About The Astrophysics Research Institute

Overview

The Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) is an astronomy research group comprising of 23 active research staff within the Faculty of Science of Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). Since 1998 the ARI has been housed in purpose-built accommodation on the Twelve Quays site in Birkenhead overlooking the river Mersey. LJMU has won the 2005 Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the work of the ARI. This is one of the UK's most prestigious educational awards and part of the Honours system.

Liverpool John Moores University

LJMU is the largest University of Merseyside with 2,500 staff supporting more than 20,000 students on campus sites spread throughout the vibrant city of Liverpool - European capital of culture 2008. LJMU may reasonably claim to be one of the leading research-active modern universities in the UK. The University strategic plan (2003-2008) identifies research and scholarship as one of the four 'core business' processes. In the last Research Assessment (RAE 2001) LJMU achieved the highest rating 5* (indicative of international excellence) for Sports Science, building upon its 5 rating in 1996. In addition, the University achieved a rating of 5 in General Engineering and four areas of research attracted a rating of 4: Astrophysics, Other Professions & Subjects Allied To Medicine, History and English Language & Literature. The academic life of the University is organised into 6 faculties consisting of more than 600 research-active staff.

The Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science comprises six academic areas: the ARI, the school of Biological and Earth Sciences, the School of Biomolecular Sciences, the School of Pharmacy and Chemistry, the School of Psychology and the School of Sports and Exercise Science. Making up the Faculty are over 3,800 full and part-time students together with 278 academic and support staff. Specialist facilities include the Sports Science Acclimatisation Chamber, the Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Unit, a fully equipped Forensic Science Laboratory, a driving simulator and the World's Largest Robotic Telescope. Research in the Faculty feeds into the teaching material within undergraduate and masters programmes. Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Molecular Biosciences, Astrophysics, Organismal Biosciences and Sport Science have all received `excellent' ratings in the Government teaching quality inspections. In addition, Sports Science makes LJMU the only new university to receive top ratings for both teaching and research.

The Astrophysics Research Institute

Priorities of the ARI

The primary strategic aim of the ARI is to develop a centre of excellence in astrophysics that is recognised internationally. Our largest project is the robotic 2m Liverpool Telescope, located on La Palma, Canary Islands and run as a national facility from Liverpool. The LT is on the revised PPARC roadmap and is already influencing the international research agenda as a stand-alone facility and as part of the wider RoboNet worldwide telescope network in the area of time-domain astrophysics. The ARI also prioritises high quality and innovative Learning & Teaching offering a wide range of study opportunities from the flexible Astronomy by Distance Learning courses to MPhys & BSc Degree programmes run as a joint venture (unique to UK Physics) with the Department of Physics at The University of Liverpool. We are also prioritising major new outreach initiatives through the ARI's National Schools Observatory and the visitors centre Spaceport, based at Seacombe Ferry, both of which represent excellent opportunities to further widen access to higher education. The Queen's Anniversary Prize attests to the astronomical excellence of the ARI's science, the delivery of innovative teaching programmes, the development of the LT and our enhancement of the public engagement in science.

Overview

Astrophysics has had research institute status within LJMU since 1999. In a major new initiative last year the University backed the ARI's request for new academic posts and we made 4 strategic permanent Senior Lectureship appointments in key areas of existing excellence. The ARI academic staff currently comprises of: Mike Bode (Professor); Ivan Baldry (Senior Lecturer); David Bersier (Senior Lecturer); David Carter (Professor); Chris Collins (Professor & Director); Phil James (Senior Lecturer); Shiho Kobayashi (Senior Lecturer); Toby Moore (Senior Lecturer); Andrew Newsam (Advance Fellow & Senior Lecturer); Shiho Kobayashi (Senior Lecturer); Maurizio Salaris (Senior Lecturer); Chris Simpson (Senior Lecturer); Iain Steele (Reader). In addition, we currently host a further 5 research fellows: Mike Bode (PPARC Senior Fellow); Carole Mundell (Royal Society and RCUK Academic Fellow); Eamonn Kerins (PPARC Advanced Fellow); Sue Percival (PPARC Postdoctoral Fellow); Mustapha Mouhcine (ARI Isaac Roberts Fellow) and 2 PPARC PDRAs. In addition we host: 8 e-science, IT (including a computer manager) and LT technical staff; the National School's Observatory Manager; RoboNet Project Scientist and Data Archivist; 2 full time and 3 part time admin staff and 13 research students (yrs 1-3). The annual turnover of the ARI is approximately £1.2m p.a. and our total external research-related grant income is in excess of £4m.

Research

The ARI is externally recognised as highly productive and the total number of refereed publications for the ARI over 5 years from 2001-2006 is more than 350. The mean number of citations for ARI papers in the last few years is twice the value for all astronomical publications over the same period. The main active areas of interest are time-domain astrophysics and galaxies & AGN. Time-domain astrophysics covers gamma-ray bursts; novae, microlensing and our flagship e-science project eStar. Extragalactic projects include: galaxy evolution; the relation between stellar populations and environment; accretion onto supermassive black holes and the link with galaxy evolution; clusters of galaxies and large-scale structure. We also support research in star formation and the interstellar medium. ARI's research is recognised as high priority for future funding by PPARC. We maintained a rating of 4 in the 2001 RAE despite increasing the number of category `A' staff from 9 in 1996 to 15 in 2001 and the University identifies ARI as one of the units most likely to achieve international standing in RAE 2008 and the ARI's 5-yr development strategy covering the period 2003-2008, is focussed on increasing its RAE grade in 2008. A key part of our strategy are the two RCUK Academic Fellowships awarded in 2005 & 2006. The first went to Carole Mundell to lead the gamma-ray burst group, the 2006 Fellowship will be awarded to a candidate in the area of the formation, development and evolution of galaxies, or a related field, supporting the key theme of galaxies & AGN.

Technology

Our technical & instrumentation group is located on the ground floor of the Twelve Quays site and is equipped with LT control room, instrument laboratory and optical workshop. The group are engaged in a range of projects including LT operation, robotic telescope software development, GRID technology initiatives such as eStar and e-Learning and telescope instrumentation development for optical and infrared astronomy. The technical group are also responsible for the Telescope Management Centre which began operation in July 2003 at the ARI and supports the operation of the two Faulkes telescopes in addition to that of the LT.

Key Facilities

The ARI encourage an open and stimulating academic environment where research can flourish, making it a place people want to work. All staff enjoy generous financial support from the Institute for infrastructure items such as: computing hardware equipment, consumables, journal page charges, visiting astronomers, international conference travel & professional training programmes. The ARI also has a PPARC rolling grant for PATT approved telescope runs, a PPARC studentship quota of 7 (over two years), supplemented by both foreign and internally funded PhD studentships. JMU owns the Liverpool Telescope, which is the world's largest robotic telescope and is sited on La Palma in the Canary Islands. The 2m LT achieved first light in July 2003 and with its unique rapid response capability the LT is making important discoveries in time-domain & high-energy astrophysics, such as: gravitational microlensing, supernova and gamma-ray bursters. The ARI is the only astronomy group in the country to operate its own research-size optical telescope, and ARI staff have access to 30% of the available time. The ARI is the lead partner in RoboNet - a PPARC funded initiative to establish a network of robotic telescopes around the world. Our substantial SRIF 2 and 3 awards totalling approximately £800k have enabled further development of GRID technology (adding to our existing eStar & e-Learning projects), enhancing both the robotic capability of the LT and the data analysis environment of the ARI through the instillation of a Grid-enabled computer architecture worth £100k. SRIF will also facilitate a unique collaboration with the University of Manchester (Jodrell Bank) on the e-Merlin project in radio astronomy. In addition, ARI will take part in LOFAR as a consortium member. The unparalleled data flow from these projects place them it at the forefront of GRID applications internationally. The ARI enjoys research links with The Physics Department of Liverpool University through the Liverpool Semiconductor Detector Centre, which was funded by a £3m joint JIF application and opened in 2003. The centre provides the infrastructure in which state-of-the-art detector development can take place, providing significant benefit for nuclear and particle physics programmes at LU, as well as the ARI astronomical instrumentation programme.

Teaching

Our BSc & MPhys degree programmes are taught jointly by ARI and The Physics Department at The University of Liverpool. The JD had its 1st intake in 1999 and the venture has been remarkably successful with the annual intake stable at 25. The programmes are subject to the quality assurance arrangements at both Universities and have recently been accredited by the Institute of Physics. The excellence of the teaching is demonstrated by the rating of a maximum 24 in the March 2000 QAA subject review and at the last re-validation carried out this year, the review team described the programme, thus: "as good as the best in the UK". The JD already contains innovative elements of the curriculum such as the observing field trip to Tenerife and the programmes are continually enhanced with new capital items such as the recent purchase of a 3m radio telescope and control PC. Our Astronomy by Distance Learning (DL) programme are at the forefront of flexible learning and assessment providing multi-media courses taught using CD-ROM, videos, DVD & website material, requiring no on-site attendance for classes or assessment. There are currently 10 courses available, which cover both generic astronomical themes and also explore specialised areas such as cosmology & extra-solar planets where the focus is on the most topical astronomical discoveries. Each course leads to a CPD award for successful students and there is a progression route to a Certificate of Higher Education qualification.

Widening Participation

The ARI outreach activities are centred on the National Schools' Observatory (NSO), which is a major web-based resource that allows UK schools to use world-class telescopes. Sponsored by the Government Department for Education and Science, and the Institute of Physics, the NSO is seen as a major innovation in education and enterprise, engaging with prospective learners at an early stage and bringing cutting-edge technology into the classroom. The focus of the NSO and some DL courses centres on the astronomy space centre, Spaceport at Seacombe Ferry, which is a partnership between ARI and Mersey Travel and began operation as a major local tourist attraction in summer 2005.