Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

The UK Research and Innovation council that runs national science laboratories at Harwell and Daresbury and supports UK space, astronomy and particle physics.

About Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

The Science and Technology Facilities Council, or STFC, is one of the UK's research councils. It funds university research in particle physics, nuclear physics and astronomy, gives scientists access to large national facilities, and works with industry on science campuses. Its facilities include the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at Harwell, the Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire and the ISIS neutron and muon source, and it supports the Diamond Light Source and the Central Laser Facility. It is also a partner in the UK Space Agency and supports European Space Agency programmes.

STFC was formed in April 2007 by merging the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils and nuclear physics work from another research council. It is now part of UK Research and Innovation. Wikipedia says it supplies about 40 per cent of UK government spending on space science and technology, and RAL Space, the UK's national space laboratory, sits inside it. Michele Dougherty took over as Executive Chair in 2025, according to Wikipedia.

Its stated aim is "to maximise the impact of our knowledge, skills, facilities and resources". STFC's technology department describes itself as a national centre of excellence for advanced scientific engineering, developing and applying new technologies to help researchers tackle global challenges. It names as partners CERN, the European Space Agency, the SKA Observatory and KEK in Japan.

Its headquarters are in Swindon, Wiltshire, with major sites at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory on the Harwell Campus near Didcot, Oxfordshire, and at Daresbury, near Warrington. The wider STFC community covers about 1,700 people in particle physics, nuclear physics and astronomy at more than 50 universities and institutes, and more than 900 PhD students. The technology department lists leaders including Marcus French (Director of Technology), Jim Halliday, Matt Wilson, Mark Willoughby and Ian Lazarus.

The roles span a lot of fields: detector scientists, manufacturing technicians, materials engineers, software developers, electronics designers, instrument builders and facility operators, along with policy, communications, finance and project managers. Many people work with university researchers and with companies from the nearby Harwell space cluster. If you like physics, engineering or computing and want to help build the equipment other scientists use, STFC is a major employer for that in the UK. Its careers site and the RAL Space pages are the places to check for what is open.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Large laboratories and instruments such as ISIS, the Central Laser Facility and Diamond Light Source.', 'title': 'National research facilities'}
• {'desc': 'Instruments, test facilities and support for UK and European space programmes through RAL Space.', 'title': 'Space science and technology'}
• {'desc': 'Engineering, detectors and electronics services for researchers and industry.', 'title': 'Technology and innovation'}

Key facts

• Formed in April 2007; part of UK Research and Innovation; headquartered in Swindon
• Main sites: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire) and Daresbury Laboratory (near Warrington)
• Wider community of about 1,700 people at over 50 universities and institutes, plus more than 900 PhD students
• Provides about 40% of UK government spending on space science and technology (Wikipedia)

Website: www.ukri.org/councils/stfc