The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) was one of a number of research councils in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

. It directed, coordinated and funded research in

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, gala ...

for the people of the UK. Its head office was at Polaris House in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon unitary authority area had a population ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, but it also operated three scientific sites: the

UK Astronomy Technology Centre The UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) is based at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council. The UK ATC designs, builds, develops, tests and manages major instrumentation ...

(UK ATC) in Edinburgh, the

Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes or ING consists of three optical telescopes: the William Herschel Telescope, the Isaac Newton Telescope, and the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope, operated by a collaboration between the UK Science and Technology ...

(ING) in La Palma and the Joint Astronomy Centre (JAC) in Hawaii. It published the ''Frontiers'' magazine three times a year, containing news and highlights of the research and outreach programmes it supports. The PPARC was formed in April 1994 when the

Science and Engineering Research Council The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and its predecessor the Science Research Council (SRC) were the UK agencies in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities, including astronomy, biotechnology and bi ...

was split into several organizations; other products of the split included the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 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, mainly to univer ...

(EPSRC) and the

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds scientific res ...

(BBSRC). In April 2007, it merged with the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC) and the

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies t ...

portion of the EPSRC to form the new

Science and Technology Facilities Council The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a United Kingdom government agency that carries out research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and as ...

(STFC).

''Frontiers'' magazine

PPARC previously published a magazine called ''Frontiers'', .Past issue, volume 14, Autumn 2002.

References

External links

PPARC website
archive (2007)
''Frontiers'' magazine website
archive (2007)
Research Councils UK
{{Authority control Astronomy organizations Science and technology in the United Kingdom Research councils Scientific organizations established in 1994 Scientific organizations disestablished in 2007 Science and Technology Facilities Council 1994 establishments in the United Kingdom

''Frontiers'' magazine

See also

References

External links