Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Encyclopedia
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British
Research Council
that provides government funding for grants to undertake research
and postgraduate degrees in engineering
and the physical sciences (including mathematics
, artificial intelligence
and computer science
), mainly to universities
in the United Kingdom
. The head office is in Swindon
, Wiltshire
in the same building (Polaris House) that houses the Science and Technology Facilities Council
, Natural Environment Research Council
, Research Councils UK
, and the UK Space Agency
.
(SERC).
's chief executive John Armitt
was appointed the Chairman of the EPSRC from 1 April 2007 for four years. He succeeded Dame Julia Higgins
.
As of September 2007 the chief executive and deputy chair of EPSRC is David Delpy FRS, a medical physicist
and formerly vice provost at University College London
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0705/07053002.
(now sometimes also referred to as Centres for Doctoral Training or CDTs). These deliver four-year doctoral training programmes to cohorts of PhD students studying within UK universities, and are funded to target specific areas of research for which there is recognised need. In 2008, the EPSRC has announced funding for 44 new DTCs spanning its entire remit.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Research Council
Research Council
The UK Research Councils, of which there are currently seven, are publicly-funded agencies responsible for co-ordinating and funding particular areas of research, including the arts, humanities, all areas of science and engineering...
that provides government funding for grants to undertake research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and postgraduate degrees in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and the physical sciences (including mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
), mainly to universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The head office is in Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
in the same building (Polaris House) that houses the Science and Technology Facilities Council
Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy .-History:It was formed in April 2007 as a merger of the Particle...
, Natural Environment Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...
, Research Councils UK
Research Councils UK
Research Councils UK is a strategic partnership between the seven UK Research Councils. It enables the Councils to work together more effectively to enhance the overall impact and effectiveness of their research, training and innovation activities, contributing to the delivery of the Government's...
, and the UK Space Agency
UK Space Agency
The UK Space Agency is a United Kingdom government agency responsible for its civil space programme. It was established on 1 April 2010 to replace the British National Space Centre and took over responsibility for government policy and key budgets for space and represents the UK in all negotiations...
.
History
EPSRC was created in 1994. It was formerly a part of the Science and Engineering Research CouncilScience and Engineering Research Council
The Science and Engineering Research Council used to be the UK agency in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities including astronomy, biotechnology and biological sciences, space research and particle physics...
(SERC).
Structure
Former Network RailNetwork Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
's chief executive John Armitt
John Armitt
John Alexander Armitt, CBE FREng , is the Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body charged with building the venues, facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games. The appointment commenced on 1 September 2007.He is also Chairman of the Engineering and Physical Sciences...
was appointed the Chairman of the EPSRC from 1 April 2007 for four years. He succeeded Dame Julia Higgins
Julia Higgins
Dame Julia Stretton Higgins, DBE, FRS, FREng is Professor of Polymer Science in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology at Imperial College London...
.
As of September 2007 the chief executive and deputy chair of EPSRC is David Delpy FRS, a medical physicist
Medical physics
Medical physics is the application of physics to medicine. It generally concerns physics as applied to medical imaging and radiotherapy, although a medical physicist may also work in many other areas of healthcare...
and formerly vice provost at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0705/07053002.
Functions
In addition to funding academic research projects, the EPSRC also funds Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs)Doctoral Training Centre
Doctoral Training Centres are centres for managing the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council PhD-funded degrees in the United Kingdom...
(now sometimes also referred to as Centres for Doctoral Training or CDTs). These deliver four-year doctoral training programmes to cohorts of PhD students studying within UK universities, and are funded to target specific areas of research for which there is recognised need. In 2008, the EPSRC has announced funding for 44 new DTCs spanning its entire remit.
External links
- EPSRC website
- Grants information
- Doctoral Training Accounts
- Centres for Doctoral Training
- Research Councils UK