Cockcroft Institute
The Cockcroft Institute exists to provide the intellectual focus, educational infrastructure, and the essential scientific and technological facilities for accelerator science and technology research and development.
This will enable UK scientists and engineers to take a major role in conception, design, construction, and operation of accelerators for the foreseeable future advancing the scientific frontier into uncharted domains and returning scientific rewards of the highest order internationally. A secondary beneficiary will be society, in all its aspects: economic, health, energy, security, information, communication and novel materials.
The Institute is named after the Nobel prize-winner Sir John Cockcroft FRS regarded as the pioneer of modern accelerator research. It seeks to benefit society by stimulating collaboration between three communities: academia, the national laboratories of the STFC and industry.
Objectives
The Objectives of the Cockcroft Institute are to develop a major international presence in research and development in accelerator science and technology with four broad themes:
- Electron-positron colliders
- Proton and ion accelerators including neutrino beams
- Photon sources
- Neutron sources
In order to meet these objectives it has built up at Daresbury a collection of leading edge facilities. It also draws upon facilities and products provided by the stakeholder universities of Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester.
Among the facilities are:
- Microwave and Radiofrequency Laboratory
- Laser Optics Laboratory
- Surface Science Laboratory
- Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS)
- Energy Recovery Linac Prototype (ERLP)
- Superconducting Radio-Frequency Laboratory (SRF)
- Mechanical and electrical engineering and IT facilities
- Access to the Nano Science facility and Photon Science Centre at the University of Manchester
- Access to University of Liverpool’s medical facilities
As international centre in the national context for accelerator science it acts as the UK’s lead project management resource for any major accelerator science initiative bringing together large teams on major projects with the aim of creating positive economic and social impact.