As scientists on both sides of the Atlantic reel from deep rounds of budget cuts, physicist Stephen Hawking is joining hundreds of researchers in protesting the British funding shortfalls.
According to the Telegraph UK, Hawking has added his name to a fast-growing petition of scientists calling for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to roll back the cuts in that country's physics and astronomy budgets.
The cuts in the UK are striking similar, although not identical areas, as those in the United States. In both countries, the International Linear Collider – a proposed next-generation particle-smasher that has drawn fervent support from scientists around the world – is a main target. U.S. funding for the project is being quartered, while British funding is being cut off altogether.
British participation in several large telescope projects is also being cut off. According to the Telegraph, the funding decision "has triggered vitriolic attacks on the Government by the scientific establishment of an intensity not seen since cuts were made under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s."
Stephen Hawking joins attack on science cuts [Telegraph UK]
(Image: Steven Hawking. Credit: Hawking.org.uk)
