The UK's Performance in Physics Research
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A report prepared for the Institute of Physics, EPSRC and STFC by Science-Metrix | April 2014 The UK’s performance in physics research National and international perspectives The Institute of Physics is a leading scientific society. We are a charitable organisation with a worldwide membership of more than 50,000, working together to advance physics education, research and application. We engage with policymakers and the general public to develop awareness and understanding of the value of physics and, through IOP Publishing, we are world leaders in professional scientific communications. In September 2013, we launched our first fundraising campaign. Our campaign, Opportunity Physics, offers you the chance to support the work that we do. Visit us at www.iop.org/fundraising. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK’s main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone’s health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security. The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar. Acknowledgement Founded in 2002, Science-Metrix is an independent research evaluation company specialising in the assessment of science and technology using bibliometric methods and in the evaluation of science-based programmes and initiatives. Contents Executive summary 4 1. Introduction 6 2. The UK’s research performance in an international context 7 2.1. International trends in research output 7 2.2. International trends in scientific impact 9 3. Scientific performance in physics in international and UK contexts 10 3.1. Scientific positioning of countries 10 3.2. International trends in scientific output 11 3.3. UK trends in international scientific collaboration 13 3.4. International trends in scientific impact 14 4. Comparison of the UK’s scientific performance in physics 16 and other research fields 4.1. Scientific positioning of physics and other research fields in the UK 16 4.2. Trends in the UK’s share of world scientific research output 18 5. Impacts arising from physics research 19 5.1. Physics clusters – case analysis 19 5.2. Applied superconductivity and materials science 20 5.3. Astrophysics and space science 21 5.4. Cosmology, quantum field theory and particle physics 23 5.5. Imaging techniques and algorithms 25 6. Conclusions 28 Appendix: Methods 29 IOP, EPSRC a n d S T F C T h E U K ’ S perfor m a n ce I n P h y sics rese a rc h : n a tio n a l a n d I n ter n a tio n a l perspecti v es a pri l 2 014 3 Executive summary 1 A three-year citation window This report, prepared by Science-Metrix for the Institute of Physics (IOP), the Engineering (publication year + following two years) was used to compute the and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and the Science and Technology ARC, which allows for scores to be computed up to 2009 only, given Facilities Council (STFC), uses bibliometrics and case studies to examine patterns that citation windows for more recent publications were not complete at of performance in physics research in the UK. The bibliometric indicators presented the time of writing the report. here (e.g. specialisation index [SI], average of relative citations [ARC], international collaborations) are based on counts of scientific papers and citations to papers indexed in the Web of Science database produced by Thomson Reuters. Key findings Scientific production in physics • The number of UK papers published in physics increased on average by 1.2% a year between 2002 and 2011. Nevertheless, this annual growth rate is lower than the 2.1% observed for UK peer-reviewed papers in all research areas combined (i.e. sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities). • The UK’s share of world papers in physics fell from 5.1% in 2002 to 4.0% by 2012, which is in line with the decreases in share of other established scientific leading countries (e.g. the US, France and Germany). Additionally, emerging scientific countries in physics gained ground, particularly China, India and the Republic of Korea. • Compared with established scientifically leading countries (e.g. France and Germany), but also emerging scientific countries (e.g. China, India and the Republic of Korea), the UK is placing significantly less emphasis on physics than on other fields of research, such as the life sciences and space science. In fact, in 2011, among the 25 leading countries, the UK was one of those with the lowest proportion of papers in physics. Scientific impact in physics • Despite the decline of its world share in physics research, the UK had the highest scientific impact in physics among the 10 largest publishing countries in 20091. • The UK’s scientific impact in physics has been growing in terms of both average citation rate and the proportion of highly cited papers. Between 2002 and 2009, scientific impact increased on average by 1.0% a year, which is a trend also observed in UK science as a whole. • The leading countries with the most substantial growth in world share achieved this growth while also maintaining (and in some cases improving) their scientific impact. In particular, the steady growth observed in China and India was not detrimental to these countries’ scientific impact; in fact, these countries managed to increase both their output and their scientific impact simultaneously. • Although the scientific impact of China and India is currently below world average, it is increasing steadily in both countries. 4 T h E U K ’ S perfor m a n ce I n P h y sics rese a rc h : n a tio n a l a n d I n ter n a tio n a l perspecti v es a pri l 2 014 IOP, EPSRC a n d S T F C International scientific collaborations • The UK’s rate of international scientific collaboration in physics has grown steadily, increasing on average by 1.8% a year between 2002 and 2011. This has translated into clear gains in terms of scientific impact, as measured by citations. • Between 2002 and 2011, the UK’s most important scientific partners were the US, Germany, France, Italy and China. • Clear gains in scientific impact were noted for the UK and all of its principal partners – including the emerging countries in physics, such as China, India and the Republic of Korea – in these international scientific collaborations. Additionally, the Netherlands has a strong, reciprocal scientific affinity with the UK, meaning that both countries collaborate more with each other than expected by the size of their respective scientific production in physics. Impacts arising from physics research To supplement the analysis of the bibliometrics data, UK case studies of four physics clusters (i.e. applied superconductivity and materials science; astrophysics and space science; cosmology, quantum field theory and particle physics; and imaging techniques and algorithms) known for their high level of scientific excellence, as determined by citation analysis and topic modelling, were undertaken. Analysis of the case studies indicated that: • Research in these clusters has contributed to the development of new scientific instrumentation or techniques and to the provision of highly skilled graduates. • Research in these clusters is relevant to several UK science and technology priorities (“the eight Great Technologies”), including “big data” and “advanced materials”. • Programmes that encourage personnel exchanges or industry secondments are one of the most useful conduits for knowledge flow. In the applied superconductivity and materials science cluster, partnerships with electricity generation and supply companies, as well as materials instrumentation companies, have led to several start-ups or spin-out companies. In the astrophysics and space science cluster, the capacity for scientific and technological problem-solving is exemplified not only in the aerospace industry, but also by sensor systems developed for medical research and security purposes. Within the cosmology, quantum-field theory and particle physics cluster, newly created scientific instrumentation and techniques include: improved cooling and vapour technology used in a variety of industrial applications; and precision detection equipment developed for space systems but now used by large computing companies such as Dell and IBM. In the imaging techniques and algorithms cluster, research results have been widely used by international engineering companies (e.g. Rolls-Royce), aerospace companies (e.g. BAE Systems and Airbus) and a suite of medical-imaging businesses. Other research in this cluster applies to the power-generation industry, both nuclear and non-nuclear, where research results have been used by a UK-based power company and a German electric utilities company. IOP, EPSRC a n d S T F C T h E U K ’ S perfor m a n ce I n P h y sics rese a rc h : n a tio n a l a n d I n ter n a tio n a l perspecti v es a pri l 2 014 5 1 Introduction 2 See, for instance, The Importance Through the development and application India, China and the Republic of Korea] of Physics to the UK Economy, 6 London: Institute of Physics, 2012.