Author Archives: Jon Butterworth

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About Jon Butterworth

UCL Physics prof, works on LHC, writes (books, Cosmic Shambles and elsewhere). Citizen of England, UK, Europe & Nowhere, apparently.

Fourheads

Posted on 18/06/2026 by Jon Butterworth

So, is the above (a) a publicity shot from the stage adaptation of The Usual Suspects (b) four (one current, three previous) Heads of Physics and Astronomy at UCL.

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Yesterday in Parliament

Posted on 16/06/2026 by Jon Butterworth

Clive Lewis MP hosted a drop in session about the funding crisis in the science and technology research council (STFC). We had a busy two hours talking to MPs and Peers. I think and hope we had some impact. There … Continue reading →

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Critical thinking and AI

Posted on 09/05/2026 by Jon Butterworth

Thanks to Hetan Shah and Margot Finn on Bluesky, I came across this article by Gillian Tett in the Financial Times. It’s a discussion about the rhetoric and reality of AI adoption in business with, as you’d expect, a focus … Continue reading →

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Where do all the particle physicists* go?

Posted on 23/04/2026 by Jon Butterworth

When Catherine Heymans, Simon Williams and I gave evidence to the House of Commons Science, innovation and Technology select committee a few weeks ago (seems like years to be honest), we were set some homework.

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