alec Broers FRS FREng The President, The Academy of Medical Sciences Sir Keith Peters FRS PMedSci The President, The Science Council Sir Gareth Roberts FRS www.foundation.org.uk Chairman, The Arts and Humanities Research Board Professor Sir Brian Follett FRS Chairman, The Engineering and Technology Board Sir Peter Williams CBE FREng FRS Chairman, The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Dr Peter Ringrose Chairman, The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils Professor Sir Graeme Davies FRSE FREng Chairman, The Economic and Social Research Council Ms Frances Cairncross FRSE Chairman, The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Professor Julia Higgins DBE FRS FREng Chairman, The Medical Research Council Sir Anthony Cleaver Chairman, The Natural Environment Research Council Mr Rob Margetts CBE FREng Chairman, The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council Mr Peter Warry

Dr Robert Hawley CBE DSc FRSE FREng (Deputy Chairman) Mr Patrick McHugh (Honorary Secretary) Mr Tony Quigley (Honorary Treasurer)

Professor Polina Bayvel FREng The Lord Browne of Madingley FREng Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield KCB Professor Michael Dexter, FRS FMedSci The Lord Haskel Dr Geraldine Kenney-Wallace FRSC Sir John Krebs FRS Sir Hugh Laddie The Lord Oxburgh KBE FRS Dr Michael Sanderson The Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior FMedSci Professor Sir William Stewart FRS FRSE The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood KT FBA PRSE Professor Mark Walport FMedSci The Baroness Wilcox

DIRECTOR Dr Dougal Goodman

Neither the Foundation nor the Editor is responsible for the opinions of contributors to FST JOURNAL. © 2003 The Foundation for Science and Technology. ISSN 1475-1704 fst journal

Volume 18, Number 1, October 2003 contents

THE COUNCIL OF THE FOUNDATION . . . . . inside front cover fst journal UPDATE

The Journal of the Foundation for Science and Technology (formerly Technology Innovation and Society) Nuclear waste, stem cell bank, global warming ...... 2 Volume 18, Number 1, October 2003

Assessing Research Sir Gareth Roberts: Making assessment more friendly Dr Chris Henshall: Full cost recovery RESEARCH ASSESSMENT Sir David Watson: Towards teaching only Clinical medicine Professor Sir John Pattison: Research support from the top Research assessment made more friendly ...... 3 Lord Turnberg: Charity collaborations Professor John Bell: The research platform Circumpolar North Sir Gareth Roberts Graham Fry: Arctic diplomacy Dr Dougal Goodman: Arctic opportunities Professor John Lawton: A crucible of change Towards full cost recovery ...... 6 Rt Hon. Michael Meacher MP: Conserving the Arctic Transferring technology Richard Parry-Jones: British motor sport Dr Chris Henshall David Richards: An insider’s view Stuart Smith: Motor sport’s broader contribution Obituary Towards teaching-only institutions? ...... 7 Lord Butterworth Sir David Watson THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND fst TECHNOLOGY CLINICAL MEDICINE RESEARCH Research support from the top ...... 9 Professor Sir John Pattison Charity research collaborations...... 10 The Lord Turnberg Building a clinical research platform...... 11 Professor John Bell CIRCUMPOLAR NORTH Diplomacy in the “High North” ...... 13 Graham Fry Opportunities for prudent operators ...... 14 Dr Dougal Goodman The Arctic as a crucible of change...... 16 Professor John Lawton Can the Arctic be conserved?...... 17 Rt Hon Michael Meacher MP TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER The British motor-sport formula ...... 19 Richard Parry-Jones An insider’s view of the motor-sport industry ...... 20 David Richards Motor sport’s broader contribution ...... 21 Stuart Smith OBITUARY Lord Butterworth...... 23 Sir John Maddox EVENTS ...... 24

FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) update

Nuclear waste developments researchers will be expected to demonstrate that they have The new Committee on Radioactive Waste Management acquired appropriate ethical consent for any donated cell lines (CoRWM) now has a chair, Katharine Bryan. Secretary of State and that their research project has been ethically agreed before for the environment, Margaret Beckett, announced the appoint- they access cell lines. Director of the bank, Glyn Stacey said: “We ment in a written parliamentary answer in July. Katharine Bryan have to be careful with countries like the US. If we supplied an was previously chair of the Joint Nature Conservation embryonic stem cell line to a US group who were receiving gov- Committee, the Government’s wildlife advisory body, and chief ernment funding, we would be acting illegally. But we could sup- executive of the North of Scotland Water Authority. ply whatever we like to commercial companies in the US.” ❐ The CoRWM’s task is to review the options for safely manag- ing the 20,000 tonnes of solid, long-lived radioactive waste in storage around the United Kingdom. This will rise to half a mil- Higher profile role for CST lion tonnes over the next century as nuclear reactors and other Plans to beef-up the role of government advisory body the facilities come to the end of their lives. Council on Science and Technology (CST) have received a warm The CoRWM was created following the controversial decision welcome. The advisory body is to be given a higher profile in to disband the previous independent watchdog, the Radioactive helping make the country a world leader in what Lord Waste Management Advisory Committee, earlier this year (FST Sainsbury, minister for science and innovation, calls “the knowl- Journal Vol. 17 (9), p. 2). The new committee’s terms of refer- edge-based economy”. Following a quinquennial review, the ence require it to make its recommendations — to the UK terms of reference for the CST have changed to make clearer the Government and the devolved administrations for Scotland, “broad, cross-cutting nature of its work”.From now on, it will Wales and Northern Ireland — no later than the end of 2005. advise the prime minister on ways to bolster science, engineering Margaret Beckett also announced a change in the status of Nirex and technology in the United Kingdom, as well as promote (the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Management international cooperation. ❐ Executive). The executive is now independent of the nuclear industry and under greater government control, “up to the point where future policy is decided”. Global warming agreement gets cold shoulder Nirex has long campaigned for separation from the waste The International Conference on Climate Change wrapped up in producers and managing director Chris Murray said the deci- Moscow earlier this month with rising concern that the agree- sion increases transparency and accountability and is a “signif- ment may collapse after senior Russian officials questioned the icant and positive step forward” in the United Kingdom’s science behind the agreement. efforts to tackle its nuclear legacy. This arrangement, says Although 113 countries have signed the Kyoto Protocol, the Murray, “moves us more into line with nations such as Finland pact to combat global warming can only be brought into force and Sweden who have made real, tangible progress towards by Russian ratification, since the United States pulled out. But finding a solution”. the agreement has yet to be put before the country’s parliament In May 2001 Finland became the first country to annouce for a ratification vote. plans for burying nuclear waste in a permanent underground Yuri Israel, a top Russian scientist who is also the vice-chair- site. The Finnish waste-disposal company Posiva is expected to man of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the begin researching possible sites in western Finland. Although international body that oversees the Kyoto agreement, said that the location of the site is not yet determined, Finland plans to Russia “should not be in a hurry” to ratify the pact, as it could start building the deep waste dump in the year 2010. do unknown damage to the country’s economy. He also chal- In Sweden, where research into deep geologic disposal has lenged the base assumption behind the agreement, saying been under way since the late 1970s, the plan is for spent nuclear “nobody knows for certain whether this [global warming] is fuel, in oxygen-free copper waste canisters, to be stored in a deep caused by human activity or by natural factors”. repository in granite bedrock. The Swedish site should be opera- President Vladimir Putin surprised many in his opening tion by the year 2015. ❐ speech at the conference to joke that global warming “might even be a good thing — we would spend less money on fur coats and other warm items.” UK Stem Cell Bank Many observers had been expecting Putin to announce that Following on from the select committee on stem cell research Russia would soon ratify Kyoto. Instead, he wished participants report (FST Journal Vol. 17 (4) p.2 March 2002), the UK Stem good luck as they studied the problem of climate change and Cell Bank has been established at the National Institute for said his cabinet had not yet made a decision about ratifying. Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) in Hertfordshire. The The emissions-reduction targets contained in the Kyoto bank, funded by the Medical Research Council (75 per cent) and Protocol are pegged to 1990. As Russia’s emissions have fallen 32 the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (25 per cent since then, the country won’t have to do anything to per cent), is due to open shortly. It’s remit is to curate ethically meet its reduction targets, but would benefit from selling its sourced, quality controlled adult, fetal and embryonic stem cell credits — the unused portion of its emissions cap — to coun- lines and it will be open to academics and industrialists from the tries that exceeded their targets. ❐ United Kingdom and overseas. The facilities for research-grade stem cells at the UK’s stem cell bank are ready for use, and applications to deposit and Dear Sir… access the research-grade stem cell lines are being processed. FST Journal invites correspondence from readers for possible However, facilities for clinical-grade stem cell lines, which will inclusion in the journal. Preference will be given to matters arising conform to EU pharmaceutical standards, are not due to become from the Foundation’s lectures and discussions. Address material operational until early next year. for consideration to: There will be no restrictions as to which countries can use the Letters, FST Journal, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH. bank, although they will be expected to abide by the bank’s code e-mail: [email protected] of practice. Regardless of their own country’s regulations,

2 FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) research assessment

On 16 July 2003, FST hosted a meeting at the Royal Society on the proposed reform of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and of plans to identify the full economic costs of academic research in the United Kingdom. The discussion that followed was summarised by Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield. Research assessment made more friendly Gareth Roberts bout half of my recommendations prominence given to interdisciplinary are designed to meet deficiencies in and multidisciplinary research. There is Athe present RAE and will, I suspect, also support for the use of international receive the blessing of the community. experts with experience of UK research The other half express my belief that it as panel members. is time to move away from a one-size- The formal introduction of modera- fits-all assessment to a more discipline- tors (recommendation 6(b)) is more specific approach and one that concen- often questioned. Here is the rationale. Sir Gareth Roberts FRS, president of trates effort where the stakes are highest. It is difficult to guarantee that a given Wolfson College, Oxford, is chair- Although the recommendations consti- grade in one subject is equivalent to the man of the inquiry into future tute a radical overhaul of the RAE, they same grade in another, especially where arrangements for research assess- are not a wholesale rejection of RAE there is little overlap between subjects. ment. A physicist by training, he has 2001; indeed, I propose retaining many RAE 2001 left the impression that some been senior research scientist with of the key features of that process. panels were more generous than others At the outset, some of us believed it and that panels in adjacent subjects had Xerox Corporation and director of might be possible to dispense with a failed to interpret the criteria consistent- research at Thorn EMI. He is a for- complex and labour-intensive assess- ly. To be sure, umbrella panels were mer vice chancellor of the University ment process, perhaps by using self- used, but they covered too large an area, of Sheffield and a member of the assessment or a purely metrical met too infrequently and were peripher- Higher Education Funding Council approach as happens in Australia. But I al to the process. for England. He is president of the am now convinced that a system that In the panel structure I propose, the Science Council. enjoys the confidence of the academic subpanels will be equivalent to the exist- community must be based on expert ing RAE panels and will judge the quali- peer review. Any assessment ultimately ty of submissions. The higher order deciding the annual distribution of panels, comprising panel chairs and £1.18 billion that is not so based would, moderators, will ensure consistency of in my view, lack credibility and legitima- practice. cy. This, my first recommendation, The differing needs of different disci- underpins the whole review. plines are dealt with in recommendation Academics appreciate that any system 7. Working with the research communi- providing the necessary fairness will be ty, we shall develop over the next couple time- and labour-intensive. Therefore, I of years discipline-specific performance have focused on discriminating between indicators to guide both institutions and the very good research and the very best. panel members. The weight placed on The burden of assessment is then linked these indicators as well as their nature to the quantity of the funds for which may vary between units of assessment. an institution is competing. I appreciate In disciplines such as engineering, that I have proposed a system that at clinical medicine, social work and many first sight looks more complex than the others, publications in learned journals present. To some extent I have sacrificed can be less relevant than the impact of simplicity for efficiency and fairness. research on professional practice. Panels I will focus on only 3 of my 14 rec- should therefore ensure that practice- ommendations. My selection is guided based and applicable research is proper- by the questions I have most frequently ly assessed (recommendation 7(b)). been asked by stakeholders. After all, outputs other than academic The first is the hierarchical panel publications were accepted in RAE 2001 structure I have proposed (in recom- — in the creative arts, for example. mendation 6) based on 20-25 units of Why should not a researcher or a group assessment (subject categories) together describe their research and the impact it with 60-70 subpanels. Virtually everyone has had, adding testimonials from has approved of the reduction in the research partners who have benefited? number of units of assessment and the That would compare with how the

FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) 3 research assessment

Background allows departments to exclude from their submissions the research records of individ- RAE present and future ual faculty members. Excluding members John Maddox whose research interests have lapsed, or The “dual-support system”, repeatedly referred Natural Environment Research Councils have whose chief interest is in teaching students, to during the accompanying debate, is an chosen to spend increasing proportions of is an obvious means of enhancing a depart- almost uniquely British institution for the sup- their funds on research in universities. For com- ment’s grade; the downside is that the QR port of academic research. The idea is that the pleteness, the Arts and Humanities Research awarded is pro rata with the numbers sub- costs of specific research projects are funded Board is likely soon to become a research mitted to competition. from two independent sources. council, while Lord Puttnam’s National Any national system for assessing the qual- Between 1945 and 1960, the University Endowment for Science, Technology and the ity of academic research is bound to be con- Grants Committee (UGC) had a duty to equip Arts (financed by the National Lottery) is poten- tentious, especially when the funds at stake universities so that their staff could carry out tially another source of research funds. amount to more than £1.25 billion (the figure research, while a single public grant-making The dual-support system survives in the for the current year). The RAE process has agency (the Department of Scientific and new regime. The research councils continue to thus provoked questions about the compara- Industrial Research, or DSIR) made grants from make project or programme grants as before, bility of grades awarded in different disciplines public funds to support the extra costs of peer- while the funding councils have collectively and the neglect of researchers’ work on gov- reviewed projects. Several charities, most of taken over the functions of the defunct UGC. ernment committees, as reviewers for jour- them small, did the same. The two research Their function is to make annual allocation of nals, industrial collaboration and even as councils established at the time (in medicine funds to their roster of universities, taking assessors on RAE panels. and agriculture) spent most of their budgets on account of student numbers, maintenance The most recent RAE, completed in 2001, in-house research. needs and the like. They have also inherited the sharpened other problems evident at an earli- The virtues of dual support in these circum- provision of “well-found” laboratories. The last er stage. While fewer departments and aca- stances were evident. Good research depart- of these functions has prompted the periodic demics were submitted to the competition ments or even groups could be productive on research assessment exercises (RAEs), the than in the previous exercise, the numbers of the basis of internal funds, but they were also first of which was in 1986 (before the election departments graded 4 and 5 increased. Part favourably placed to compete for external sup- of the present government). of the explanation is that there has been a gen- port. In principle, no university was denied the eral improvement in the quality of British aca- chance to earn a reputation in research. The …smart British academics demic research. Another is that smart British drawbacks were also plain: the UGC made “vis- academics are quickly learning how the itations” only every five years, its distribution of are quickly learning how ground rules can best serve their needs. funds was coloured by the general standing of Either way, the point has now been reached at individual universities (and even the charms of the ground rules can best which departments graded 4, supposed to their vice chancellors) while the eventual recip- serve their needs… represent research of national interest with ients of its funds were partly influenced by uni- some international pretensions, may not be versity politics. allocated QR. Nevertheless, by 1960 the doctrine of the The objective is to apply uniform yardsticks Many of the reforms proposed by the “well-founded” laboratory had taken root: grant- to the grading of all university departments (or Roberts Review will be improvements. The making agencies would allow their judgements their equivalents) that believe they have a claim restructuring of the assessment panels and of applications to be coloured by the adequacy on public research funds. Originally, there were the recruitment of overseas scientists as of UGC support for the putative recipients. Ill- five grades, labelled 1 (at the bottom) to 5 (the panel members should strengthen the founded laboratories presumably drew the top). Now there are seven (with 4-star and 5- process. The longer interval proposed until the short straws. star added). The grading is carried out by pan- next exercise will be generally welcome. The passage of decades has brought com- els of appropriate academics, which interview But the real difficulties centre about the plexity. The UGC has been replaced by four appropriate people and consider documentary question of where the threshold for attracting “funding councils” (for England, Northern evidence (including reprints of published QR will settle. The outcome of the 2001 exer- Ireland, Scotland and Wales). And there are papers up to a maximum of four per person). cise suggests that many highly-regarded now seven research councils dealing with par- The ground rules have always been com- research programmes would fall over the ticle physics and astronomy, engineering and plicated. The funds eventually awarded are edge. In the long run, the outcome will hang on science, economic and social research, medi- known as QR (for quality-related) and are whether the Government is prepared to proj- cine biotechnology, biosciences, the natural awarded to universities on behalf of all ect forwards its generous treatment of aca- environment and central facilities, which deal departments included in the competition and demic research in last year’s budget increas- on an equal footing with all the universities in in the light of the grade awarded to that es. Whatever happens, the dual-support sys- the United Kingdom. With time, the Medical and department. A further refinement of the rules tem will have survived. ❐

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quality of scholarly books is judged by their absolute performance. funding of universities. what acceptable reviewers say. There are many aspects of my review I will refrain at this stage from com- The third recommendation (number I have not had time to reflect on: the menting on the OST Review but will 5) on which I wish to comment has to six-year cycle, the institutional-level make a plea that the eventual outcome do with the grading system. Suspicions assessment of research competence, the will ensure that vice-chancellors have have been voiced that the financial con- multitrack assessment scheme, the 80 sufficient funds and flexibility to invest sequences of gaining or losing a grade per cent submission rule, group submis- in the areas they believe will prosper and are so great that institutions have felt sion, the census date for submissions provide the best return on public invest- obliged to play games with staff to and the rules of engagement, for ment. Many ventures at the University of ensure that they fall the right side of a example. Sheffield, such as the Humanities grade boundary. I conclude by trying to put my report Research Institute, the Health Services It is also unfair that a five-star quality in the context of the other consultation Research school and the Boeing researcher should be branded with the papers and the white paper on higher Research Centre, would not have pros- lower grade of his/her department. education. pered as they have without the essential Moreover, a label of 4B attached to a unit First, I am not recommending that pump-priming funds from the Block says little about the volume of high-qual- any institution should cease to be fund- Grant that my colleagues and I invested ity research it may encompass. Indeed, ed for research. Nor does my review several years ago. grades that express in a single measure support the further concentration of There are several areas where I have the strength of research across a unit, research funding. Moreover, I have spo- suggested stronger cooperation between force attention to be paid to mediocre as ken consistently against raiding the the two arms of the Dual Support well as good research. Surely, the task of grade 4 funding pot to introduce a six- System. Two that come to mind are: assessment should be to identify the star rating. It is such a pity that this first, the International Assessment of strongest research wherever it is found in transfer of less than 2 per cent of the Research where, for example, a few aca- a department or faculty. annual QR distribution has distorted demics from abroad who have partici- The alternative system we have pro- discussions around tonight’s debate. pated in research-council reviews would posed solves these problems. For each Indeed, many of the negative attitudes in sit as full members of the assessment submission, the panel would decide how academia at present simply reflect the panels; and, second, the definition of much work could be defined as meriting funding problems generated by the post units of assessment and the formulation one, two or three stars, or none. In other RAE-2001 settlement. Given the amount of discipline-specific performance indi- words, the focus would be to discrimi- of disquiet, a visitor to this country cators, where research-council knowl- nate between the very good research and would need real convincing that there edge would be invaluable. the very best. This would also provide a had been a 30 per cent real terms Finally, I reiterate that this document continuous grading system, thus avoid- increase in research funding between is a consultation paper, not a finished ing the problems created by grade 2002/3 and 2005/6 and that research blueprint. Decisions will be reached by boundaries. spending will have doubled over a the funding councils later this year, What I have described so far will be seven-year period. whereupon there will be about 18 viewed by the majority of academics as a At the outset, I was advised by all months of intense activity: in consulta- significant improvement, so I turn to the concerned to assume that the Dual tion with the academic community, pan- more controversial parts of this recom- Support System would continue, and els will be assembled, units of assess- mendation. that third stream activities and partner- ment agreed, and panel criteria and The first relates to the proportion of ships of excellence should be separate working methods published at least two one-, two- and three-star ratings. We are from the main research assessment exer- years before the next submission date. proposing a normative approach in cise. Strong cooperation between the I am acutely aware that evaluation which panels will be given guidelines on funding councils and the Office of mechanisms distort the processes they the distribution of star ratings they Science and Technology/DTI are thus purport to evaluate. Hopefully, my rec- might expect to award. This, I empha- essential in allocating funds to the dif- ommendations will encourage enlight- sise, does not amount to imposing a dis- ferent streams. In this context, I do have ened behaviour. It is obvious to us all tribution; the moderation process will some concern that the two sides of the that, without a flourishing university establish whether a panel is justified in Dual Support System are functioning research base, this country will fail to departing from its guidelines. less cooperatively than they might be. I fulfil its potential. I also hope that the The advantages of this arrangement look forward to Chris Henshall’s presen- proposed arrangements are flexible would be several. It will prevent grade tation and hope that he will suggest enough to survive the many more white inflation and help guarantee the integri- some possible modifications to the pre- papers that will be issued over the next ty of the ratings. Departures from the ferred route for the research-council 12 or 15 years. ❐ guidelines would be justified when there was evidence that a subject outper- formed or underperformed other sub- jects when measured against interna- Whole system approach. It is teaching, discussion tional benchmarks. Perhaps citation not research, which is the fundamental indices might, in some subjects, be a mission of higher education and the proposals do not link research to teach- suitable proxy for their strength. Of course, this approach would not be used ing. There is need for a whole system approach. in small subjects or those where there is A central concern of the OST proposals is to ensure that QR funding, to avoid little tradition of research such as sports “overtrading”, properly backs project funding. But this could mean cutting back science. Institutions would then need to on projects; do we really want this? Where would the project funding go? recognise that they are being funded on the basis of their relative rather than

FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) 5 research assessment Towards full cost recovery Chris Henshall

t is apt that the discussion of proposals So the transparency review of univer- for the reform of the Research sity finances was launched. Universities IAssessment Exercise (RAE) should be embraced the review with enthusiasm. followed by a discussion of other In 1999/2000, eight universities piloted reforms of the Dual-support system. Sir the Transparent Approach to Costing Gareth Roberts and I have worked close- (TRAC) system, which was then rolled ly together in the development of these out across the sector; in 2001, we had policies, which are closely linked. The the first reports of what things were report from my group, The sustainability costing and where money was going. Dr Chris Henshall has been a group of university research1, is also a consulta- That had a major role in ensuring that director at the Office of Science and tion paper with a deadline at the end of the spending review in 2002 gave science Technology since May 2001. He is September. funding 10 per cent a year real-terms responsible for the management of I begin with the problems that need growth over the next three years. the UK science budget of around £2 fixing. Over the past few decades, there But the Treasury now needs to be re- billion a year. Dr Henshall has has been greatly increased pressure on all assured that the system can be refined to chaired the cross-departmental com- university staff to conduct and publish the point where sponsors pay what mittee responsible for the proposals research. The last RAE showed that, with research costs, so that we do not end up on sustainability. increasing numbers entering research, with another funding gap. Hence the the proportion of research-active staff dual-support reform work we have declared in the top-rated departments launched. The TRAC methodology so also increased. The crucial conclusion is far works at the level of the university or that the system is supply-led, not department. Work is now in hand to demand-led. So the funds available for extend it to the project level. We now supporting research through the RAE have to get this right and Spending (called “QR”) have had to be spread Review 2004 is fast approaching. more thinly. Investing in innovation made it clear That has been going on for a long that research in universities must be sus- time. Between 1988/89 and 1999/00, the tainable if we want to build a secure, income received by universities from all knowledge-based economy. This means project funders rose about threefold, that universities must understand and, while the QR funding increased hardly overall, be able to recover the full eco- at all. nomic costs of research. The spending At the same time, the universities and review published at the same time funders have had a poor understanding showed that the Government was put- of the cost base. That has allowed us all, ting its money where its mouth was: half funders included, to neglect the longer of the 2002 settlement for science is for term costs and has led to the low-price sustainability. For example, research culture. infrastructure funding was increased to Where has that taken us? To a situa- £500 million a year and was made per- tion we have known for some years. In manent. QR is to increase by £244 mil- 1997, the Dearing Report concluded that lion by 2005/6, while the research coun- the volume of research in higher educa- cils will get an extra £120 million for the tion had increased without a correspon- same volume of project funding. ding increase in the funding of infra- But there has to be better cost recov- structure, with the consequences of: ery across the whole system; govern- “longer working hours for academic ment departments have been told that staff, more time devoted to research at they will have to pay more for commis- the expense of teaching, underinvest- sioned research, for example. All of us ment in new and replacement equip- are going to have to work out how we ment and [in] improved operational can move ourselves onto a platform of and financial management of research”. sustainability. In 2002, the Government published There is one aspect of the recent Investing in innovation2 that confirmed white paper on higher education that the consistent failure to invest in the has been less popular than others: the research infrastructure. So the problem declaration that government intends to identified by Dearing and many before focus resources “more effectively on the him has finally been accepted as real. best research performers”. There is a What has the Government done? The message here for the institutions that comprehensive spending review in 1998 now attract lots of unmatched project provided significant extra funds for sci- funding. Either they will continue to ence, but with conditions for the future. overspend or they will have to say, “No!”

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to some project funding. The truth is and that culture change. how various players behave in the that we cannot afford all the excellent My group has been working on five future. The funders’ forum we are form- research that the system would like to themes, the first of which is how to esti- ing will play a key part in monitoring perform. mate full economic cost at the project and steering these matters. It is nothing new that choices have to level. We have a group investigating There remain some key issues. How, be made. The allocation of QR on the whether the TRAC system can be used at for example, do we handle principal basis of the RAE is a selective process, the project level. investigators’ salaries? This is a compli- while the research councils are already Our second line of enquiry asks how, cated question, with ample scope for vigorously selective. They respond to when the full economic costs of research substantial perverse incentives, perhaps excellence wherever it is, but they do not projects are known, should the universi- affecting how whole subject areas have a policy of being selective around ty and the research council systems behave. And how to manage the transi- institutions. In our system nearly 70 per interact? One answer would be to tion to the new system? Can we do it in cent of the funding the councils provide increase the overhead rate the research 18 months? Or is it so complicated that goes to a group of ten universities. That councils now pay on the current selected we need 24 or even 30 months? A major leaves the question of excellent teams set of cost indicators. But, if we can issue is that of how we can monitor the who find themselves in a department or develop a system that tells us the full new regime and adjust it so that the institution that is not uniformly excel- economic cost of projects, why fall back opportunities for gaming that ingenious lent, and who may therefore not contin- on a procedure that is a less valid indica- academics will inevitably devise are kept ue to enjoy the infrastructure support tor of the real costs of research and within bounds. And finally, what about they may have had in the past. which would perpetuate existing per- world-class researchers in departments The proposals from the Group 1 that verse incentives (for example, to hire with little or no QR? I chaired are set out in our consultation staff rather than buy equipment)? In conclusion, I would like to say this: book1. I will draw attention to a few We believe that the way to change the status quo is not an option; it is the points. First, I emphasise that the princi- behaviour is to base the terms of trade problem, to which the Government ples of the dual-support system are between universities and the research has committed major resources. But retained, which reflects the overwhelm- councils on full economic cost, with the public resources alone will not be suffi- ing message that the dual-support sys- research councils paying some percent- cient to ensure sustainability across the tem is still the best way of funding age of the full costs of projects and the system. Success will depend on changing research. remainder to be recovered from other the culture. Our goal, remember, is In our many discussions, we rapidly sources, including QR. sustainability. ❐ came to the conclusion that we are talk- We have also been doing some whole- 1. The Sustainability of University Research: A consultation on ing not just about accounting or system modelling. The initial results reforming parts of the Dual-support system (May 2003). bureaucratic changes, but a culture suggest that there is enough money in www.ost.gov.uk/policy/invest-innov.htm 2. Investing in Innovation: a strategy for science, engineering and change. Our proposals are meant to the system now, but much will depend technology (July 2002). www.ost.gov.uk/policy/ support both good accounting practices on how much we concentrate and on invest-innov.htm Towards teaching-only institutions? David Watson

begin with a reminder of recommen- the white paper on higher education in dation 34 of the Dearing Report England and its aftermath. The relation- I(1997). That proposed amending the ship between research and teaching is RAE to encourage some institutions to now declared to be indirect; research- decide not to enter, either in whole or degree awarding powers are no longer in part. The proposed aspirational floor considered necessary for a university to for taking part was at that stage put at have that title; and somewhere within grade 3A. The proposal was howled RAE grade 4 is a plimsoll line below down by the sector and therefore which researchers are no longer consid- Sir David Watson has been vice ignored by the funding councils. ered worthy of public investment. chancellor of Brighton University What the figures show is that Remember how grade 4 is defined. It since 1990. An historian by training, between 1996 and 2001 there was a denotes quality equivalent to national his interests are in the history of reduction in both staff and submissions excellence in virtually all of the research ideas and higher education policy. returned, and in effect, the 3A floor was activities submitted, with some showing He was a member of the Dearing achieved. Of course there was no com- evidence of international excellence. Committee of Inquiry into Higher pensatory payment for this achieve- Anne Corbett and Maurice Kogan, in Education. He currently chairs the ment. Incidentally, the Dearing The Guardian of 6 May, wrote that this Steering Committee for the ESRC’s Committee at that time also reflected, level, level 4, is the platform upon research programme into teaching “on the near universal rejection of the which our international competitiveness and learning as well Universities idea that some institutions of higher is built. UK’s Longer Term Strategy Group. education should be teaching only”. On the international citation indices So let us now fast forward to 2003, to about which the Government waxes

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between the regions of the United Inconsistencies. It was considered that discussion Kingdom. Scotland, for example, has no interest in 6 stars and Wales is still pro- there was insufficient linkage, indeed an viding QR for grade-3 departments. actual inconsistency, between policies as outlined in these two papers and the Wales as a whole has 5.4 per cent of white paper on higher education. How, for example, did the RAE proposals tie FTEs (full-time teaching equivalents) in in with the research concentration proposals in the white paper? the system, but only 4.7 per cent of the total income of the university system What was the justification for dual funding, and why do we have RAEs at all? and only 3.8 per cent of its research Does the system really work to add value to the wider economy, rather than just income. Scotland, with 9.7 per cent of satisfy academic interests? FTEs, attracts 11.3 per cent of total income and 12.7 per cent if research spending. Northern Ireland’s “gearing” ratio is 1.49. And so on. lyrical in the first chapter of the white need the “one” to achieve the “four.” So how do we put this all together? paper, research by Jonathan Adams and Withholding that element of QR would It’s interesting to reflect on how the his collaborators shows that our grade therefore do five times as much damage Government is slowing down the frenet- 4s alone perform 25 per cent above the as the money saved. ic pace of development announced in world ratings. So cutting off support These gearing ratios are interesting. the white paper and the latest DfES “let- below a thus-far metaphysically defined Using data from 2000-01, it seems that ter of direction.” We also need to reflect level would be to declare half of our nationally every £1 of QR attracts on the implications of not only the work of attested national excellence to approximately £2 of other research Roberts Review but also the OST review be unsupportable by public funds. funding. There is no sign of the Russell of dual support (which implies that new Moreover, that would take place group or of the golden triangle in the money will be directed to paying a against a background of structural universities with the ten highest ratios. greater proportion of fixed costs) and underfunding compared with our inter- But that result may have arisen because the HEFCE consultation on standards national competitors. Such underfund- the numbers are only small. So let us in research degree programmes (which ing usually provokes arguments about inject a “significance test”, considering explicitly repudiates the myth that high the necessity of concentration, but why only those universities where the QR standards correlate with RAE scores). should it? An equally valid claim could exceeds £3 million. Then Glasgow, In these circumstances a significant be made on behalf of “value for money”, Imperial College and so on appear virtue of the principles set out in the which would not necessarily lead to among the top ten. Roberts Review is that they provide a concentration. Closer inspection of these figures powerful impetus for the Government When I spoke to the Foundation in also shows, for example, that subject to think again. Roberts acknowledges 1997 about the Dearing Report and the mix can be important. Thus LSE has a that all HEIs do research (albeit at dif- research base, I pointed to five chal- ratio of only 1.15. The Arts and ferent levels), intends applied lenges for research funding in a diverse Humanities Research Board (AHRB) research/knowledge transfer to be con- system. (By that term I did not mean a has cogently been making the case that sidered alongside basic/fundamental two-tier system in which some do it QR has special significance for its research in each institutional setting, and others do not, but one that sup- work. It has now been conceded that doesn’t type-cast or limit institutional ports research in a diversity of set- the “big science” model will not suit strategies and explicitly tests institu- tings.) Research funding, I argued six many areas of social science and the tional capabilities. years ago, would need to be spread to humanities. The main problem is that we have support new entrants, to develop Despite the uncertainties, it is clear two debates going on simultaneously. capacity, to ensure industrial and com- that value for money is not a considera- There is a debate about research intensi- mercial support and to motivate collab- tion in the current allocation of QR. ty and a debate about institutional oration. Finally, I argued that spreading These data also call into question the diversity. We don’t seem able to have a research funding reasonably widely current fashion for stereotyping univer- debate about diversity that is properly would confirm the distinctiveness of sities into separate groups. respectful of the part played by higher education. Another set of sharp differences is research. ❐ All of these points are still relevant, but I will concentrate on one of them. Universities UK, through its Longer- term Strategy Group, has been arguing Other issues that were not raised but further issues for some time that the concentration of which need debate include: research funding has itself become for- • Is the relationship of project to public funding a relevant consideration? The mally dysfunctional. After a certain effect of research concentration and RAEs is to reduce it. point, the capacity of an institution to use QR to gear other research funding • Is the Roberts’ proposal of the three-star system to reward individual excel- — from industry, research councils and lence rather than averages workable? What will the effect be on teamwork in other sources — goes into reverse. In laboratories and elsewhere? other words, the more QR you have, the • The OST is keen on full cost recovery and has promoted the TRAC system. more dependent on it you are. For But is it workable, and what does it mean for the total volume of research example, one of the units in my univer- and the willingness of business to use university research. Have Lambert’s sity achieved a grade-4 rating in the emerging conclusions been taken into account? RAE. In that unit, the ratio of QR to external research support is 1:4; and we

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Are the strategies of the several players in British biomedical research efficiently articulated? Or would there be benefit in stronger links between the funding agencies, health service trusts and universities? These and related questions were the topics of an FST discussion meeting at the Royal Society on 30 April 2003. Research support from the top John Pattison

always believed that the Department of the MRC, the Wellcome Trust and the Health (DoH) would cover the applied appropriate specialist research charities, set Iend of the research spectrum and that up funders’ forums; they work variably bodies such as the Medical Research well, but they are all as yet young. The one Council (MRC) and other research coun- that has worked particularly well is the cils would cover the basic science end. Cancer Research Funders Forum, now the When the data from the National Cancer National Cancer Research Institute. We Research Institute on the portfolios of the integrate with the MRC in a number of various funders of cancer research in this other ways. We try to influence each Professor Sir John Pattison is director country was published, most MRC fund- other’s overall strategies. We often use the of Research Analysis and Information, ing went into biology and aetiology and expertise available at and through the Department of Health. He was previ- the DoH’s contribution to funding covered MRC to give us expert reviews on subjects. ously head of Biomedicine and a different area, but the two together come A recent example is chronic fatigue syn- Professor of Medical Microbiology at close to covering the spectrum. It was also drome, where we need appropriate University College London. He notable that the MRC made a significant research to provide evidence on how we chaired the Spongiform contribution to treatment in which it has a should be managing that condition. We Encephalopathy Advisory Committee strong tradition. (Incidentally there are also integrate with the MRC in commis- (SEAC) between 1995 and 1999. From some areas where no-one, including the sioning specific research projects and pro- 1992 to 1995 he was chairman of the other funders, currently puts much grammes and also in our personal award Physiological Medicine and Infection research money. Notable shortfalls are in schemes that are part of our capacity Board and a member of the Medical prevention and in palliative care. We are building programme. Research Council. seeking to address those shortfalls). How are we contributing to the applied Our concordat with the MRC is to end of the spectrum? In supporting clini- develop appropriate research strategies cal research, we are providing the major together, to make sure that there are no hospitals in which clinical research will surprises in the sense of one partner devel- take place with approximately £400 million oping policies with unintended conse- a year, which meets the NHS costs of clini- quences for the other, to explore joint ven- cal research under the quality control and tures, to fill gaps and so on. We have simi- strategic development of research councils lar concordats with all the other research and major charities. This is our Support councils. for Science funding stream, accounting for At our recent concordat meeting with about £300 million of the £400 million. the Engineering and Physical Sciences The remaining £100 million is part of our Research Council (EPSRC) it became Priorities & Needs R&D funding. In addi- clear that we need to explore why the tion there is £100 million per annum research they fund as part of their consid- funding our national programmes and the erable health programme stops with the research in these programmes is commis- publication of the peer-reviewed paper sioned largely in the university sector. and is not taken further towards applica- What are these national programmes? tion. Clearly there is a gap that we need to The first, the Health Technology address if we are to benefit from the basic Assessment (HTA), has an international research funded by EPSRC. reputation. Health technology includes any We have, jointly in all instances with intervention used in screening, diagnosis,

Partnership and competition. In discus- discussion sion it was agreed that partnership facili- tated a pooling of resources. Universities were weak in infrastructure; they also suffered from a constant turnover of personnel. The NHS was also weak in infrastructure. Competition provided a valuable spur to research but it was not always compatible with full partnership collaboration. The ideal appeared to be for competition to show the way forward and then for partnership to step in to foster development.

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treatment and rehabilitation; its aim is to produce evidence for the effectiveness, Intellectual property. Conflicting views discussion cost-effectiveness and impact of health had been expressed about the value of technologies. The programme is based on randomised controlled trials that generally asserting rights of intellectual property as regards the results of research. In involve multidisciplinary teams. Numbers some instances recognition of intellectual property rights had had great value. in the trials are on a substantial scale. For There had, however, been instances where the benefits had accrued to every- example, we have just finished a compari- one except the original researchers. It was important to protect the freedom son of hysterectomy procedures and this single trial involved more patients than all of knowledge transfer. The sharing of knowledge gave opportunities for work- other trials in this area put together. ing in partnership. This was not, however, a matter over which the The Service Delivery and Organisation Government had any control. Programme is more recent but we need more evidence on which to base the organ- isation and delivery of services. Recent researcher development awards or career We also have portfolios that draw commissions have been concerned with scientist awards. The latter include clini- together research in a particular area from the continuity of care, the requirements of cian scientists, a serious shortage of which all our programmes. One such is our can- carers and organisational factors related to was flagged in the Saville report of the cer portfolio and our contribution to waiting times. Academy of Medical Scientists. In the past establishing and maintaining the National Another of our programmes has the our personal awards have often targeted Cancer Research Institute is an outcome of general title of innovation. This includes particular specialities (public health, pri- that, together with the creation of the the New and Emerging Applications of mary care, nursing) but we are moving National Cancer Research Network Technology Programme. In this pro- towards a generic scheme to support high (NCRN) and the National Translational gramme we have had success recently with quality applicants irrespective of personal Cancer Research Network (NTRAC). We the development of a vascular graft, help- background or discipline. now have a National Institute of Mental ing it through the awkward period when Finally, the Policy Research Programme Health to establish networks for the rela- the basic research has been done but there (PRP) is designed to produce evidence on tively small number of high-quality staff is not yet a clear commercial interest. The which to base policy and provide the capa- working in mental-health research and we programme also now includes a major bility of evaluating policy. An example is have been able to fund, with others, some commitment to genetics, our contribution related to the policy of increasing the eating significant projects and trials in that area. to which is twofold: first to contribute to of fruit and vegetables. The PRP commis- Finally, I must refer to diabetes. The Biobank; second to set up five genetics- sioned behavioural studies on promoting Government is committed to having a pol- knowledge parks, which are designed to be this policy and they showed that, with icy on diabetes screening in place by 2005, collaborative ventures between research counselling and, especially with the young, some essential research is underway fund- funders, universities, the NHS and indus- an individuals’ intake of fruit and vegetables ed by ourselves and others to accumulate try. They will evaluate developments in can be increased, including among people the evidence necessary to formulate a genetics and tell us how they might impact from disadvantaged backgrounds. The PRP sound evidence-based policy. That would on the NHS and our health. is also notable in being the largest funder of be a good example of “needs pull” that We also make personal awards, either research into social care in Britain. drives a partnership of funders. ❐ Charity research collaborations Leslie Turnberg y position as scientific adviser to Foundation and the Arthritis and the Association of Medical Rheumatism Research Campaign, which MResearch Charities (AMRC) allows spends about £21 million a year. These me to focus on some of the problems fac- four charities spend about 84 per cent of ing them and to suggest some ways of the total, leaving about £100 million by enhancing their effectiveness. the others, with some spending between The AMRC has about 110 members, £1 million and £5 million a year, but which in 2001/02 spent almost £600 mil- many spending less than £1 million. lion on research. That is more than the The charities are diverse in structure. The Lord Turnberg is scientific advis- MRC’s contribution and more than the There is an important distinction between er to the Association of Medical NHS’s R&D programme spends, making those, such as the Wellcome Trust, that Research Charities and vice-president AMRC a major contributor. are endowed and live off their incomes of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Our funding consists largely of that of and the others that rely largely on contin- From 1997 to 2002 he was chairman a few large charities, with the Wellcome uing public support. The policies and of the Board of Public Health Trust at the top; they spent £273 million strategies of the latter are to some degree Laboratory Service. He practised as a in 2001/02 on research in Britain alone. in public hands. physician at Hope Hospital, Salford. (It spends more than that in total, includ- This is not the end to the diversity of He has been president of the Royal ing on research abroad and on non- medical charities. Some are profession- College of Physicians and chaired the research activities.) Then come Cancer led, as when they are set up by the med- panel that reviewed the health Research UK, the British Heart ical or scientific community and others services in London in 1997.

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patient- or carer-led. Some are philan- types of research grants. Most grants are ically. (We value the research governance thropic or grant-making, others institu- project grants: 28 per cent. Some 10 per framework being developed by the DoH.) tional, such as the Tommy’s Campaign. cent goes into programmes and 16 per We have to pay regard to the scientific Some are scientist- or department-led, cent into personal support — fellowships advice of our referees and we depend cru- others corporate. How these charities and so on. It is commonly suggested that cially on the applications that come to us. function and what their strategies are dif- the charities do not support infrastruc- One thing is clear: charities have to fer significantly. ture, but the institutions that receive sup- work closely with others to achieve their Thus charities exemplify democracy in port of that kind from charities are most- objectives. action. The public supports things it ly higher education institutions: very little There are many excellent examples of believes are important; cancer, heart dis- goes directly to the NHS, although most close working relationships between the ease and arthritis are the big winners. We charitably supported research is conduct- charities, the NHS and the universities: should not be too complacent, however, ed in medical schools associated with Biobank is one. The Wellcome Trust’s because more is spent on the Donkeys’ teaching hospitals. Joint Infrastructure Fund has put clinical Retreat and on the Battersea Dogs’ Home By law, charity research cannot yield research programmes into many medical than on all the research into children’s commercial or personal benefit. The schools; the British Heart Foundation has diseases or aging. range of stakeholders is enormous and put chairs into universities. The Cystic Where does the money go? The biggest they cannot be judged as one. Most chari- Fibrosis Trust has done a very interesting chunk, 45 per cent, goes to general med- ties’ research funds are spent in facilities job in stimulating collaboration between ical research that applies to all disease cat- external to the charities themselves, but the universities of Newcastle, Edinburgh egories — immunology, molecular biolo- that is not the case in cancer, for example. and Oxford. gy and so on. About 30 per cent goes to Here, funding is predominantly respon- But there needs to be more discussion research on cancer and leukaemia; 12 per sive and partnerships (with universities or between research charities, other funders cent to heart, lung and stroke; arthritis hospital trusts) are essential. These funds and users of the money in developing joint gets 4 or 5 per cent; neurology and mental are additional to and not an alternative to interests. There are opportunities for us all, illness, 2.25 per cent; and sight and hear- government funding and need continuing but where are the forums for that to occur? ing, 0.63 per cent. There are many cate- public support. We need a research strategy forum that gories of disease in which the research Medical science needs help from the meets at regular intervals with the funders charities are the sole or the major sup- AMRC and others to influence public (the charities, the MRC, NHS R&D) and porters of research, Parkinson’s disease views about medical research. It needs a the users (the NHS and universities). Its and children’s diseases, for example. research community with facilities and it goal should be to bring about a better Charities also provide a diversity of needs patients to be treated safely and eth- coordination of research strategies. ❐ Building a clinical research platform John Bell

chair a working party for the Academy do good clinical research. At present, of Medical Sciences to identify current there is disillusion about our ability effec- Iimpediments to biomedical research in tively to deliver what must be a fantastic Britain. We have agreed that one of our resource for the development of new headline issues will be the problems of therapies. undertaking clinical and translational What is the explanation? I think there research in Britain. We believe this is a is a fundamental misunderstanding fundamental impediment to progress in about what could be achieved in the the whole field. clinical arena. Yet from 1975 to now Professor John Bell is Regius profes- The issue is important because clini- there has been a decline of activity in sor of Medicine at the University of cal research is a fundamental platform clinical research in this country; it is now Oxford, where he was previously for translating the basic academic quite serious. Nuffield Professor of Clinical research at universities and research What exactly is clinical research? It Medicine. He has held a clinical fel- institutes into a clinical setting, yielding includes experimental medicine, involving lowship at Stanford University, innovations that can be applied to the phases 1 and 2 of clinical trials; the intro- California and was a co-founder of human population. Without a platform, duction of novel therapeutics in patient the Wellcome Trust Centre for none of that will happen. populations to prove their efficacy at an human genetics in Oxford. Professor John Pattison has described the need early stage; the establishment of disease Bell is a member of council at the for the NHS to have an intelligent service networks — clinical networks of people Medical Research Council, a main capacity, but for that it needs to do with an interest in a particular disease, board member of Roche AG and a research, for which reason it needs a which can advance new therapies and trustee of the Rhodes Trust. vibrant and active clinical research com- evaluate them in phases 3 and 4 of clini- munity. A third equally important issue is cal trials; and prospective studies on drug the development of the biomedical indus- and disease monitoring, including proj- try. Biotechnology and the medical device ects such as Biobank. industry have been fundamental to eco- We also have new tools to deploy. nomic growth in this country, and much Imaging has important clinical research of that has stemmed from the ability to implications. The application of a variety

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of new tools for epidemiology is vital and the translation of a variety of these University funding. There had been a discussion new technologies, emerging out of basic shift in the balance between teaching and science, including genetics, into a clini- cal framework must be included in the research. It was in any event arguable that funding related to grading was list. To none of these fields is there a damaging. The training of a researcher required at least 14 years. A more commitment, financial or otherwise, secure and substantial source of funding for training and research itself was that will allow us to be truly competitive needed. There appeared to be confusion as to which department in govern- internationally. Experimental medicine is one of the ment should assume responsibility for medical research. It was doubtful most exciting arenas in medicine, yet it whether adequate funding could be found for research in 28 separate schools does not have a good uptake among of medicine. The resolution of this issue was of the highest importance. youngsters. It includes what we used to call clinical physiology, clinical pharma- cology, the idea of proof of concept by introducing therapeutic interventions to number of institutions, notably the proteomics, affinity proteomics and mass see whether they work — essentially bed- Wellcome Trust, funded several high- spectrometry. Within five years, it may side investigation with individual patients. class facilities. But these are expensive to well be possible to analyse all the pro- Now, we have a host of new approach- run and there is a serious issue of pay- teins simultaneously; that will provide es to this kind of experimental medicine. ing overhead costs. There is also the fingerprints for individuals diagnostic of Here is an example. There was a letter last problem of a career structure for clini- the likelihood of their developing the year in The Lancet by Mark Feldman and cal scientists, although some of that is common diseases. Further ahead is the Tiny Maini that has completely redefined starting to develop; there is a further possibility of using RNA-transcript pro- inflammatory disease from a therapeutic problem of a reward structure for filing for the same and other purposes. perspective, by the use of antibodies researchers and a question of whether This is the future of clinical research and against Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF). we really have adequate research sup- there is no better place to do it than In my view, this is a major advance. When port for these people. within the NHS. you administer the antibody to patients, We have made a start on some of these Beyond getting the infrastructure right previously swollen joints in rheumatoid questions, notably within the NHS R&D and the research programmes right is the patients return towards normal and the programme, but development so far is challenge of recruiting individuals who surrogate markers of inflammation are no nowhere near as broad as is required. can support them. There needs to be a longer evident. You do not have to do sta- There is also a translational compo- career structure that takes you right tistics on this kind of data as you move nent. Cytogenetics is expensive; the NHS through from the bottom to clinical pro- into the clinic. The procedure is already probably employs a thousand cytogeneti- fessors. Who funds the person who stands immensely therapeutic. cists to look for chromosomal abnormali- at the bedside doing single-patient stud- Much the same has happened with ties in a variety of conditions. It is now ies, writing protocols that will never be vaccines. There is now a set of techniques possible to do that more accurately using published in Nature? The present reward to tell whether the response to antigen micro-array technology; a group at system is biased towards the guy who is stimulation is adequate quite early, and Oxford is trying to estimate its effective- going to publish in Nature, not the poor without moving into a large-scale trial. A ness, particularly in cancer, and whether it guy at the bedside. This is a very impor- technique developed by our group in can be more widely applied to mental tant issue. There also has to be research Oxford and Mark Davis at Stanford tells health and other arenas. support that is not commercial — inde- us, by means of surrogate markers, the Large prospective studies are also pendent support through the NHS. number of T cells in peripheral blood that important. The NHS is not being used This research base will be essential for have been activated by a particular fully to generate information about the an effective biopharmaceutical industry immunological stimulus. Again, single- best application of healthcare. Biobank is and also for biomedical engineering, an subject experimental medicine is seen as a potentially fantastic use of an NHS internationally competitive industry. If central to progress. resource; it has the potential to become a companies do not like what we offer, they What does experimental medicine landmark study and could establish will go elsewhere; many are already doing need? Clinical research facilities, run- Britain as the world centre in genetics and so. That has serious implications for the ning costs, a career structure, a reward genomic epidemiology. way that we will develop economically in structure and research grants are funda- Britain has a good record in big the future. mental. So far in Britain, we have only prospective cohort studies. Our capacity Do we need a real NHS R&D budget? the first item on this list. Five years ago to do the same with genetics will be We are grateful for the money that is we did not even have that, but then a immensely important, as will large-scale being eked out of the DoH for NHS R&D, but intelligent delivery of healthcare needs much more. This is a crucial part- Gaps and duplication. Although the NHS discussion nership in which NHS R&D must be squarely in the middle. But we also need provided the best vehicle for research it new methods for applying the money was inadequately funded for this purpose. A serious gap existed which it was effectively and we need to make sure that important to fill and partnership arrangements might provide the way forward. the engine driving clinical research is Weaknesses in the existing arrangements were to be found in the lack of ade- properly connected to the AMRC chari- quate research training and of research methodologies. Some researchers ties, to the NHS trusts and other divisions of the DoH, to the basic science base in had little awareness of work already carried out. universities and also, importantly, to industry. ❐

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Current interest in the Arctic is heightened by the region’s role in climate change and its potential as a source of hydrocarbon fuels. On 25 February 2003, the FST held a dinner discussion on how UK interests there should be managed. The discussion is summarised by Jeff Gill. Diplomacy in the “High North” Graham Fry

he Arctic has long gripped the The eight Arctic Rim countries seized British imagination. Over centuries, on these proposals. In 1990 they formed Tthe British have played a major part the International Arctic Science in the exploration of the “High North”. Committee to coordinate and promote But the UK’s strong links with the Arctic research among national science estab- continue today and I want to explore the lishments including some in other coun- reasons why I believe the Arctic is deserv- tries, such as the UK, with a long-term Graham Fry is director-general of ing of far greater and better coordinated interest in Arctic research. The following public services at the Foreign and UK attention. year, Gorbachev’s environmental plan Commonwealth Office (FCO), where The Arctic and the Antarctic make up emerged as the Arctic Environmental he has been since 1972. He has held around 20 per cent of the world’s surface Protection Strategy, directed particularly area. They therefore have major roles in at fragile Arctic ecosystems. Cooperation diplomatic posts in Japan, France and driving global atmospheric and oceanic on science and environmental issues led Malaysia (as High Commissioner). At circulation systems and so, importantly, naturally to a common interest in socio- short notice he substituted for influence the Earth’s climate. economic questions and ultimately to the Baroness Amos at the FST debate. Both polar regions also attract political formation of the Arctic Council in 1996. attention. Present international coopera- The Council, the only pan-Arctic body tion in the regions is a measure of the involving all Arctic Rim countries, sub- political will to maintain peace and stabili- sumes earlier mechanisms of cooperation ty there. In Antarctica, for example, and has extended its remit to the sustain- national territorial claims (including the able development of the region. Its work UK’s claim to British Antarctic Territory) programme is ambitious, growing and sig- are held in abeyance under the 1959 nificant, ranging from the fate and effects of Antarctic Treaty. All activities there are pollutants and the protection of the region’s regulated through a form of international distinctive ecosystems to the improvement governance, provided by a suite of treaties. of its indigenous communities. In the Arctic, political cooperation The Council contributes to regional between states is more recent. During the stability by being a mechanism for cooper- Cold War the Arctic was split into two ation at the political level. It has been par- opposing camps. The Soviet Union, con- ticularly successful in promoting dialogue trolling nearly half the region’s land area between governments and indigenous peo- and coastal waters, regarded the Arctic as a ples (who sit on the Council by right). bastion from which to project naval power Where does the UK fit in? With the into the North Atlantic. In the other camp emergence of these cooperative arrange- were the remaining Arctic states — ments at the end of the Cold War, Britain Canada, Denmark (on behalf of faced being squeezed out or, at best, hav- Greenland), Iceland, Norway and the ing its influence reduced. Having played a United States — all closely allied in NATO major part in the strategic security of the and interested in the Arctic primarily to region, it took steps to get involved. At the deter or combat Soviet aggression towards outset, the Natural Environment Research Europe. (Finland and Sweden were non- Council (NERC) joined the International aligned states in the East-West confronta- Arctic Science Committee. Later, the gov- tion and seldom thought of themselves as ernment gained observer status at the Arctic players throughout this period.) forerunner bodies to the Arctic Council, The political scene has altered dramat- at which we enjoy the same privilege. ically. Today the Arctic has a distinctive But why do we concern ourselves with political identity. Confrontation has Arctic affairs? Because we are inextricably become cooperation. The turning point linked with them. The Arctic is a relatively came in 1987, when Mikhail Gorbachev secure source of raw materials; Europe signalled a sharp distinction between mil- will rely increasingly on the hydrocarbon itary and non-military issues in the High resources of the High North, particularly North. He highlighted several areas for from Russia. The Arctic has also emerged international cooperation, including the as a leading producer of non-fuel miner- development of a pan-Arctic environ- als, including copper, lead, zinc, nickel mental plan and the creation of an inter- and even diamonds. national forum for scientific cooperation. But the clinching argument for paying

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more attention to the Arctic is the prospect of climate change, expected to be Promoting links. The Government was discussion rapid in the polar regions. Understanding urged to make a bigger direct contribution the processes in the Arctic will deepen our understanding of what is happening at to the work of non-governmental organisations pursuing development projects the UK’s lower latitudes. in the Arctic, particularly in Russia. Such projects could have the important inci- Climate change is also at the top of the dental benefit of promoting links between UK and Russian scientific organisa- Arctic Council’s agenda. An assessment of tions. Many Russian scientists were sceptical about the need to take action to Arctic climate change and its implications will be presented to the World Conference control climate change, or gave it low priority in the face of other pressures. on Climate Change in Russia later this year. This will contribute significantly to mental issues. The emergence of the Arctic Finally, there is a need for government the fourth global assessment by the Council itself illustrates that point. to pay closer attention to Arctic affairs. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate In 1997 the FCO established its own While the FCO has a strong interest in Change (IPCC), due in 2004. Environmental Policy Department and, developing cooperation between the UK Another immediate concern is the more recently, a science and technology and the Arctic process, we can do so only nuclear legacy of the former Soviet unit. There are now also networks of in concert with others. We need also to Union. Britain will contribute up to environment and science and technology engage with the wider agenda of Arctic $750 million over 10 years to an inter- attachés in overseas missions who report cooperation and we must ensure that gov- national clean-up effort. Project work is on scientific and environmental develop- ernment departments which, up to now, about to begin and will include de- ments, forge links with local experts, may be unfamiliar with Arctic issues, fuelling, the safe storage of spent lobby on key issues of UK concern and know of the new opportunities. nuclear fuel and the dismantling of identify projects to support with our 2007 is being promoted as the next older submarines. Global Opportunities Fund. International Polar Year, to mark the 50th British science and technology will also As one of the world’s leading countries anniversary of the significant polar com- help to strengthen participation in Arctic in polar scientific research through ponent to the International Geophysical affairs. Science diplomacy is now a reality. Antarctica, we have much to offer the Year of 1957/8. Then, it was the Antarctic There are many circumstances in which Arctic. Moreover, the Arctic countries are that featured heavily. The chances now are developing international relations begins actively seeking to involve non-Arctic par- that the Arctic will dominate. We need to with cooperation on science and environ- ticipants, including the UK. make a telling contribution. ❐ Opportunities for prudent operators Dougal Goodman

oday I am speaking in a personal In February the Government pub- capacity — the Foundation for lished a white paper on energy and targets TScience and Technology maintains a for carbon dioxide reduction2.Much of neutral position on all the topics we what I have to say today relates to our debate and therefore does not have a view options for future energy supply from the

on the Arctic. For much of my career I Arctic. UK progress in CO2 reduction has have been interested in the polar regions been largely the fruit of the switch from and could not miss the opportunity to coal to increased gas-fired and nuclear Dr Dougal Goodman is director of speak on this issue today. power generation. Since 1980 UK gas the Foundation for Science and The region surrounding the North consumption has more than doubled Technology. He began his career Pole, characterised by harsh climate, sen- from 4.7 billion cubic feet per day to 9.2 researching the mechanical proper- sitive ecosystems, ice and snow and very billion cubic feet per day in 2001. Britain ties of ice at the Cavendish sparse human habitation, often by native will be a net importer of gas by 2006 and Laboratory and has led expeditions peoples, was termed the “circumpolar of oil by around 2010. We face some to Greenland, Alaska, Canada, north” by Terence Armstrong in 1978 (ref. tough choices. Where should Britain look Svalbard and Antarctica to study ice 1). This area covers 8 per cent of the for future gas and oil supplies? How in nature. For 15 years he worked for Earth’s surface, 15 per cent of the land diversified should these supplies be? What BP in Alaska, Canada, North Sea area and 5 per cent of the oceans. When I role if any should the Arctic play in sup- operations and strategy before use the term ‘the Arctic’ I am referring to plying global energy needs? becoming deputy director of the the circumpolar north. Most oil reserves are in the Middle British Antarctic Survey in 1995. He I have three simple messages to deliver. East (65.3 per cent of proved reserves or was awarded a Polar Medal in 1998. First, many British companies — many 686 thousand million barrels) but the more than you might imagine — are republics of the former Soviet Union have already doing business in the Arctic. around 36 per cent of proved gas reserves Second, there are significant new opportu- (1,983 trillion cubic feet)3. A sizeable frac- nities in the Arctic, particularly as Russia tion of that gas is in Russia. A significant seeks partners for future investment. Third, proportion of our supply of oil depends companies must work hard to obtain and on the transport of oil, usually by tanker, maintain a licence to operate in the region. from the Middle East to Europe. Gas,

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because it is more difficult to transport, is Engineering consultants are needed, as are delivered by pipeline or Liquefied Natural environmental consultants. Yukos, a Gas (LNG) vessels. Gas will come to the Russian oil company, has bought the UK’s UK by pipeline from Russia (including John Brown Hydrocarbons which is the Arctic region), Algeria, the expert in designing production facilities. Netherlands and Norwegian Sector of the Also there are new opportunities for serv- North Sea. ice support companies to the oil and gas In the United States, gas could be industries. Many British based companies exported from Alaska directly to Canada are involved in these schemes — AMEC, and the lower 48 states by pipeline. for example, is designing structures for Experience shows the technical difficulties ice-infested waters and ALSTOM Power of pipeline construction over this distance has supplied gas compressor sets for and terrain could be overcome but the Russian pipelines. Fugro Geos is provid- economics do not currently support a ing geophysical surveys in the Barents Sea. pipeline and much work remains to win There is a significant amount of unde- the consent of those who would be affect- veloped oil and gas acreage in the north- ed by the pipeline. ern part of Canada, in the Beaufort Sea. Working in the Arctic is a challenge. Both BP and Shell hold very substantial The Alaskan oil fields are economic only acreage in that area, which may become because economies of scale offset the economically viable if a pipeline is built The Circumpolar North higher operational costs. There are also to connect to the rest of the Canadian logistical difficulties: limited or non-exis- pipeline network. There are also opportu- tent infrastructure, extreme weather and nities for further mineral and precious the need to export products great dis- metal exploration and production. The key question for companies wish- tances by pipeline or ship. There is also Development cannot take place with- ing to invest in the Arctic remains that of strong resistance to further development out finance and insurance. Financial insti- obtaining and keeping a licence to oper- in the Arctic because of fears about the tutions in London are active in advising ate. Opportunities for British companies impact on the environment and the companies investing in Russia — the abound, but they have to satisfy local, native peoples (discussed in the articles BP/TNK transaction was supported by a regional, governmental and global groups that follow by John Lawton and Michael group of largely London-based compa- before they can launch an Arctic project. Meacher). But, some native groups are nies. NM Rothschild has over many years Doing so requires a partnership between actively seeking development to improve provided non-recourse financing for proj- science and industry, not an adversarial their economic position. Winning and ects in Russia. relationship. Graham Fry has already maintaining a licence to operate will On the Northern Sea Route, the ship- argued for more cooperation between sci- require developers to demonstrate that ping route along the north coast of entists, but I believe there could be more the environment can be protected (tech- Russia, a Protection and Indemnity Club science-led cooperation in industry. nical innovation is important) and by with its offices in London is insuring one In summary, to do business companies building trust with the communities in of the largest shipping companies in need to create trust with local people, the whose region they wish to develop. Russia, the Murmansk Shipping Company regions, governments and international The opportunities in the Arctic for UK that operates ships along the route. groups. The developments in prospect are companies are immense. The oil fields Finally, in this catalogue of opportuni- challenging and are economic but must developed by BP on the North Slope of ties, are fishing and tourism. British fish- respect the environment. Alaska show that in the harshest of condi- ermen are still fishing in Arctic waters. I have two questions for the discussion. tions development can be profitable. On But what matters is the quantity of fish Can government, industry and the 11 February 2003 BP announced a $6.7 imported: a large part of the £400 million research councils work more effectively to billion deal to form a new partnership worth of fish products imported in 2001 coordinate their interests in the circumpo- with a Russian oil company, TNK. The came from the Arctic — the seas around lar north? How should companies build partnership will open up many new northern Norway, Iceland, the Faeroes, trust to keep a licence to operate? ❐ opportunities in the Russian Arctic for BP. Canada and Russia. We shall see increas- 1. Armstrong, T.E., Rogers, G. & Rowley, G. The Circumpolar Shell, the Anglo/Dutch company, is oper- ing quantities coming from Russia. North: a political and economic geography of the Arctic and ator of an $8 billion scheme offshore Tourists can now buy a ticket to the Sub-Arctic Methuen & Co., London (1978). 2. White paper Our energy future — creating a low carbon Sakhalin to develop the oil and gas North Pole on the Russian icebreaker, the economy (February 2003). resources under the ice-infested waters off Yamal, from a UK-based tour operator. 3. Statistical Review BP (2002). the east coast of Russia. This is the first Russian offshore project and the first with a production sharing agreement, allowing Technology application. It was argued discussion foreign investment to develop the field. Its that doing nothing about climate change market will be Asia and the Pacific Rim. was not an option and cynicism was dangerous. Existing technology was not There are also new oil and gas explo- ration opportunities in Russia, particular- being applied to the extent that it should, because it was not conventionally ly in the Barents Sea. None of this is regarded as economic to do so. That assessment depended on a discount child’s play. Surprisingly, the most diffi- rate which assumed perfect substitutability into the future — an unrealistic cult aspect of onshore operations in this approach, given that people only had one planet. The economic system treat- area is not the cold winter but the wet ed capital as income, to an extent that made the accounting practices in boggy land that emerges during the sum- mer. New technology will be needed to recent corporate scandals look virtuous. solve the development challenges.

FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) 15 circumpolar north The Arctic as a crucible of change John Lawton

he surface of the Earth is a complex of the patches is the Arctic. Yet, despite system of interacting parts — the the overall warming trend, parts of the Tatmosphere, the oceans, polar ice surface have actually cooled — eastern and the bio-sphere, to name a few. The Canada and Greenland, for example. This polar regions are important in the global behaviour is poorly understood and we system because they are covered by ice, need to know whether it is part of the which is funny stuff. normal variation in the Earth system or is First, ice is less dense than water so that anthropogenic. Professor John Lawton CBE, FRS is it floats; if ice did not float on water, the Certainly the increasingly sophisticat- chief executive of the Natural Earth would not work even remotely as it ed climate models predict increasing Environment Research Council. He does. Second, snow and ice have a high warming in the Arctic as a result of con- trained as a zoologist, worked at the albedo: they reflect back to space much of tinuing greenhouse-gas emissions. Not universities of Durham, Oxford and the solar radiation reaching them. Third, many people doubt that the changes are York (where he holds a personal when salt water freezes, it ejects salt. The anthropogenic, but we need to under- chair) before founding the NERC dynamics of the global system are crucial- stand the processes better. One expected Centre for population biology at ly determined by these properties. consequence in the Arctic is the melting Imperial College, London Here is an illustration. Both poles are of sea ice, meaning that less radiation is covered by ice sheets that reflect much of reflected back into space. But the fresh the solar radiation reaching them back water from melting ice in the polar into the atmosphere. So there is a net regions could potentially turn off the crit- energy deficit at the two poles. But that ical thermohaline circulation. Monitoring cannot persist; the deficit is made good by sea ice using passive microwave data from massive transports of heat from the satellites reveals large regional, seasonal Equator to the poles, both by atmospheric and interannual variability in ice cover, circulation and by the oceans. but the average net loss of ice in the The Gulf Stream is a part of this Arctic is about 2 per cent a decade. Six of oceanic transport system, called the ther- the ten years of minimum Arctic ice since mohaline circulation. It carries heat from records began have occurred since 1990. the Equator to the Arctic. When it reaches The water from melted ice flows into the Arctic, the water takes a header down the oceans, affecting not only the thermo- into the deep ocean and moves back haline circulation, but also global sea level. towards the Equator. The full circulation Although the chief contribution to sea-level circumnavigates the globe, returning to its rise is thermal expansion of the oceans, the starting point after about two thousand best present estimate is that melting ice years. If ice did not have the characteris- accounts for about 1.4 millimetres of sea- tics I have described, the thermohaline cir- level rise a decade, roughly half the contri- culation that couples the polar regions to bution of melting Alaskan glaciers. the rest of the planet would not exist. We know that the oceans are getting What does this tell us about the sci- fresher, another indicator of melting ice. ence we need to address? Almost all envi- There is other evidence of what is hap- ronmental scientists are at present con- pening as the Arctic regions warm. Over cerned with three issues: global climate many years, boreholes have been drilled change, pollution and sustainable devel- throughout the region defined earlier by opment. All three questions are clamant Goodman, where the land is mostly per- in the Arctic. mafrost; many of the boreholes are moni- First, climate change. There are three tored. The data show that the permafrost patches on the surface of the Earth where over this region is melting, although the the average temperature has increased by rate varies from place to place. Melting more than 1.5°C in the past 50 years. One permafrost will not affect the Earth’s

Oil transport. The transport of oil from discussion the Arctic presented another hazard. Currently two huge tankers were stuck in ice in the Baltic, and they were sin- gle-hulled. Lessons should be learned from the tanker disasters of recent years, and the EU should promote a ban on single-hulled tankers in the Baltic. Against this it was argued that double-hulled tankers could cause worse disas- ters, because it was more difficult for surveyors to spot leaks. If oil got between the two hulls a spark could cause an explosion.

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albedo as does melting sea-ice, but per- programme, we shall mount a higher-lati- icy and decisions about the management mafrost locks up a great deal of methane tude ocean study of the Arctic and sub- of this crucial area. in an immobile form and, as the per- Arctic ocean fluxes and shall address the We also hope to continue to add value mafrost melts, that methane is released in issues of melt-water and salinity change. to the UK research effort by international huge quantities. Methane is a very potent This programme is a partnership with the cooperation. The NERC Arctic station in greenhouse gas. US National Science Foundation. the international science village at Ny On the key issue of pollution, radioac- We shall also throw technology at the Aleseund in Svalbard is a good example of tive fallout, acid rain, increasing numbers problem. We are about to send NERC’s what can be achieved by combining mod- of heavy metals and various organic autonomous submersible vehicle, Autosub est resources with suitable infrastructure. chemicals from industrialised latitudes (designed in partnership with the I end with two challenges. NERC has a are being deposited in the Arctic. They Southampton Oceanographic Centre), to finite budget with which to satisfy many threaten the indigenous people and where we would not dare send people — competing demands. How do we respond organisms, which are also suffering from under the ice sheets in Greenland to learn to new challenges? There is a lot of Arctic habitat loss as the permafrost and the ice more of what is happening underneath science being funded by the EU, the sheets shrink. the ice sheet. United Kingdom, NERC and the other Britain has strengths in a range of sci- There are surprising twists in these research councils, but should we invest ence disciplines to address these issues. stories. We have all been told that it is a more in coordination to get a bigger bang The NERC community is already working good idea to plant trees and to conserve for our buck?

closely with organisations such as the forests so as to lock up CO2 in biomass. Second, we have to make sure that our Centre for Environment, Fisheries and That is usually true, but not in the Arctic. scientists connect strongly with our end Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), the JNCC The NERC Centre for Ecology and users, the people who want to exploit and and the Hadley Centre to make a signifi- Hydrology has shown that snow-covered develop the Arctic. Take Dougal cant contribution to Arctic studies. trees absorb more solar radiation than Goodman’s earlier article. There are not In some respects, we are world leaders. snow-covered ground. The models then enough fish in the sea; arguably, none of For example, a new NERC-funded satel- show that carbon accounting alone gives the fisheries Goodman talked about is lite called Cryosat will play a leading part a false impression of the potential for sustainable. Nor can we afford to burn all in deepening understanding of what is northern forests to mitigate climate that oil and gas without seriously affect- happening to Arctic ice. Cryosat uses a warming; they have virtually no effect. ing the Earth’s climate. We have to de-car- new radar altimeter to work out sea-ice Against this background of major bonise, before or after we use these movement and the elevation of ice sheets, environmental issues in the Arctic, British resources. These are bigger challenges that so that we can nail down the rate at scientists have participated in the Arctic extend well beyond Arctic science. which Arctic ice is melting. Climate Impact Assessment and the Those are the kinds of questions and NERC is also about to embark on a Arctic Monitoring and Assessment issues on which we need to work together major programme called RAPID, costing Programme, to name but two of the with industry and colleagues if we are to about £20 million over six years to evaluate Arctic Council’s working groups. I am have a sustainable future. For what the the risk of the rapid climate change that certain that we shall continue to con- Arctic is saying is that we are not using might be caused if the thermohaline circu- tribute to these international assessments, this planet sustainably: we ignore what lation were to be attenuated. In the RAPID transferring scientific knowledge into pol- the Arctic is telling us at our peril. ❐ Can the Arctic be conserved? Michael Meacher

he Arctic has one of the most acts as the globe’s “canary in the mine”, it extreme environments on the plan- is clear that now is the time for action. Tet, but the pace of change there is I shall focus on three of the most accelerating because of diverse factors — pressing environmental issues facing the some internal, others global in scope. My Arctic: climate change, biodiversity and visit there last year brought home how chemicals. this apparently remote and fragile envi- ronment is affected by our everyday The Rt Hon. Michael Meacher MP activities here in Britain and other Climate change was educated at Oxford and lectured industrialised countries.Last year the Scientists tell us that the Arctic will be in social administration. He was United Nations Environment one of the places on Earth most rapidly elected to the House of Commons in Programme (UNEP) issued a strong and dramatically affected by climate 1970 and became Minister for the warning in its third Global change. Over the past century, average Environment in 1997. He delivered Environmental Outlook (GEO). temperatures in the Arctic rose by 1°C this talk as Minister for Environment Humanity is polluting and using up vital — more than twice the global average — and Agri-environment in the renewable resources — fresh water, while Arctic sea-ice has markedly Department for Environment, Food urban air, forests and soils — faster than decreased. IPCC’s third (2001) assess- and Rural Affairs, but left the they can regenerate themselves. The ment of climate change projected that, if Government last June. polar regions are not exempt from these concentrations of greenhouse gases carry disturbing trends. Because the region on rising, winter warming of the Arctic

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Ocean will be as much as 16°C in 2080. We can only begin to predict the Energy sources. There was scepticism discussion impacts of such rapid climate change. over the feasibility of closing the gap The Hadley Centre in Britain has pro- jected that, in a high-emissions scenario, between energy demand, particularly in the developing countries, and the the Arctic sea-ice could completely dis- potential power supply from sustainable sources. Wind turbines would only appear during September in the 2080s. work when the wind blew, and in the UK it was intermittent. There was plenty Melting glaciers will cause sea levels to of wind in the Arctic, but the turbines might freeze up. Wind power could be rise for many centuries to come. New sea routes could open up through the Arctic supplemented by solar power, but that too was intermittent in middle lati- giving rise to major strategic and trading tudes. One speaker called for an engineering solution, using large, low- challenges. The region’s distinctive biodi- speed turbines in the estuaries of major rivers to produce the large quanti- versity and way of life could also be seri- ties of power consumed by big cities. ously harmed. So how can we address this challenge? Finland considered that, in order to meet its environmental targets, it had to The United Kingdom must promote build new nuclear power capacity, although it wished to cooperate with other global action to stabilise greenhouse gas countries over nuclear power. concentrations in the atmosphere at a Attention was drawn to an apparent contradiction, in that one speaker safe level. We are committed to the Kyoto Protocol and have put in place an talked about conserving the Arctic while another advocated plundering it. In ambitious programme of domestic defence it was said that the Arctic had to be put into the international con- action to cut greenhouse gas emissions. text. The fabric of society ran on energy and oil had to be replaced But deeper cuts will be needed. A report somehow. from Imperial College has shown that significant cuts in emissions would be feasible over the next 50 years. But that will not happen without a step-change in science and technology and a fundamen- strong. I disagree. The biodiversity of Efforts are being made globally to tal redirection of economies towards boreal forests is unique and requires as reduce the release and even use of these increased energy efficiency and low car- much protection and sustainable use as chemicals, with encouraging results. For bon technologies. any other ecosystem. These forests pro- example, the widespread controls on lead We also need to focus our attention vide the same variety of invaluable serv- have resulted in declining levels of expo- specifically on the threats posed to the ices to humans and the ecosystem – such sure in the Arctic. We expect that the Arctic region. An opportunity will come as soil stabilisation, fodder and forage, recently agreed UNEP programme on at the ministerial conference arranged by medicinal plants and as a pollutant filter mercury will have a similar effect. the Norwegian government later this – as their tropical counterparts. They Implementation of the Stockholm year. That meeting will include a presen- also take much longer to mature and Convention on POPs, expected to enter tation of the Arctic Climate Impact longer to recover if they are fragmented into force next year, should also reduce Assessment (see page 14). or destroyed. future exposures. This convention bans or I am pleased that Britain has been restricts the use of ten manufactured strengthening its links to the POPs and requires action to reduce or Biodiversity Conservation of Arctic Flora & Fauna eliminate the release of unintentionally Climate change will have far-reaching (CAFF), a working group of the Arctic produced POPs such as dioxins. Although consequences for Arctic flora and fauna. Council. Only last month, JNCC organ- the convention currently lists only what Despite the fashionable (but proper) ised a workshop in Edinburgh bringing might be called the “old” POPS, it does interest in biodiversity hotspots such as together representatives of CAFF with include a procedure for adding further Madagascar, in my view it is as impor- those of the UK Government and its substances. Some of the chemicals report- tant to recognise ecosystems such as nature conservation agencies. The aim ed to be increasing in the Arctic will be those in the Arctic where hundreds of was to explore cooperation on issues of candidates for inclusion. endemic species survive in the most mutual concern (such as migratory extreme conditions the Earth has species) and identify priorities for fur- to offer. ther collaboration. Conclusion Much of this biodiversity is genetical- The Arctic is not an enclave. Many of the ly distinctive and many species — polar problems facing the region do not origi- bears and ice seals for example — serve Chemicals nate there and cannot be solved in the as key indicators of the wider global A number of chemicals, such as persist- Arctic alone. Solutions have to come environmental change. The word ent organic pollutants (POPs) and some from cooperative action throughout the “Arctic” comes from the ancient Greek heavy metals, are transported to the international community. Arktikos, or “country of the great bear”, Arctic and can accumulate in food webs, Last year’s World Summit on yet polar bear populations, along with creating real and potential risks to con- Sustainable Development and this month’s many other mammal, bird and fish sumers, both human and wildlife. Some UNEP ministerial meeting drew attention species, are facing unprecedented threats. effects (apparently related to PCBs) are to Arctic concerns and agreed support for Forests too are under threat. Some say showing up in polar bears and seals, initiatives such as those of the Arctic that the Arctic’s boreal forests are signifi- while some of the foods of the indige- Council. We need further to develop coop- cantly less rich in biodiversity than trop- nous people are contaminated with mer- eration between Britain and the Arctic ical forests, and infer that the case for cury and PCBs to levels that would not process, particularly the Arctic Councils their sustainable management is not as be acceptable here. sustainable development programme. ❐

18 FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) technology transfer

A UK success story — technology transfer from Formula One and motor rally to commercial car production. The discussion meeting held by FST on 3 December 2002 celebrated an industry in which British companies have excelled. The British motor-sport formula Richard Parry-Jones

echnology transfer is not the main World Rally Championship is has been benefit that Ford Motor Co. gains pivotal in changing outdated perceptions Tfrom motor sport. We do not invest of the blue oval brand-mark. There is a in motor sport to get technology: it would parallel in (Ford-owned) Jaguar’s invest- be a very expensive way of doing that. No, ment in Formula One. Jaguar is famous we race to publicise and showcase our for its five Le Mans victories in the 1950s technological prowess, our professional- and the Jaguar legend was maintained by ism, our passion, our commitment and victories in 1988 and 1990. But these vic- Richard Parry-Jones is group vice- our enthusiasm for motor vehicles. tories at Le Mans are more relevant to our president, Global Product The halo effect of successful participa- older customer base. Jaguar is targeting Development, Ford Motor Co. He tion in motor sport is tremendous. The the younger customer with its X Type was Autocar magazine’s “Man of the impact on prospective buyers’ attitudes range and what better sport to prove the Year” in 1994 for helping to “change towards our brand-mark with our World modernity of Jaguar than the world’s the culture of one of the world’s Rally Championship programme is very most technologically challenging formula biggest corporations” and leading the significant. Ford starts from a baseline of for motor sport. That is Formula One. Mondeo development to “unmatched high product-awareness — over 90 per Technology transfer may not be why cent in the European region. But aware- we go racing or rallying, but it is a valu- refinement and dynamics”.Ford ness is not enough; potential buyers need able spin-off and it contributes to the Motor Co. includes the Aston to admire the company and aspire to engineering of our road cars. The old say- Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, become customers. Rallying showcases our ing, “racing improves the breed”,is best Mazda and Volvo brands. products in an environment where people exemplified by the disc brake. Jaguar was can identify with an exciting, colourful, the first to race with disc brakes on the C high-speed, responsive company that Type at Le Mans in 1952 and 1953; disc understands and is passionate about the brakes are now standard on most produc- technology involved in building and tion cars. Today the interaction between designing automobiles. motor sport and road cars is more com- Rallying, in particular, has a direct plex. It is no longer simply one-way traf- effect on a brand. Our rally car is recog- fic from motor sport to the road; it is very nisably a Ford Focus, not too dissimilar to much a two-way traffic now. Each is the one that can be bought at the local learning from the other. dealer’s. Having the world’s best drivers The United Kingdom is the heart of the choose to drive and to be successful in a world’s motor-sport industry. There are product that closely resembles the car that over 3,000 companies operating in the you and I can buy as a road car reinforces British motor-sport industry. Their com- the driving quality aspects of the brand. bined annual turnover is more than £5 bil- The Focus RS does more than its fair lion. The industry employs more than share of capturing front covers and free 40,000 people directly and, of course, more coverage on television and in magazines. indirectly. About 50 per cent of the sales I The Focus WRC has won many events, have just quoted are for export and 20 per including the gruelling Safari Rally. cent of the revenue is ploughed back into Ford Focus RS participation in the the sector for research and development.

Stimulating youngsters. It followed from discussion the drama and excitement that motor sport could have a significant impact on encouraging young people to take up engineering skills; it gives engineering street cred. Schemes whereby stu- dents or schoolchildren were taken into motor-sport factories were commend- ed, but it was pointed out that it could be just as valuable to bring the industry into universities by establishing closer contact with researchers and getting students to understand that excellence in performance was not just the exer- cise of skills by individuals, but the result of a seamless teamwork involving many different skills and specialities.

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This is a very important underpinning of a heated windshields. engineering flow analysis. We have a divi- competitive economy in a world that is Formula One is a different sport alto- sion called the Premier Performance increasingly dependent on technological gether. It is technology’s cutting edge; a Division that marries our Jaguar Racing, excellence to add value to consumer goods glamorous, high octane, exciting sport Cosworth Racing and Pi Technology com- and services. Ford’s investment in that attracts the powerful, the rich and the panies. That is a good example of the Cosworth engines, in Pi Technologies, in famous. It is a wonderful place to do busi- rapid technological sophistication and Jaguar Formula One Constructors and in ness and, as Jaguar, we are able to attract complexity happening in Formula One. the World Rally Championship is a signifi- many corporate sponsors. The cars do not WRC and Formula One are just two of cant portion of the total. much resemble road cars but there is sig- many areas of motor sport in which Ford The World Rally Championship is the nificant technology transfer on compo- competes worldwide, based on our UK premier global motor-sport activity and nents. Engine management systems, for operations. Volvo touring cars, in the past, thus is Ford’s main focus in motor sport. example, interchange fairly freely between have led to high performance derivatives The team is based in Cumbria, where the road cars and formula-one cars; many of for the road, such as the R series 300 facilities rival many of the formula-one our early efforts to control engine and b.h.p. vehicles with 4-wheel drive and teams. We have many partnerships with transmission technologies were pioneered adaptive suspension and drive trains. That important rally-team suppliers. The road- in our formula-one applications. Paddle would not have happened if Volvo had going Focus RS features a host of compo- shift — semi-automatic gear change — not changed its image through the British nents from companies such as Brembo now seen on the Aston Martin Vanquish, Touring Car Championship and, later, the (brakes), Garrett Air Research (tur- began its life in Formula One. Next gener- European Touring Car Championship. In bochargers), OZ Racing (wheels) and ation anti-lock brakes and traction control the 2003 season, every single car that Sparco (seats): all these components are systems were developed in Formula One. competes in the US Champ Car series will branded on the Focus RS to increase the Jaguar Racing is also working on cut- be powered by a Cosworth engine, built connection in the customer’s mind ting-edge data-logging technology. The and designed in Northampton — a between the motor-sport version and the front of an Aston Martin Vanquish is remarkable testament to the outreach of version which we offer for sale. We active- made of carbon fibre, manufactured just Cosworth. ly promote these links to reinforce the like a formula-one car. You can have a 50 Although technology transfer is not sporting credentials of our road cars. m.p.h. crash in a Vanquish and all you our prime motivation for being in motor Even the styling cues on the Focus RS are will need to do is to remove the front sport, it remains a valuable benefit and lifted directly from the rally car. bumper and bolt on a replacement. That the cross-fertilisation is no longer con- We also use rallying for career develop- is one of the advantages of carbon fibre. fined to components, materials or hard- ment, by nurturing specialist engineers Information technology is one of the ware, but is more about processes, sys- and their management skills and encour- newer elements of exchange between road tems, software and people. That is a sig- aging the mindset of top-level motor sport. and race cars; there is extensive use of nificant development that will serve us Features that appeared on our compe- computer modelling and simulation tech- well in the future. The technological tition cars before our road cars include nologies for both species. We have six resources of Ford worldwide help to guide multi-valve engines, anti-lock brakes, Cray supercomputers interchangeably our motor-sport programmes but our many weight-saving components made used for our road and race-car develop- experience in motor sport is constantly of magnesium, of aluminium and of car- ment programmes; this set-up includes a fed back to aid mainstream product bon fibre and even, believe it or not, virtual wind tunnel for whole cars and development. ❐ An insider’s view of the motor-sport industry David Richards

t Prodrive we see things from the many single-seater formulae that have viewpoint of the participating teams. evolved all over the world. Around these AWe are facilitators who sit there teams and manufacturers is a supporting between the car manufacturer and the industrial infrastructure. public; we have had experience both of At Prodrive, we believe that we play participating in the sport and of using our part in this. Our background – five technology and also of building up the World Rally Championship titles with David Richards, chairman of Prodrive, technology business alongside our racing Subaru, a string of touring car champi- was co-driver to the legendary Finnish and rallying activities. onships with Ford and other manufactur- First, I underline the importance of ers, and sports-car racing, where we cur- rally driver Ari Vatanen when they won motor sport to this country’s economy. rently run a Ferrari programme at Le the 1981 World Rally Championship Motor sport valley — centred on the Mans and round the world, chiefly in the in a Ford Escort RS. He went on to Birmingham to London M40 route — is USA. In October 2001 we took over the establish Prodrive which, with Subaru, home to seven formula-one teams, four management of the British American has won three manufacturers’ and two world-rally teams, and a whole mass of Racing (BAR) formula-one team. drivers’ world titles. international racing teams involved with Motor racing is a fairly volatile busi- sports cars, touring cars racing and the ness. If you rely totally on the sponsor’s

20 FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) technology transfer

income for a racing programme, or are next and yet they seem to manage the called computational fluid dynamics. We reliant on a car manufacturer who may process very well. Of course the top rally can simulate so many things very quickly, change strategy from year to year, you can drivers are highly skilled and experienced, linking up high-speed computers to do be left in a very difficult position. So, a few but they are helped by the cars themselves what would take much longer in a wind years ago, we took a conscious decision to that use very complex differentials and tunnel. The refinements of these process- branch out into automotive technology. electronics to control the torque and the es now are becoming so good that you We employ 1,500 people and cannot rely dynamics of the car. can save enormous amounts of time and on the fickle nature of motor racing. With such a system fitted to a normal development costs in reaching solutions. Our automotive technology division road car like a Ford Mondeo, any driver We are developing this technology for exists to transfer those technologies and can have precise control of the car with a other applications and now have a team those skills into mainstream engineering competence that would otherwise only of people selling it in industries beyond and the automotive industry. The Subaru come with years of experience in high- the automotive industry. For example, we Impreza that we run in the World Rally speed rallying. have developed a mask for painters work- Championship uses a conventional gear- In the World Rally Championship we ing in the paint industry, based on effi- box and yet is fully automatic, operated are also using Global Positioning System cient channelling of inhaled and exhaled from the gear lever next to the steering technology to track and monitor the cars gases. We work with the pharmaceutical wheel or a paddle shift. Now the Aston — it is easy to see how important it is to industry on clinical inhalers. Martin road car uses a system derived know exactly where you are when For me, the really interesting aspect of from this technology. We can change gear hurtling through the Rift Valley on the motor sport is that it is a real bridge for within 40 milliseconds while the driver Safari Rally or in the wastelands of technology, a high-profile platform for concentrates purely on driving. We have Sweden. The system provides detailed new technologies. Manufacturers are managed to move the technology across information on how each car is progress- loath to add anything to a car is going to to a whole raft of areas with major bene- ing along the route, important for safety be an expensive addition to their costs fits, and it is not just in the road-car issues, for managing the event and also and yet, if the public demands it, the pub- applications. We have also applied it to giving the public access to the latest lic supposedly sees the benefits. Motor large trucks and earth-moving equip- results and stage times via the internet. sport can provide that opportunity for the ment, JCB equipment, where the driver Transferring this type of technology to public — and for those involved in the needs to focus on the task in hand. road cars is an ongoing development: and automotive industry as a whole — to see We have also been working on active “e-safety” and “e-traffic” systems are the what is possible. torque dynamics. In road cars, if you have next big development for road cars. In Britain, we are at the leading edge of an emergency and the car starts over- Aerodynamics has for many years been this high-profile enterprise. We are a suc- steering or under-steering, it requires fair- an important factor in motor racing. We cess story, although few people realise ly expert handling to prevent an accident. use wind tunnels to hone the aerodynam- how big our industry is on the world Many road cars are now fitted with sys- ics, but they are expensive to operate and scale. Companies like ours are beginning tems that stabilise the car using the it takes a long time to change elements in link the technology developed on the brakes. They are pretty effective at low the wind tunnel if you want to simulate track to industry. There is so much more speed but less good at higher speeds. Rally different facets of a racing car. So we are that can be done and motor sport offers cars, driven on the limit all the time, will now starting to use very powerful com- an extraordinary platform for many ideas under-steer one minute and over-steer the puters now to do exactly that — this is for the future. ❐ Motor sport’s broader contribution Stuart Smith

hat, if anything, can motor sport through its history in motor sport. contribute to society in terms of Castrol’s sponsorship and sports Wtransport development, sustain- involvement dates back to Britain’s first able development and technological air show at Doncaster in 1909, when advance? I say “if anything”,because there Leon Delagrange lapped a one-and-a- are many people who believe that the half mile circuit at 50 miles per hour contribution is zero. But from the per- using a newly developed lubricant called spective of the fuel and lubricant sponsor Castrol R. Alcock and Brown were pow- and developer, I would say the contrary is ered by two Rolls Royce engines lubri- Stuart Smith is technology vice- true. This is particularly the case for some cated with 50 gallons of Castrol R when president, Fuels and Lubricants, BP. of the most pressing problems that socie- they crossed the Atlantic in 1919 for the After graduating in chemical engi- ty now faces — in greenhouse gas emis- first time. Some of those involved in neering he joined ICI Specialty sions, particulate fallout, environmental motor sport and motorcycling will Chemicals. His final role with ICI was change. At BP we believe that the big oil remember the smell of burnt Castrol R, as planning director, Industrial companies and motor manufacturers can but it actually started life in the air. Specialties, before he joined work together to do something about Henry Seagrave and Sir Malcolm Castrol in 1998 as consumer these important issues. Campbell broke world land and air speed technology director. Castrol’s position at the leading edge records using Castrol and, more recently, of technology has been built up partly when Noble and Thrust again broke the

FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) 21 technology transfer

world land speed record for the 39th time since Castrol’s first involvement in 1914, it Sustainability. The thrust of the speakers’ discussion st was the 21 in which Castrol lubricants talks was based on the assumption that had been used. Today BP and Castrol remain involved in motor sport both on the more vehicles sold, the better. But was this a desirable or sustainable end? land and sea, where we continue to learn Car ownership was increasing dramatically as people needed cars to live their from our experiences and add value to the geographically dispersed lifestyles; and such lifestyle flourished as car owner- technology pool. ship increased. But this could not go on, at least in Europe. The environmen- For us, a formula-one engine is a labo- tal damage was becoming increasingly intolerable. Creditable improvements ratory for learning about both fuels and lubricants. The designer of a production- were being made in vehicle emission reduction and noise, but every technical car engine, however, looks to the lubricant fix undermined demand restraint. Who was addressing the social conse- designer to deliver a different range of quences of vehicle use? Were existing trends sustainable? Responses sug- performance attributes from the racer or gested that lifestyle is what it is, and it was for industry to find means of sup- record breaker. The key difference between the two is the need to find a low- porting it and ameliorating its drawbacks, rather than to concern itself with est cost compromise from a wide slate of social engineering. engineering needs for the production car compared to the very focused attention to power and reliability for motor sport. In the production car, fuel economy is a top priority. This attribute is close in Lubrication requirements for the for- the internal combustion engine that has implementation and formulation to the mula-one engine are in dramatic opposi- been with us for well over a hundred motor-sport engine designer’s need for tion to the needs of a production car and years must be at the end of its develop- the delivery of more power from the yet, it is this focus that allows participa- ment. But the data show the opposite. A imposed engine size. We are already tion in the sport to add to technology plot of a composite unit measuring the experimenting in motor sport with novel knowledge. First, the race is very short, performance of cranckase oil against chemical entities that improve friction, about 90 minutes. Second, the conditions time, as marked by successive new intro- viscosity modification, dispersion control are extreme — the formula-one engine ductions of improved car engines, illus- and all the things that are important to runs at about 19,000 revs and delivers trates the progression that the design of keep your car on the road. Engine cleanli- something like 900 b.h.p. from its com- the internal combustion engine has exert- ness and efficiency is essential for the pact 3-litre engine — and there are high ed on the oil in the crankcase, the sump maintenance of good fuel economy and lubricant stresses, high local temperatures oil. The curve obtained is an “S curve” long engine life and, in a race, for the and many dynamic changes in that typical of a technology nowhere near the maintenance of power. engine throughout its life. Third, and sig- end of its lifecycle. This tells me that it is nificantly, the development is very specif- still worth investing in this technology ic, for one engine only with its unique and that the lubricant performance is not Long life appetite for and response to lubricant going to be a limitation to, say, extended Production-car engines are now designed formulation changes. More specifically, maintenance intervals or more energy- for a life of at least 100,000 miles. This the engine is continuously developed intense engines. long life is designed into the physics and during the season, so the lubricants are If motor sport is a good laboratory chemistry of the lubricants — the first continuously optimised to maximise and the technology has a long way to task is to use the lubricant to keep sur- power. In the most advanced cases, go, where is the evidence that the sport faces apart, that’s the physics. When that changes to engine design can be made to is helping to get innovative products fails and the surfaces touch, we are left accommodate the further contributions onto the market? One example is the with the chemistry of surfaces. that lubricants can make to power out- new Castrol Elixion 0W-30, a “zero W The cost of motoring has also put; we call this co-engineering. viscosity” lubricant that has proven its improved with the lengthening of serv- Co-engineering is transferable to the worth in the unlikely arena of truck ice intervals. For some German prod- road. It is an expensive process but its racing with the giant MAN trucks of ucts, this is heading to well above 30,000 value to the world of mobility is immense. Castrol Team Atkins. The low viscosity km, but extending crankcase oil life over The same is also true, but to a different is designed to improve fuel economy. that distance compromises fuel economy extent, for fuels. In Formula One, a fuel is In some trials we achieved a 7 per cent and power. specifically formulated for one engine’s improvement in fuel consumption by Another important compromise with appetite to maximise and maintain power. using Elixion 0W-30, and since the production-car lubricants is the protec- The rules for fuels are stiffer; there is less fuel bill for some fleet operators can tion of catalysts. Many of the things we freedom for the fuel formulator than for be up to 60 per cent of total costs, this put into the lubricant to achieve econo- the lubricant formulator. is a significant contribution. In addi- my, long engine life and extended service There is a subsidiary question at the tion, improved economy means

intervals don’t help very much for the heart of technology management that reduced CO2 emissions. last, so the formulation has to take this every research director must make, and The lubricant requirements of passen- into consideration. An even wider com- that is “on what should I spend the firm’s ger cars, commercial vehicles and motor- promise is that many motor oils must be technology investment?” Note that tech- cycles are complex, extending from wear in the service of a wide range of engines. nology is an investment, not a cost. protection and long life to cleanliness and Different engine types, automotive com- Let me use one example, from the fuel economy. Motor sport, where engine petition and emerging technology will lubricant business, in particular the oil in power and hence efficiency is paramount, continue to ensure these divergent needs the crankcase. When I came into the oil has a direct input in terms of fuel economy and more compromise. business a few years ago, I assumed that and benefits to the environment. ❐

22 FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) obituary

Lord Butterworth CBE DL was chairman of the Foundation for Science and Technology between 1985 and 1998. He then became president of the Foundation until he died in June this year. John Maddox reflects on a lifetime of achievements. The Lord Butterworth

ohn Blackstocke Butterworth, eno- increase of university places in Britain. bled as Baron Butterworth of At that point, the sobriquet Jack had JWarwick in 1985, was the chairman been augmented to “Jolly Jack”, in recog- of the Foundation for Science and nition of his stentorian laugh, used not Technology during its formative period merely to signal that he was amused but between that date and his succession by also his pleasure at the discomfiture of Lord Jenkin in 1998. He was a robust opponents defeated in arguments (of chairman well able to keep the which there were many). One of his col- Foundation discussions on track. He leagues at the time described him as “a continued after his retirement as chair- noisy” vice chancellor. man to be president of the Foundation It is widely appreciated that and made a great effort, despite failing Butterworth was inspired in his choice delayed the eventual compromise, but health, to attend all the evening meetings of the senior members of his new uni- secured a better outcome. and host a table at dinner. He also took versity. Warwick was able to hit the I knew Jack best during my five years a keen interest in the governance of the ground running in the late 1960s. That as director of the Nuffield Foundation, Foundation, attending council meetings initial momentum enabled the universi- between 1975 and 1980. He had been when he could. ty to shoulder its way into the first rank appointed a trustee in 1964 on the rec- He died on 19 June 2003. At the of British universities in the 1970s. ommendation of the late Dame Janet foundation’s meeting on 19 July (also A large part of Warwick’s success Vaughan, then Mistress of Somerville recorded in this issue), the audience stems from Butterworth’s assiduous cul- College, Oxford, who believed the stood for about a minute in respect and tivation of links with the rich industrial trustees were in want of an injection of reverie. enterprise of the East Midlands. One of realism. Butterworth provided that in Jack, as Butterworth liked to be his first creations was an industrial cen- plenty, together with a rigorous apprais- known, was a lawyer by training, graduat- tre, intended as a stimulus of advanced al of most applicants’ budgets that must ing in jurisprudence from Oxford on the engineering in the region. Similarly, he have saved the foundation quite a bit of eve of the Second World War. He prompt- cultivated (and earned) municipal good- money over the 21 years he served as a ly enlisted in the Royal Artillery and spent will, giving the city of Coventry in par- trustee. much of the war in Scotland, protecting ticular the sense that it had a university His other passion was the Association strategic targets from air attack. He took to call its own. of Commonwealth Universities, a post- his “bar exams” as soon as was possible, Butterworth was a determined lobbyist imperial organisation devoted to pro- thereby qualifying in 1946 as a barrister at in the cause of his university, trading on viding assistance to anglophone univer- Lincoln’s Inn, and then promptly opted the sympathies of his friends on grant- sities in developing countries. In 1978, for academic life, first as a law tutor at making committees for consideration of when the University of Malta was New College, Oxford. Warwick and holding forth to ministers threatened with the loss of its medical He quickly won a reputation as an he happened to bump into in corridors school by an intemperate prime minis- outstanding teacher, based on the clarity (as he did on one occasion when Sir Keith ter, he urged that the Nuffield of his exposition and the iconoclasm he Joseph was in charge of education in Foundation should plan avoiding action. kept throughout his life. (In post-war Margaret Thatcher’s government). The two of us went there for a few days “socialist” Britain, there were many If Warwick was Jack’s outstanding and found that, short of buying votes at icons for right-wing Jack to challenge.) achievement, the university’s Arts the next election, there was nothing to In recognition of his teaching, he was Centre was its jewel. It is a complex of be done. made an honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s theatre, dance studio and library that Jack’s appointment to the House of Inn in 1953. He was also gregarious functions still as an integral part of the Lords on his retirement in 1985 was a (proud of giving the best parties), university while serving as a part of the lifeline for one with such a surplus of quick-witted and shrewd. The last quali- institution’s claim on local affection. energy. Breaking with the tradition that ty accounts for his appointment as bur- It was bad luck for all concerned that vice chancellors made Lords pretend to sar of New College for the last seven Warwick’s first decade included the student be above party politics, he chose to be years of his time at Oxford. protests beginning in the late 1960s. One labelled a Conservative. His interest in Butterworth’s outstanding achieve- indignity was that the vice chancellor’s science and technology stemmed from ment derives from his appointment as office was occupied and files rummaged his experience at Warwick (where his the first vice chancellor of the University through. Another was that the protests stars were scientists) and from its ind- of Warwick in 1963. Warwick was one of were supported by the social historian, the ustrial hinterland. the handful of new universities created late Professor Edward Thompson, one of Butterworth is survived by his wife in the wake of the Robbins report Butterworth’s own appointments. Doris (whom he married in 1948) and (1962) which called for a substantial Butterworth’s combativeness may have by one son and two daughters. ❐

FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) 23 events

Recent lectures and dinner/discussions organised by the Foundation are listed below. Sponsors, to whom we are very grateful for their support, are shown in italics below each event. Summaries of these and other events are available on the web at www.foundation.org.uk

2003 Events 8 April 2003 The threat to the UK from biological and chemical terrorism: 16 July 2003 what can be done and what is the risk? The Research Assessment Exercise Review and Dual Funding Sir William Stewart FRS FRSE, Chairman, Health Protection Agency Reform Dr Pat Troop, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health Sir Gareth Roberts FRS, Chairman, RAE Review Mr David Veness QPM CBE, Assistant Commissioner, Specialist Operations, Sir David Watson, Vice-Chancellor, Brighton University The Metropolitan Police Dr Chris Henshall, OST, DTI Centre for Applied Microbiology & Research and CodaSciSys OST and HEFCE

25 February 2003 18 June 2003 UK in the Arctic Congestion Management in London: Traffic and Roadworks Mr Graham Fry, Director-General, Public Services, FCO Mr Malcolm Murray-Clark, Director, Congestion Charging, Transport for Dr Dougal Goodman, Director, The Foundation for Science and Technology London Professor John Lawton, CBE FRS, Chief Executive, NERC Mr Mike Talbot, Head Traffic Management Division, Department for The Rt Hon Michael Meacher MP, Minister of State, DEFRA Transport Alstom Power, FCO and Fugro GEOS Mr Jeremy England, Director, Water Operations, Thames Water Department for Transport

4 February 2003 10 June 2003 The Funding of UK Universities - Increased Fees or Grant-In-Aid? Adding Value to Research & Development Mr Nick Sanders, Director, Higher Education Group, DfES Professor Gordon Edge CBE, Chairman, Generics Group Sir Richard Sykes DSC FRS FMedSci, Rector, Imperial College Sir Peter Williams CBE FRS FREng, Chairman, ETB The Lord Oxburgh KBE, FRS, Chairman, House of Lords Select Committee Professor John O’Reilly, Chief Executive, EPSRC on Science and Technology Calderwood Han Ltd, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and QinetiQ Mr Peter Johnson, Chief Executive, George Wimpey and member, CIHE Council Pfizer, The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and 3 June 2003 The Michael John Trust Horizon Scanning Professor Sir David King KB ScD FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government and Head, Office of Science and Technology Geof Mulgan, Director, The Strategy Unit, Cabinet Office 29 January 2003 Dr Bill Harris, Chief Executive, Science Foundation Ireland Women in Science Technology and Engineering QinetiQ and the Institution of Electrical Engineers The Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Minister for Women Pfizer

20 May 2003 Redesigning the Science Curriculum; what does society want? Dr Ken Boston, Chief Executive, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority Professor John Holman, University of York 2002 Events Ms Sue Flanagan, Deputy Headteacher, Forest Gate Community School, 10 December 2002 Newham and Chair, ASE Pfizer and SEMTA Christmas Reception The Baroness Wilcox, The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology Lloyd’s Register 14 May 2003 Creativity, Science, Engineering and Technology The Lord Puttnam of Queensgate, House of Lords Dr Robert Hawley CBE DSc FRSE FREng, Deputy Chairman, The Foundation for Science 3 December 2002 and Technology A UK Success Story - Science and Technology in support of Mr David Hughes FREng, Director-General, Innovation, DTI Formula 1 and Motor Rally Mr Julian Anderson, Composer Mr Richard Parry-Jones, Group Vice President Product Development, Ford Mr David Richards, Chairman, Prodrive City & Guilds, CCLRC and NESTA Mr Stuart Smith, Technology Vice President, Fuels & Lubricants, Castrol IVECO, The Kohn Foundation and the Michael John Trust 30 April 2003 Building stronger Partnerships in Medical Science Research in the UK 27 November 2002 Professor John Bell FMedSci, Regius Chair of Medicine, University of Oxford How is the Internet Changing Business and Government? Sir John Pattison FMedSci, Director of Research Analysis and Information, Ms Frances Cairncross, Chairman, ESRC and The Economist Department of Health Mr Andrew Pinder, e-Envoy to the Government, Department of Trade and The Lord Turnberg FMedSci, Scientific Adviser, Association of Medical Industry Research Charities Mr John Leggate, Group Vice President Digital Business, BP GSK and The Wellcome Trust Autonomy, BRIT, Microsoft Research and BTExact Technologies

We are most grateful to The Wellcome Trust for support for publication of the journal.

24 FST JOURNAL >> OCTOBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (1) Companies, departments, research institutes and charitable organisations providing general support to the Foundation.

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