The official opening of Oxford’s groundbreaking Beecroft Building heralds a new and exciting era in physics at the University thanks to alumni and friends from across the globe, who donated over £10 million towards the project.
Adrian Beecroft, the British venture capitalist and alumnus of the University after whom the building is named, officially opened the state-of-the-art research facility on Monday 17 September, with world wide web pioneer, Sir Tim Berners-Lee; the Chancellor, Lord Patten of Barnes; and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Louise Richardson.
The 8,950sqm building brings together 200 researchers from theoretical and experimental physics, uniting the two disciplines within one setting. Designed to foster collaboration, the space is organised to encourage spontaneous social interactions, breakout sessions and group working.
John Wheater, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, highlighted the 'challenging and increasingly interdisciplinary' nature of physics research and the importance of providing facilities for all Oxford’s physics researchers to interact with each other, stating: 'Modern science is essentially collaborative - the days of the lone scientist are long gone.'
The Beecroft Building, the Physics Department’s first new major research facility for over 50 years, will advance the University’s research into areas such as quantum science and technology, the fundamental laws of nature and atomic-level experiments developing quantum computers.
Effectively a ten-storey building, with only five storeys above ground level, the Beecroft Building boasts the deepest basement in Oxford at 16 metres. The below-ground accommodation houses high specification laboratories suitable for carrying out extremely environmentally-sensitive research. These stable conditions enable the extraordinary precision required for atomic-level experiments, for probing the most basic properties of nature, and for the discovery of tiny deviations from the known laws of physics.
The anti-vibration performance and temperature control of the laboratories in the Beecroft Building are among the very best globally: the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) granted £3.2 million to Oxford in support of the Beecroft Building in the knowledge that the new high specification laboratories would enable research beyond the capabilities of most other facilities. Oxford is now the UK’s largest and most diverse centre for quantum research and forms part of the Networked Quantum Information Technologies (NQIT) Hub. The hub is part of the government’s £270 million investment to establish a quantum technology industry in the UK.
The Wolfson Foundation also granted £1.9 million towards the total for the project to support the Wolfson Centre for Quantum Science and Technology within the new building.
Professor Wheater says: 'Mysteries of the Universe still abound. We continue to be surprised by the scope to invent theoretically new forms of materials with novel and potentially useful properties that turn out to be implementable in real materials.
'The Beecroft Building is a beacon of excellence that is already attracting the best scientists from around the world to come to Oxford to grapple with these issues. This is a time of great opportunity for Oxford Physics.'