The space physicist Michele Dougherty has stepped aside as president of the Institute of Physics, which publishes Physics World. The move was taken to avoid any conflicts of interest given her position as executive chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) – one of the main funders of physics research in the UK.

Dougherty, who is based at Imperial College London, spent two years as IOP president-elect from October 2023 before becoming president in October 2025. Dougherty was appointed executive chair of the STFC in January 2025 and in July that year was also announced as the next Astronomer Royal – the first woman to hold the position.

The changes at the IOP come in the wake of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) stating last month that it will be adjusting how it allocates government funding for scientific research and infrastructure. Spending on curiosity-driven research will remain flat from 2026 to 2030, with UKRI prioritising funding in three key areas or “buckets”.

The three buckets are: curiosity-driven research, which will be the largest; strategic government and societal priorities; and supporting innovative companies. There will also be a fourth “cross-cutting” bucket with funding for infrastructure, facilities and talent. In the four years to 2030, UKRI’s budget will be £38.6bn.

While the detailed implications of the funding changes are still to be worked out, the IOP says its “top priority” is understanding and responding to them. With the STFC being one of nine research councils within UKRI, Dougherty is stepping aside as IOP president to ensure the IOP can play what it says is “a leadership role in advocating for physics without any conflict of interest”.

In her role as STFC executive chair, Dougherty yesterday wrote to the UK’s particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics community, asking researchers to identify by March how their projects would respond to flat cash as well as reductions of 20%, 40% and 60% – and to “identify the funding point at which the project becomes non-viable”. The letter says that a “similar process” will happen for facilities and labs.

In her letter, Dougherty says that the UK’s science minister Lord Vallance and UKRI chief executive Ian Chapman want to protect curiosity-driven research, which they say is vital, and grow it “as the economy allows”. However, she adds, “the STFC will need to focus our efforts on a more concentrated set of priorities, funded at a level that can be maintained over time”.

Tom Grinyer, chief executive officer of the IOP, says that the IOP is “fully focused on ensuring physics is heard clearly as these serious decisions are shaped”. He says the IOP is “gathering insight from across the physics community and engaging closely with government, UKRI and the research councils so that we can represent the sector with authority and evidence”.

Grinyer warns, however, that UKRI’s shift in funding priorities and the subsequent STFC funding cuts will have “severe consequences” for physics. “The promised investment in quantum, AI, semiconductors and green technologies is welcome but these strengths depend on a stable research ecosystem,” he says.

“I want to thank Michele for her leadership, and we look forward to working constructively with her in her capacity at STFC as this important period for physics unfolds,” adds Grinyer.

Next steps

The nuclear physicist Paul Howarth, who has been IOP president-elect since September, will now take on Dougherty’s responsibilities – as prescribed by the IOP’s charter – with immediate effect, with the IOP Council discussing its next steps at its February 2026 meeting.

With a PhD in nuclear physics, Howarth has had a long career in the nuclear sector working on the European Fusion Programme and at British Nuclear Fuels, as well as co-founding the Dalton Nuclear Institute at the University of Manchester.

He was a non-executive board director of the National Physical Laboratory and until his retirement earlier this year was chief executive officer of the National Nuclear Laboratory.

In response to the STFC letter, Howarth says that the projected cuts “are a devastating blow for the foundations of UK physics”.

“Physics isn’t a luxury we can afford to throw away through confusion,” says Howarth. “We urge the government to rethink these cuts, listen to the physics community, and deliver to a 10-year strategy to secure physics for the future.”

The post Michele Dougherty steps aside as president of the Institute of Physics appeared first on Physics World.

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