STFC mourns the loss of leading UK physicist Professor James Stirling CBE, FRS

12 Nov 2018 04:12 PM

STFC mourns the loss of Professor James Stirling, one of the UK’s leading theoretical particle physicists and a member from 2009 to 2015 of STFC’s Council, our senior strategic advisory body.

Building on a research career in particle physics Professor Stirling was appointed the inaugural Director of the STFC supported Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP) at Durham University in 2000.

In 2005 he became Durham’s Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and then took up the Jacksonian Chair of Natural Philosophy in Cambridge in 2008. In 2013 he became Provost of Imperial College, retiring in July 2018. 

Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, said: “Professor Stirling made a substantial contribution to the field of particle physics in the UK and was an inspiration to the many researchers that followed him.  His work as the first Director of the STFC co-funded IPPP was instrumental in helping both support the UK particle physics community and in raising the ability of the UK to contribute in this research area at a world-leading level. This is very sad news indeed.”

Professor Stirling was also a panel member of the EPSRC/STFC Review of Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Engineering in 2009 and contributed as Chair of the Science Advisory Committee to STFC’s predecessor organisation PPARC.

STFC sends our condolences to Professor Stirling’s family.