Imperial College launches Institute for Shock Physics

AWE, the private company that operates and manages the Atomic Weapons Establishment on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, is providing major funding for a new £10 million institute based in Imperial’s Faculty of Natural Sciences. The Institute for Shock Physics will research into the fundamental science of what happens to matter under extreme conditions.  

The new institute aims to expand the understanding of the physics behind shock waves, high velocity collisions and extremes of pressure and temperature. It will aim to increase UK capabilities in the field of shockwave science by attracting and training new researchers.

Imperial Physics Professor Steven Rose, appointed interim Director of the new institute, said: “The institute will bring together a team of scientists and engineers who each specialise in different aspects of shock physics: experimental, theoretical and computational. Together this group of specialists will work to understand and accurately predict the outcomes of very fast impacts wherever they take place.”

Data from the fundamental physics experiments undertaken at the institute will benefit several professions, enabling engineers and space agencies to analyse the effects of meteorites impacting on planets, spacecraft or satellites; earth scientists to understand how tsunamis are formed; medical doctors use shockwaves to break up kidney stones.

The AWE has provided five years’ worth of funding for new staff and for laboratory equipment capable of mimicking very high-pressure conditions akin to those resulting from the collision between a meteorite and a spacecraft. Don Cook, managing sirector of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, said: “Although the institute will not carry out any defence research, it will nurture the talent which will help us to ensure the UK remains at the leading edge of this crucial area of science.”

Richard Sykes, Rector of Imperial College London, said: “The college has an outstanding record of bringing together experts from different disciplines to work on fundamental science that can be applied to meet the needs of industry and society. The new Institute for Shock Physics will bring together our world-class researchers in science and engineering to shed new light on how shock waves behave at the molecular level, which will underpin advances in a diverse range of fields.”