Cockcroft Institute

The University of Liverpool has played a key role in the establishment of the Cockcroft Institute, dedicated to accelerator science research.

The Cockcroft Institute is a newly created international centre for Accelerator Science and Technology (AST) in the UK. It was proposed in September 2003 and officially opened by the UK Minister for Science, Lord Sainsbury, in September 2006. It is a joint venture of Lancaster University, the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester, the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC at the Daresbury and Rutherford Appleton Laboratories), the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), and the North West Development Agency (NWDA). The Institute is located in a purpose-built building on the Daresbury Laboratory campus, and in centres in each of the participating universities.

The Institute’s aim is to provide the intellectual focus, educational infrastructure, and the essential scientific and technological facilities for Accelerator Science and Technology research and development, which will enable UK scientists and engineers to take a major role in accelerator design, construction, and operation for the foreseeable future. The Institute is named after the Nobel prizewinner Sir John Cockcroft FRS. Born in Todmorden in north west England, and educated in part in Manchester, he is regarded as the pioneer of modern accelerator research.

For more information, visit the Cockcroft Institute's website.