We, the undersigned, write to express our concern and strongest opposition to the restructure and proposed compulsory staff redundancies within Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
The University’s proposal for Materials Science and Engineering will cut nine academic posts from an existing roll of just 41 academics. This follows a loss of 3 posts over the last year alone. We are fighting against these proposals to ensure the continued success of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
Materials research and education is essential to addressing the most critical scientific and industrial challenges of our time, including clean energy, sustainable and advanced manufacturing, health technology, defence and the transition to a low carbon economy, as highlighted in the Modern Industrial Strategy of the United Kingdom and the National Materials Innovation Strategy. At a time when demand for skilled materials scientists and engineering is rising, the University should be investing in the future of Materials at Sheffield rather than overseeing its reduction.
As a foundational pillar of the University, Materials at Sheffield sustains a legacy of globally recognised research, transformative education, and industrial and regional impact. Our alumni hold senior and influential positions in industry and academia across the world and our graduates are in demand for jobs across the local, national and international stage. This is a tradition of excellence that remains vibrant today, a tradition we want to protect.
We urge the University’s Senior Leadership and Council to immediately withdraw the threat of compulsory redundancies and work with staff, students, alumni, collaborators, industry partners and the wider engineering community to secure a sustainable future for Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield.
Signatories
367 signatories shown
| Name | Institution | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Richard Catlow | UCL and Cardiff University | Sheffield University should be proud of its world class materials department, which has a fine tradition and very active and successful current programme. The discipline is more relevant than ever as innovation in materials science will be essential for the development of renewable energy technologies and a sustainable future. The proposed cuts will inflict lasting and serious damage on Sheffield materials and will damage the discipline in the UK more generally. The University must develop an alternative strategy. |
| Prof Paul Attfield | University of Edinburgh | I am J.P. Attfield FRS, and I hold a Chair of Materials Science at the University of Edinburgh. The department at Sheffield is one of the highlight materials institutes in the UK and has an international reputation for excellence as well as a rich history originating in steel making. There is an undoubted need for such university departments to continue and thrive to support training and research that underpins the UK economy. We all appreciate that Sheffield like many institutions is currently under financial pressure, but the proposed staff cuts risk long term harm and alternatives should be sought. |
| Prof John Irvine CBE | The University of St Andrews | Materials Science at Sheffield is at the core of UK prosperity and it seems that we should be increasing activity to support the re-emergence of the North as an industry powerhouse. The constituent Departments in Metallurgy, Ceramics and Polymers from the last millennium all played great roles, with the merged Department continuing these great capabilities. When we look beyond our shores to emerging economies and indeed leading economies is Asia, we see great enthusiasm and investment in Materials Science |
| Prof Jason Robinson | University of Cambridge | As Head of the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, I strongly oppose the proposed redundancies in Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield. Materials science is not a peripheral academic subject: it is the foundation of modern industry. Advances in materials underpin semiconductors, quantum technologies, batteries, clean energy, aerospace, defence, healthcare, transport, construction and resilient national infrastructure. They are essential to raising productivity, reducing emissions, strengthening supply chains and translating scientific discovery into industrial capability. The UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy identifies advanced materials as one of the frontier manufacturing industries with the greatest growth potential. Its Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan commits the UK to maintaining a world-class environment for research and development in advanced materials and to deepening the national research and training offer. UKRI similarly recognises that materials underpin manufacturing-based industries, contribute widely to socioeconomic challenges and require investment in skills and future generations of researchers. It is therefore extremely difficult to reconcile academic redundancies in this strategically critical discipline with the UK’s stated ambitions to modernise industry, deliver sustainable growth and secure long-term prosperity. Reducing university capability damages not only present research, but also the pipeline of highly skilled graduates, doctoral researchers and future research leaders needed by UK science and industry. Sheffield has a distinguished history, an international reputation and an important role within the UK’s materials ecosystem. Capacity of this kind takes decades to build and cannot easily be recreated once lost. I urge the University to withdraw the threat of redundancies and work with staff, industry, government and the wider community to secure a sustainable future for Materials at Sheffield. |
| Prof Rachel Oliver OBE | University of Cambridge | Materials Science and Engineering as a discipline is vital to UK prosperity. Indeed, Advanced Materials are identified as a government priority in the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan. Other government priorities under the Strategy, such as batteries and aerospace, are also heavily reliant on Materials Engineering. In this context, it strikes me as a major strategic error to substantially reduce the capacity of a leading academic department in such a high impact field. |
| Prof Angus J Wilkinson | University of Oxford | Materials Science and Engineering has a long and impressive at the University of Sheffield. Advanced materials are the critical aspect of global technological challenges that will be faced by the next generations. My colleagues at Sheffield are central to delivery of impactful research and importantly training the next generation of materials scientists. We urge the University’s Senior Leadership at Sheffield to reconsider compulsory redundancies in an area identified by multiple governments as key to solving societal challenges. |
| Prof Philip Withers | Henry royce Institute, University of Manchester | The Materials Innovation Strategy has shown just how vital materials science and engineering are to the UK, generating approximately £45 billion per year for the economy in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) and employing more than 635,000 people nationwide. It is a critical underpinning capability for priority sectors including defence, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, and net-zero technologies. As a result, materials scientists are very much in demand, and the research and development they undertake is critical to UK prosperity and society as a whole. For these reasons, it is with great sadness and concern that I hear it is proposed that one of our few materials science departments should merge with other disciplines, a move which in other cases has led to a significant shrinking of capability. Furthermore, Sheffield is playing a major role in many nationally important initiatives, from the development of batteries and biomaterials to nuclear materials, all of which are critical to our future. In addition, the University of Sheffield continues to make substantial contributions to advanced metals processing, manufacturing, and materials innovation, building on a world-renowned heritage in metallurgy and engineering. At a time when materials are increasingly recognised as an enabling technology for economic growth, national resilience, and the net-zero transition, it would be unfortunate were we to weaken one of the UK's leading centres of excellence in this strategically important field. |
| Prof Clive A Randall | Pennsylvania State University | There is also a broader strategic consideration regarding the future of materials science and ceramics. Advanced materials underpin virtually every major technological sector, including semiconductors, microelectronics, energy storage, telecommunications, aerospace, healthcare, quantum technologies, and sustainable manufacturing. Electronic ceramics and functional materials, in particular, form the foundation of capacitors, sensors, actuators, power electronics, piezoelectric devices, and many of the components enabling artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, advanced information technologies, and next-generation communication systems. They are equally indispensable to advanced nuclear technologies, providing the materials required for fuels, waste immobilization, radiation tolerance, structural components, and reliable operation in extreme environments. As governments around the world seek to address pressing societal challenges—including secure energy supplies, digital transformation, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and national resilience—the importance of materials science and ceramics continues to grow. If the United Kingdom is to remain a globally competitive industrial and technological nation, it must retain and strengthen the research capability that underpins innovation in these strategically important sectors. Universities such as the University of Sheffield have played a pivotal role in supporting British manufacturing and engineering since the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution. Indeed, Sheffield's international reputation has been built upon its close integration with industry and its leadership in metallurgy, materials science, and manufacturing. Today, there are relatively few universities with the breadth of expertise, industrial partnerships, infrastructure, and international reputation necessary to respond effectively to the nation's future needs in advanced materials. Preserving that capability is therefore not simply an investment in one academic department, but in the United Kingdom's long-term capacity for innovation, economic growth, technological sovereignty, and industrial competitiveness. The University of Sheffield has earned international recognition for its leadership in materials science and ceramics through decades of sustained investment in outstanding faculty, students, and research infrastructure. A significant reduction in academic expertise in these areas risks diminishing the university's ability to compete for major research funding, attract world-class students and staff, engage with international industrial partners, and contribute to technologies that are increasingly regarded as essential to the UK's future prosperity and security. From the perspective of leading international research universities, the global trend is one of increasing investment in advanced materials because they are widely recognized as enabling technologies that drive progress across engineering, manufacturing, and the physical sciences. Weakening capability in this area would therefore risk placing the University of Sheffield at a competitive disadvantage relative to its international peers at precisely the time when expertise in advanced materials has never been more strategically important. |
| Prof Christopher Kube | Penn State | |
| Dr David Bowden | UK Atomic Energy Authority | Materials research is a critical requirement to enable the UK to successfully transition through the next "industrial revolution". With advanced clean energy, AI and defence requirements ramping up rapidly, this is the moment we should champion and support our Material Scientists to build upon the profound impact Sheffield has already had on this field globally. |
| Dr Mark Hardy | Rolls-Royce plc | |
| Dr Colin Church | Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining | The UK's ambitions for economic growth, clean energy and technological leadership will only be achieved if we have the materials, skills and industrial capability needed to deliver them. These must all be underpinned by excellence in materials science and engineering in our universities. Now is not the time to back away from investment in these crucial areas of our national endeavour. |
| Sir Colin Humphreys | Queen Mary University of London | Sheffield Materials has some outstandingly good staff, with a long and distinguished history. It is academic vandalism to close it. It is also technologically ill-conceived because of its strong links with industry in Sheffield and throughout the UK. At a time when the UK is seeking growth, Sheffield Materials is of strategic national importance and it is against the national interest to close it. |
| Prof Nicola Spaldin | ETH Zürich | From the Stone Age through the Bronze and Iron Ages to today's Silicon Age, every major step in human civilisation has been driven by a development in Materials. Today, new Advanced Materials are urgently needed to enable transformational developments such as Personalised Medicine, Carbon Neutrality and Quantum Technologies that will both enhance quality of life and boost the economy. Sheffield has been at the heart of such frontier materials developments since the industrial revolution and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield will be a key driver in the anticipated transformation of the North of England. It is immensely short-sighted, both economically and culturally, to weaken Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield at this time. |
| Prof Caroline Ross | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Materials Science and Engineering is a foundational discipline for technological advances, and Sheffield has one of the best departments in the UK. Closing or downsizing this department is directly contrary to the best interests of the UK, both economic and social, and sends a discouraging message to students considering a career in science and engineering. |
| Professor and the Louis M. Sardella Department Head Michael R. Kessler | Johns Hopkins University | Sheffield's Materials Science and Engineering department is internationally recognized as one of the finest in the world. As a department head in the United States and Chair of the University Materials Council, which represents materials departments across North America, I can attest that its research and graduates are held in the highest regard across the global materials community. Cutting nearly a quarter of its academic staff would inflict lasting damage on a strategic national capability at precisely the moment when demand for materials expertise is rising. I urge the University to reconsider. |
| Prof Peter Nellist | University of Oxford | I very much support the sentiments already expressed by others. It is hard to think of any area of critically needed technological development that does not have Materials Science challenges at its heart. Materials Science has long been and will continue to be one of the key underpinning sciences for our future as humanity. I would very much echo the words of others in highlighting the excellent regard in which the Sheffield department his held. As a former Head of Department well aware of the challenges of budgets and sustainability, I would also add that there is severe risk in the current proposals to reduce the academic head-count that the Materials Science activity could become sub-critical and therefore will wither. Given the critical importance of Materials Science in the UK, now is the time for ambition rather than managed decline. |
| Dr James Cumby | University of Edinburgh | The UK government has emphasised the importance of materials science in economic growth and long-term sustainability. The breadth and strength of Sheffield Materials is vital to support this, and the proposed cuts will have long-lasting and devastating effects. |
| Prof Stephen Eichhorn | University of Bristol | I am deeply saddened by the announcement to cut jobs in Materials Science at Sheffield. The department, and more latterly the School and its combined entity with engineering has been a cornerstone of the UK's materials research. As an incoming Director of the Henry Royce Institute (at Manchester) and as an advocate more generally for the UK's research prowess in this field it worries me that Sheffield is even considering this. The UK has a strong position internationally in materials science, and with the latest government strategy on advanced materials it would seem a little short-sighted to be reducing in size one of its strongest academic activities. I am deeply against these cuts and would hope that the University might reconsider their position. |
| Prof Alessandro Mottura | University of Birmingham | I sign this letter in a personal capacity, drawing on my experience as Head of the School of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham. Materials Science and Engineering is fundamental to addressing many of the UK’s most pressing challenges, including clean energy, sustainable manufacturing, healthcare, defence and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Undergraduate applications to the subject are showing strong growth across the UK, underlining both increasing student demand and the need for skilled materials scientists and engineers. At this strategically important moment, I believe the UK should be strengthening, rather than reducing, its materials education and research capacity. |
| Prof Raymundo Arroyave | Texas A&M University | Metallurgy and Materials Science at Sheffield have contributed enourmously to the UK as well as to science and technology around the world. We look up to Sheffield for leadership and inspiration. The materials science program is one of the crown jewels of the university and I hope that this decision can be reversed. |
| Prof Andrea Sella | Dept of Chemistry, UCL | Sheffield is a real centre of excellence. To slash it like this not only increases the load on each individual who remains but also steadily narrows the diversity and range of expertise in a top department. This is vandalism on a scale that suggests that "management" are unable to see deep value, only price. |
| Prof Moataz Attallah | Loughborough University | Sheffield Materials is one of the key centres of excellence in the field of materials science in the UK. Demand for materials graduates remains exceptionally strong, with Materials Science consistently ranked among the UK's highest-paid graduate careers (https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/student-advice/careers/highest-paying-degrees). The discipline underpins a substantial proportion of UK GDP through its impact on aerospace, energy, defence, healthcare, transport, manufacturing and net zero. Sheffield Uni is central to this ecosystem, hosting nationally important infrastructure and programmes including the Henry Royce Institute, the Defence Materials Centre of Excellence (DMEx), the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), multiple Centres for Doctoral Training, and doctoral focal awards supporting the UK's nuclear ambitions. Weakening Sheffield's materials capability would diminish not only a world-leading academic department, but also the UK's industrial and research competitiveness. I have published 3 journal papers that received significant support by the Royce Institute. Materials research needs growth, not shrinking. |
| Dr Mark S’ari | Johnson Matthey | |
| Dr Jan Schäfer | VSB Technical University | Collaboration with the University of Sheffield is of fundamental importance to me as a scientist and to our research centre in Ostrava, VSB-TUO CEET. Sheffield’s exceptional expertise in materials science strengthens our research, enables the exchange of knowledge and advanced methodologies, and creates opportunities for impactful international projects. Weakening this internationally respected department would affect not only Sheffield, but also its partners and the wider European materials research community. |
| Prof Laura Heyderman | ETH Zurich - Paul Scherrer Institute | I strongly support everything that has already been said - please preserve this top-rate Materials Science and Engineering Department! |
| Prof Rik Drummond-Brydson | School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds | This is an absolute travesty - some of the UK's best materials science has come out of the long established department. Materials is a key part of the new Industrial Strategy- I cannot fathom what the University is playing at. It will severely damage the UK Growth Strathey and the reputation of Sheffield as a Russell Group University. |
| Prof Andrew Bell | University of Leeds | Having collaborated with academics from Sheffield for over 25 years and acted as a monitor on one of their large projects, I have always been impressed by the strength in depth of the MSE department across both teaching and research and their invaluable contributions to the scientific and engineering life of the country. A reduction is staff count of almost 25% will do irredeemable damage to their capability something that will be felt at a national level across metallurgy, ceramics and energy materials. As a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, an ex-Head of School and an ex Pro-Dean for Researach in Engineering, I urge those in decision making positions to fully consider the wider consequences of making such cuts. |
| Prof Michael | Reece | World leading materials research that greatly benefits UK industry |
| Prof Marie Charpagne | University of Illinois | I have visited Sheffield Materials in the Summer 2024 and took on my own personal time and personal funds to make the trip to this prestigious institution, owing to its world-wide reputation. Layoffs would obviously impart the ability to maintain the incredible materials synthesis, characterization and testing instruments I have see with my own eyes, and this would be a tragic loss to the research ecosystem in the UK and beyond. I stand with Sheffield and wish for the Materials department to remain as strong as ever. |
| Dr Annette Christie | Syngenta | Signing in a personal capacity: Sheffield has world-class materials capability and produces highly skilled materials scientists. Its expertise is vital to innovation and should be protected. |
| Prof Robin Grimes | Imperial College | It has to be acknowledged that the University is financially challenged and difficult decisions need to be made. The implications for the medium and longer term health of the institution must be part of this, especially the opportunities for research support. For so many institutions, including Sheffield that means impact on manufacturing industries including new and developing areas. Materials is fundamental to that narrative and Sheffield has the reputation for excellence, in research but also in training that next generation that remembers where it came from. So, difficult as it may be, I strongly recommend reconsidering the reduction in materials staff. Sheffield needs this central activity to be kept strong and vibrant. |
| Prof Will Branford | Imperial College London | I strongly support everything that has been said above. Sheffield MSE has an outstanding record, and other departments across the institution will suffer from the loss of capability. |
| Prof David Field | Washington State University | I have collaborated with various individuals at Sheffield over the years and we have a post-doctoral scholar in our school who was a graduate of that program. We are in a state of constant budget cuts at my university and I certainly understand the pressures, but materials research is an area of active growth and it appears short-sighted in this environment to reduce participation in your program. |
| Dr Yee Han Tai | Rolls-Royce plc | |
| Prof Serena Best | University of Cambridge | |
| Prof Dirk Engelberg | The University of Manchester | |
| Prof Finlay Morrison | University of St Andrews | Such a disappointingly short-sighted proposal. Although seemingly providing some initial financial savings, the loss of expertise from an outstanding department will harm the standing of the entire University with longer-term implications for the stability and prosperity of the institution as a whole. |
| Prof Olivier FRUCHART | CNRS (France) | As a former President of the European Magnetism Association (EMA), the leading body for science and technology involving magnetism in Europe, I am well positioned to have a global view of research and innovation in this engineering field. I was astonished that the University of Sheffield may consider cutting academic staff in the Materials Science and Engineering department. It has indeed a strong reputation in Europe, from research to higher education, and I have myself supervised students of the department who performed excellently and now hold key leading positions in the industry. The department also happens to host the UK representative at the General Council of EMA. What a shame and a blow to the reputation of the University would be his dismissal ! |
| Prof Taylor Sparks | University of Utah | The University of Sheffield has a storied history in Materials Science and Engineering, built on its pioneering contributions to steel and metallurgy and sustained through decades of internationally recognized innovation. During my sabbatical in the UK and in collaborations since then, I have had the opportunity to work with Sheffield researchers firsthand, and I have seen the exceptional quality of their people, research, and industrial engagement. Materials science sits at the foundation of advances in energy, manufacturing, semiconductors, healthcare, defense, and sustainability. It is the discipline that enables many of tomorrow's technologies. Reducing academic capacity in such a strategically important department would be a short-sighted decision that risks undermining both Sheffield's legacy and its future impact. I strongly encourage the University to retain its talented faculty and work with stakeholders to build a sustainable path forward. |
| Prof Julian Jones | Imperial College London | The new government industrial strategy plus national growth in student materials and engineering applications alone should be enough to prevent this |
| Prof Sarah Cartmell | The University of Manchester | The reduction of investment in research and teaching in materials at Sheffield will have significant impact on the UKs ability to deliver its strategic vision in industry, manufacturing and regional equity and subsequent economy. |
| Prof James Elliott | University of Cambridge | Having served as external examiner for their BEng and MEng courses in Materials Science and Engineering from 2019-2022, as well as many personal and professional interactions with their staff, I can testify to the world-class education and research environment within the Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. It is therefore incomprehensible to me why the University of Sheffield should be seeking to make further cuts to staffing at this time, which would cause irreparable damage to the teaching and research culture in the Department, not to mention staff morale. I strongly endorse the request to University’s Senior Leadership and Council to immediately withdraw the threat of compulsory redundancies and work with relevant stakeholders to secure a sustainable future for Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield. |
| Prof Rachel Evans | University of Cambridge | As a Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, I strongly support the retention of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, a department with a long-standing international reputation for excellence in materials research, education, and industrial engagement. At a time when breakthroughs in materials are central to challenges including clean energy, sustainable manufacturing, and economic growth, reducing the UK's capacity in this strategically important field would be a significant loss. The continued strength of UK materials science depends on maintaining world-class centres such as Sheffield, and I urge the University to preserve and invest in this vital discipline. |
| Prof Judith Driscoll | University of Cambridge | The field of Advanced Materials Engineering is a central pillar to all successful major economies. While the buzz for AI discovery of new materials is massive worldwide, this won't lead to anything without the knowledge of how to process them to make them work. This involves doing process- structure- property relations. This topic not fall under chemistry, physics or Engineering departments. So a lot money needs to be invested in this area (more so than in the AI for discovery- we already have many materials which have not realised their promise because of insufficient materials engineering). The area is a great opportunity for the UK. There is a strong need to train many Materials Engineers at UG level and then up. That can only be done in MSE departments. Sheffield has a very long and distinguished history in metallurgy which then succesfully broadened to materials. If we lose the tradition and the people, we won't get it back. The UK economy will suffer long term. |
| Prof Tony Fry | NPL | |
| Prof Fabio Scenini | The University of Manchester | With the present, I undersign the following letter: "We, the undersigned, write to express our concern and strongest opposition to the restructure and proposed compulsory staff redundancies within Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. The University’s proposal for Materials Science and Engineering will cut nine academic posts from an existing roll of just 41 academics. This follows a loss of 3 posts over the last year alone. We are fighting against these proposals to ensure the continued success of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Materials research and education is essential to addressing the most critical scientific and industrial challenges of our time, including clean energy, sustainable and advanced manufacturing, health technology, defence and the transition to a low carbon economy, as highlighted in the Modern Industrial Strategy of the United Kingdom and the National Materials Innovation Strategy. At a time when demand for skilled materials scientists and engineering is rising, the University should be investing in the future of Materials at Sheffield rather than overseeing its reduction. As a foundational pillar of the University, Materials at Sheffield sustains a legacy of globally recognised research, transformative education, and industrial and regional impact. Our alumni hold senior and influential positions in industry and academia across the world and our graduates are in demand for jobs across the local, national and international stage. This is a tradition of excellence that remains vibrant today, a tradition we want to protect. We urge the University’s Senior Leadership and Council to immediately withdraw the threat of compulsory redundancies and work with staff, students, alumni, collaborators, industry partners and the wider engineering community to secure a sustainable future for Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield.” |
| Dr Freddie Markanday | Materials Nexus Ltd. | We, the undersigned, write to express our concern and strongest opposition to the restructure and proposed compulsory staff redundancies within Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield |
| Prof Peter D. Lee | UCL | I've worked with Materials Science and Engineering academics and groups for over 3 decades, and they have been instrumental in tackling many of the UK's manufacturing, aerospace, medical implant and other challenges. Maintaining a vibrant and well staffed department at Sheffield is critical to keeping UK industry and academia vibrant. |
| Prof Sandy Knowles | University of Birmingham | The UK's future prosperity strongly depends on materials science. Areas such as nuclear materials, functional materials and biomaterials are central to national priorities in clean energy, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and net-zero technologies, and are key focus areas within the UK research and innovation funding landscape. Losing expertise in these fields would weaken both the skills pipeline and research capacity that the UK urgently needs. I am therefore shocked by the proposed cuts and strongly support efforts to preserve this critical capability within Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. |
| Prof Andrew Wessman | University of Arizona | Materials Science and Engineering is the central discipline for enabling advanced manufacturing and supporting industry. In the US, we learned a hard lesson about the consequences of exporting productive capacity and expertise and are still struggling to reinvigorate industries crucial to our modern lives. Maintaining a broad MSE program with expertise across materials disciplines is critical to supporting competitive companies and their workforce and should be supported by universities and government to the greatest extent possible. |
| Prof Ben Britton | UBC | As a Canada Research Chair in Multiscale Correlative Electron Microscopy at UBC and a visiting Reader at Imperial College London, I recognize that contributions from one of the UK's leading department in materials science and engineering are critically important for the health of the UK's economy in emerging technologies, many of which are critical for mitigating the effects of climate change and supporting the UK's health and well being. This structural loss has long term impacts for the training of students, who work in a heavily intertwined research ecosystem. Cuts as proposed will damage the fabric of education and research in this space for decades. |
| Prof Dirk Engelberg | The University of Manchester | |
| Dr Mike Eason | John Crane | Sheffield is the steel city, with materials science and engineering at its core. The university attracts investment from industry partners because of its internationally recognised subject expertise. |
| Dr Alexandra Dickinson-Lomas | UKAEA | |
| Dr Katrina Skerratt-love | University of Liverpool | This is one of the leading departments in the country in materials research, and losing such expertise will lead to detrimental results in research outputs, quality of teaching, not to mention adding unneeded stress to staff left, who will undoubtedly have to pick up the work load. I hope the university reconsiders their stance and finds an alternative way to make savings across the university. |
| Dr Konstantinos Georgarakis | Cranfield University | The contribution of the Department in materials research and education is outstanding. |
| Dr Daniel Backhouse | Glass Futures Ltd | This Department is a vital resource in the country, generating skilled workers and cutting edge research. To make such swingeing cuts is tantamount to economic vandalism. |
| Dr Owen McGann | Glass Technology Services Ltd | Sheffield University has a long and highly impactful history of advancing materials science across a wide range of disciplines. The University played a pivotal role in establishing the scientific study of glass in the UK, helping to drive the development of world-changing technologies and supporting generations of innovation, research, and industrial growth. To substantially reduce or remove this capability in both teaching and research would be short-sighted. It would risk undermining a legacy of internationally recognised excellence, diminish vital expertise in a strategically important field, and weaken the UK's ability to innovate in advanced materials at a time when such capabilities are increasingly critical to economic growth, healthcare, energy, and emerging technologies. Sheffield's contribution to glass science and materials research remains as relevant today as it has been throughout its distinguished history. |
| Prof Jonathan Cormier | ISAE-ENSMA (Poitiers, France) | Cutting academic positions in a University like Sheffield is a short-term response and view to a lack of students ... but the consequences can only be measured 20-30 years after when a country is discovering a critical lack of expertise, e.g. no more knowledge and know-how for large scale components welding for nucelar power plants in France after closing several bachelors and Masters 10-20 years ago. I strongly encourage the University of Sheffield to reconsider such a decision having a long-term view of the possible consequences for UK. |
| Prof Benjamin Robinson | Lancaster University | Sheffield is a world renowned centre for Materials Science research; cuts of this level are short sighted and will be disastrous for the future of this economically important discipline. |
| Dr Ricardo Grau-Crespo | Queen Mary University of London | How sad that, just when materials science is becoming crucial to address the most urgent challenges related to energy, health, electronics and many other industries (as evidenced by the recent explosion in materials-related commercial startups) universities are reducing the provision of materials science and chemistry degrees. Sheffield's Materials is a widely respected department and should be protected. |
| Dr Rebecca Higginson | Loughborough University | Materials engineering is critically important as it underpins modern technologies, infrastructure, energy systems, healthcare, and transportation, driving innovation and improving quality of life. To address global challenges and support future technological advances, we must continue to invest in our Materials departments to educate the next generation of materials specialists and deliver the groundbreaking research needed to shape a sustainable and resilient future. |
| Dr M. A. S. R. Saadi | Rice University | |
| Dr Wunmi olukoya | Sandvik Powder Solutions | |
| Prof Maulik Patel | University of Liverpool | As a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, I strongly support this statement. The UK has only a limited number of dedicated Materials Science and Engineering departments, each playing a critical role in educating future engineers and delivering research that underpins strategic sectors including nuclear, aerospace, energy, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. Sheffield has been one of the UK’s leading centres for materials research for decades. At a time when national policy rightly emphasises advanced materials as a strategic priority, reducing academic capacity in such a department risks weakening both the UK’s research base and its future skills pipeline. |
| Dr Ian Mellor | Metalysis Ltd | |
| Prof Animesh Jha | University of Leeds | Steel and Glass research in the UK started at Sheffield. Demolishing a cross-cutting core Materials discipline, in which several Nobel Prizes have been won in the post WWII, is a slap on the face of CORE ENGINEERING. No engineering can nor it will survive without Materials Science in the future. Goverment's IS8 deocument emphasizes the importance of materials including Critical Materials. The shortsightedness at the top in the Universities has pushing this wonderful country at the precipice of intellectual poverty, innovation, and wealth creation. No AI, Data analytics, Robotics and Digital Transformation will ever work without Materials Science, Engineering, and Manufacturing. |
| Dr Simon Caldwell | Syngenta | |
| Dr Ana Kwokal | Syngenta | |
| Prof Tanja Junkers | Monash University | Science and technology is the fundament for a prosperous economy. Cutting in the sciences will have long-lasting negative consequences. |
| Prof Atsufumi Hirohata | Tohoku University / Max Planck Institute | As the immediate past president of the IEEE Magnetics Society, I have been highly valued the research activities in the materials research in the University of Sheffield, namely in the field of advanced magnetic materials. It is a great pity if those activities are dismantled. |
| Prof Neil Cameron | Monash University | Sheffield as the home of steel making in Britain has played a pivotal role in the development of materials science and engineering (MSE). Looking to the future, MSE is critical for the development of key technologies while simultaneously solving major societal challenges. A relevant example in the context of Sheffield’s history is green steel making which requires advances in materials for green hydrogen production, storage and transport. As a former senior university leader I understand that sometimes difficult decisions need to be made but I urge you not to cut MSE at Sheffield. |
| Prof Abbie McLaughlin | University of Aberdeen | Materials science is incredibly important for the prosperity of the uk |
| Prof Mark Senn | University of Warwick | These cuts are a senseless effort to generate some small short-term savings that will have a devastating long-term impact on the academic reputation of excellence in materials research at Sheffield. |
| Prof Richard Walton | University of Warwick | The proposed cuts are difficult to comprehend just at a time when we more than ever need students in materials science to tackle the global challenges around energy and sustainability. If this goes ahead it will cause significant reputational damage to Sheffield which has a long history in internationally renowned research in physical sciences, stemming from its industrial heritage in materials. This short-sighted plan would be devastating to UK science as a whole. |
| Dr James Roscow | University of Bath | The University of Sheffield has rightly earned a reputation as a world leader in Materials Science and Engineering research and teaching. These planned redundancies threaten that reputation and will weaken UK science going forward, particularly as the need for skilled materials scientists and engineers is critical to decarbonization efforts in energy production, transport and manufacturing, for example. I strongly urge you to reconsider these cuts given the harm it will cause not just to the staff and students at Sheffield but also to the materials research community in the UK and further afield. |
| Prof John Kilner | Imperial College | The Materials Department at Sheffield has been a key component in the UK Materials Science and Engineering portfolio and has an excellent international standing. To even consider cutting activity in materials research, and this is not the first time this has happened, is extremely short sighted. We need a continuation of the excellent research output from the department. I would particularly highlight their contribution in my own area of energy materials, critical to the energy transition, for which Sheffield has made many significant contributions. The UK effort in materials is central to the regeneration of UK industry and Sheffield is uniquely placed to make a major contribution. I would ask that the University reconsider any proposed cuts to the Department before it is too late. |
| Prof Chris Bowen | University of Bath | The University of Sheffield has world-leading strength i Materials Science and Engineering. Given the important role of materials in advanced manufacturing, defense and clean energy for the UK it is vital to maintain this internationally leading capability. |
| Prof Caroline Kirk | University of Edinburgh | The University of Sheffield has a long, established and rich history in materials and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield is world-leading. Materials Science and Engineering is vital across numerous fields and applications including energy, aerospace, automotive, biomedical, construction and therefore it is crucial to continue to educate and train in materials science and engineering. The threat to cut large numbers of staff in this department is deeply concerning and misguided. |
| Prof Sandro Marden Torres | Federal University of Paraíba | |
| Dr Simon Hogg | Loughborough University | Materials Science and Engineering underpins nationally important sectors from energy to transport to healthcare to telecommunications. It is critical that we maintain leadership and expertise to secure the UK's ambitions in, for example, net-zero, defence and energy. Materials at Sheffield is amongst a small number of specialist Materials departments in the UK and forms a vital part of the UK's capability in this area. The reduction in staff proposed will significantly damage capacity to deliver impactful, collaborative research and educate the next generation of leaders in this critical field. Solutions to the global challenges of sustainability, healthcare and defence will be driven by materials innovation and so the decision to reduce the academic staff in Materials at Sheffield must be reconsidered in the context of the national importance of Materials. |
| Prof Andy Brown | University of Leeds | The UK has a clear materials science and engineering strategy to support economic growth and the clean energy transition. This is anchored by the National Materials Innovation Programme (NMIP) and the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan. We need active research and innovation plus highly skilled Materials Science and Engineering graduates in these areas. Materials at Sheffield has long delivered on all of these counts and so should be supported by the University, not cut. |
| Dr Matthew Cliffe | University of Cambridge | Sheffield has made some of its most enduring contributions to the world through materials science, and these cuts will have a devastating impact on a critical area for the UK as the need for materials expertise only grows. |
| Prof Neil Mathur | University of Cambridge | I have seen a lot of great work from Sheffield in my field. The loss of expertise would represent an academic - and cultural - vandalism. |
| Prof Brian Derby | University of Manchester | |
| Prof Paul Midgley | University of Cambridge | |
| Dr Vassili Vorontsov | University of Strathclyde | Modern Materials Science and Engineering are a crossroads of different technical disciplines and application areas. This variety is fundamental to the exchange of ideas and know-how which accelerate the development of future materials, novel scientific techniques and facilities, and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. More in importantly it allows superior training of the next generation of materials scientists and engineers. The UK has traditionally held such technical professions in high regard for their important contributions to the country's strategic interests and long term prosperity. There are already few dedicated materials engineering departments in the UK (none ins Scotland where I work). It is therefore crucial that these existing departments are able to teach and research the full spectrum of modern disciplines in line with the best overseas departments. |
| Dr Tamsin Whitfield | University of Oxford | The materials community in the UK is small but world-class. It is an area of demand and critical importance as we develop sustainable technologies. Losing the materials strength in Sheffield will impact beyond Sheffield, the national state of research in materials and its place in global research. |
| Prof Edgar Castro | Cinvestav | Materials science and engineering are critical for the development of humanity. |
| Mr Joe Owen | Imperial College London | Having completed my MEng in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2023, I am extremely disappointed to hear about the planned cuts across the department. The department and all of the amazing academic staff were hugely impactful for my career. I am signing to condemn this action and voice my concern for the future of the department. |
| Dr Arnab Chatterjee | Afton chemical corporation | The future of the world is materials...a field which encompasses every field of research, starting from fundamental investigation to long range exposure....the knowledge is the world is getting lost in AI, where information can be available, but not research touch!!! We need to preserve the knowledge with the people around... because between people and process, choose people, as they made process efficient....#Preserve the people who bring knowledge...only then knowledge can grow |
| Prof Mark Whittaker | Swansea university | I am strongly opposed to the requirement of compulsory redundancies in this department. As a former externala examiner of the degree scheme I believe its strength comes from its breadth and diversity and would urge the university to reconsider its position. |
| Dr James Warren | University of Manchester | This is simply disgusting, especially given the same and worse actions with the Chemistry department at Sheffield as well. It indicates a lack of future thinking and simply a balancing the books exercise for poor decisions by senior management in the past but with huge future implications. |
| Dr Matt Thomas | The MTC | Signed in personal capacity as active practitioner of Materials and Metallurgy and beneficiary of research carried out by University of Sheffield, Materials Science and Engineering graduates and post-graduates. Any degradation to the output of this school would be a direct loss to Materials and Manufacturing in the UK. |
| Dr Lucy Farquhar | University of the Bundeswehr, Munich | Sheffield University Material Science research has been at the forefront of materials development in the UK for hundreds of years. I personally was lucky enough to complete my PhD there, working alongside some of the most dedicated, brilliant and enthusiastic academics in the world. It would be a great loss to the global material science community and hinder progress in the material science field to reduce down the staff in the department. Not to mention how catastrophic it will be to the education of our future material scientists in the UK, who face even bigger challenges and problems to solve. A digital revolution has to be accompanied with a materials revolution and I find this plan from the university extremely short-sighted, given the potential consequences in the long term. |
| Dr Sarah Smythe | BAE Systems | Without this department I would never have got the quality PhD I have! We are such an important area of UK manufacturing that without materials education, we will not be able to hold our sovereign capability or skills. |
| Ms Judith Shackleton | Rolls-Royce Civil Large Engines (Retired) | Materials Science is vital to safely and progress |
| Dr Rebecca Brooks Hardy | Rolls-Royce | I enjoyed six very happy years at Sheffield in the late 80s and early 90s studying for a BEng and PhD in the Department of Engineering Materials. It is one of the key Materials departments in the UK and must be allowed to continue to support such vital teaching and research. I completed a sponsored PhD through a CASE award with Rolls-Royce, where I now work as a Materials Specialist in Nickel Based Superalloys within the External Laboratory in Derby. Without my education at Sheffield I would never have secured the role. We work with many students and academics at Sheffield and they are always of the highest calibre. Please save the Materials Department at Sheffield. |
| Prof Paul Roach | Loughborough University | Materials Science and Engineering underpins advances across manufacturing, clean energy, healthcare and national infrastructure. Sheffield has built a world-leading reputation in this field, producing graduates and research that deliver lasting impact across industry and academia. Reducing academic capacity at a time of growing demand for materials expertise is short-sighted and risks undermining both the University's international standing and the UK's future research, innovation and industrial competitiveness. I feel for this UK sector if Sheffield is considering such a reduction. |
| Prof Julie Gough | University of Manchester | I am deeply shocked, saddened and dismayed at the plans to cut staff from Sheffield and one of the UK's world leading Materials department. Materials Science underpins everything we do and make! When I started my PhD in 1995 it was the staff at the University of Sheffield in Materials and more specifically biomaterials/bioengineering that were of greatest renown in the UK at the time. This has remained so until the present time. We collaborate widely with many staff on our EPSRC CDT for Advanced Biomedical Materials, we could not have gained this £7m funding, without Sheffield, for 54 PhD students that are now entering the job market where there is a shortage of biomaterials/bioengineering PhD graduates. They are my go-to for world leading biomaterials colleagues, to collaborate with. It does not make sense at all. I am sorry but someone somewhere within the University is very misinformed and misguided and making a disastrous decision. This will impact the future of the UK's leading position in Materials Science & Engineering globally. |
| Prof Jonny Blaker | The University of Manchester | As Professor of Biomaterials at The University of Manchester, External Programme Examiner for Sheffield's postgraduate Materials programmes, and one of the Research Area Leads for Biomaterials at the Henry Royce Institute, I am shocked and deeply concerned by the proposed redundancies within Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. I collaborate with many researchers across the department and currently hold active EPSRC-funded projects with Professor Chris Holland at the interface of engineering biology and silk-based materials. Sheffield Materials is an internationally respected centre of excellence for research, teaching and innovation. The potential loss of experienced academics risks weakening research capacity, increasing pressures on staff, reducing educational provision, and adversely affecting the student experience. I fear these proposals will cause lasting reputational damage to both the department and the wider UK materials community. I urge the University to reconsider these plans and pursue solutions that safeguard this outstanding academic community. |
| Prof Prof Neil Alford | Imperial | |
| Prof Stephen Skinner | Imperial College London | |
| Mr Maximilian Hanauske | University of Cambridge | As a student representative of the Henry Royce Institute's Materials 4.0 CDT I see with concern the development at one of our partner institutions. If UK cutting edge science does actually want to leave its mark on a high impact field such as Material Science, a leading academic department such as Sheffield needs to invest into its staff. The University’s Senior Leadership and Council could thoroughly damage its mid to long-term position in this field if it instead decided to reduce its capacity. |
| Mr Owen Seaston | UK Atomic Energy Authority | As an alumni from this department, and as someone who still collaborates with it, it is devastating to hear that the university is pursuing these cuts. The materials department is brilliant at both educating students and performing critical research in the field, serving as a beacon for other institutions. |
| Prof Jim A Thomas | University of Sheffield | |
| Mr Eric Fileman | University of Sheffield | What management are looking to do to materials is nothing short of a scandal given Sheffield's rich history as the steel city. |
| Dr Barbara Ciani | University of Sheffield | |
| Mr Charlie Rideout | University of Sheffield | |
| Mx Sieran Walker | University of Sheffield alum | |
| Prof Alexander Bismarck | University of Vienna | It’s with dismay to see what is happing I UK universities. What will be left if all is cut in favour of efficiency, who will teach, educate, train creative materials scientists, who will engineer the materials of the future? AI? |
| Dr Catherine Collett | University of Sheffield | |
| Prof Michael Silverstein | Technion – Israel Institute of Technology | University of Sheffield's strength in Materials Science and Engineering is well-known internationally. Cutting nine academic posts seems self-destructive. |
| Mr Matthew Gelmetti | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Rob Armstrong | University of St Andrews | |
| Prof Stephen Matcher | University of Sheffield | |
| Prof Domingo Ruiz | Universidad de Santiago de chile | As an associate professor and researcher in Materials Science and engineering, I would like to express my deep concern regarding the proposed reduction in academic capacity within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield . Sheffield has long been recognized as one of the world's leading centres for materials research, making fundamental and applied contributions that have shaped modern metallurgy, advanced ceramics, energy materials, and structural characterization. At a time when global challenges—including the energy transition, sustainable manufacturing, critical raw materials, and advanced battery technologies—depend more than ever on innovation in materials science, reducing expertise in such a strategically important department would be a significant setback for the University, the UK research ecosystem, and the international scientific community. Preserving and strengthening Sheffield's academic excellence in Materials Science and Engineering is an investment in future scientific leadership, technological innovation, and economic competitiveness, not only for the United Kingdom but for the global materials community. |
| Dr Philip Riches | University of Strathclyde | |
| Dr Alicia Beatriz Brune | SMS, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA | High quality software is provided by the University of Sheffield, Materials: The effort led by Nik Reeves-McLaren has developed an Automated Bond Valence Sum analysis tool for crystallographic structure validation and database quality assessment. This tool is essential to advance research in multiple directions, e.g. the characterization of ion transport solids I work on. Please ensure that Materials at U. Sheffield is not diminished, but further flourish. |
| Mr Colin Fulker | Beyond Batteries Ltd | If we fail to drive materials sciences, we will fail the next generation. This will increase our dependencies on countries like China, with no backup... |
| Dr Silvia Imberti | ACS Publications, ACS International, Oxford, United Kingdom | The proposed cuts risk undermining one of Sheffield’s globally recognised strengths. Materials Science and Engineering is central to addressing challenges in energy, sustainability, manufacturing and healthcare, and the University should be investing in—not reducing—its capacity in this critical field. |
| Dr Michael L. Baker | The University of Manchester | |
| Dr Ieuan Seymour | University of Aberdeen | |
| Prof Neil | Hyatt | |
| Dr Sacha Fop | University of Aberdeen | |
| Prof Alan | Atkinson | |
| Dr Quinn Gibson | University of Aberdeen | |
| Dr George Harrington | University of Bath | Materials science and engineering play an oversized role in developing solutions to the global challenges we face as a society, from the green energy transition, defence, advanced healthcare, manufacturing, and reliance on critical raw materials. The importance of the Dept. of Materials and Engineering at Sheffield cannot be overstated through their world-class research and training of exceptional graduates capable of tackling these challenges. The proposed cuts would cause lasting damage to a department that is a substantial pillar of the MSE capability in the UK. |
| Dr Mark Law | University of Aberdeen | |
| Prof David Dye | Imperial | |
| Dr Angela Kruth | CAMPFIRE AG | |
| Prof Gabriele Sosso | The University of Warwick | |
| Dr Bora Karasulu | University of Warwick | |
| Dr David Cannell | Formerly Chief Materials Scientist, CeramTec UK | |
| Prof Richard Beanland | University of Warwick | This move diminishes the University and may well push the department past the point of being sustainable. Perhaps this is seen by management as a necessary and hard-nosed response to financial reality, but the depth of knowledge that will be lost, both in teaching and research, will not be replaced. In difficult times there are always hard choices to be made, but I would urge the University to seek solutions from those with years of experience - and spanner-rash scars from keeping wheels on the wagon - who know the details of their department, student intakes and outcomes, course loads and finances, and its place in the University ecosystem. Better solutions are available, and should be chosen. |
| Prof John David | Sheffield University | The Materials Science and Engineering department has an excellent world reputation and it could be argued that they underpin much of what the rest of the Engineering Faculty does. These cuts do not really make sense and the loss in expertise within Sheffield and in the UK at a time when 'sovereign capability' is becoming increasingly important seems very short sighted. The Faculty of Engineering is currently doing quite well as far as UG student recruitment goes, so it should be possible to find a mechanism to support departments where there is a shortfall. The first priority of our One University statement is to be Collaboratibe and Supportive - I am not seeing much evidence of this at present. |
| Dr Iain Oswald | University of Strathclyde | The proposed cuts at the In Materials Science is very concerning. Materials science is a strong department and an important for UK Science and the future prosperity of the UK. The cuts seem like short-term solution that will significantly impact the future science in Sheffield and UK Materials research |
| Dr Omesh Kapur | University of Southampton | |
| Dr Nicole Church | University of Cambridge | |
| Dr David Hall | University of Manchester | |
| Mr Joonas Hofmann | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Alan McCue | University of Aberdeen | Sheffield has a long established history of top quality research within Materials Science. Given the nationally recognised need for growth in this area (both in terms of new ideas, new materials, new devices and a pathway of graduate students to drive this work forwards) I am fully supportive of this letter and would ask that the University seek alternatives that maintains the Materials strength within Sheffield. I am the current Head of Department for Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen. |
| Dr David Collins | University of Cambridge | |
| Dr Aleksey Yerokhin | University of Manchester | |
| Dr Sam Marsh | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Tony Tang | University of Birmingham | |
| Dr Stella Pedrazzini | Imperial College London | |
| Dr Matteo Seita | University of Cambridge | |
| PD Dr.-Ing. Steffen Neumeier | Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) | |
| Prof Paraskevas Kontis | University of Rostock / Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing | |
| Mrs Vasily Bunakov | STFC UKRI | |
| Dr Leigh Connor | Diamond Light Source | |
| Dr Ed Pickering | University of Manchester | |
| Prof Ruth Cameron | University of Cambridge | |
| Dr Katie Moore | University of Manchester | |
| Dr Vineet Bhakhri | Canadian Nuclear Laboratories | |
| Dr Gautam Anand | Indian Institute of Technology BHU, Varanasi | |
| Prof Stephen McVitie | University of Glasgow | Sending support that a less drastic outcome can be found. Difficult times, but are short term large scale job losses really the answer? Senior management also needs to look closer to home! |
| Dr Miryam Arredondo | Queen’s University Belfast | |
| Prof Spencer Jeffs | Swansea University | |
| Dr Dhanesh G. Mohan | University of Sunderland | Materials science is booming worldwide with the integration of AI; if we don’t preserve our materials science academics and researchers, our country's future will be in vain. |
| Dr Rob Hooley | Tescan Group a.s. | |
| Dr Mingwen Bai | University of Leeds | |
| Dr Thomas Mann | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology | |
| Dr Lisa Hollands | University of Sheffield | The proposed reduction in staff and of the important work of materials in a founding area of the University is an absolute travesty |
| Dr Euan Gray | BAE Systems | |
| Dr Matthew Wadge | Manchester Metropolitan University | |
| Dr Francesco Giorgi | University of Liverpool | |
| Dr Mark Jepson | Loughborough University | We need to keep Materials as active as possible. It is an underpinning engineering subject that drives innovation. Cutting staff will be to the detriment of all of your engineering departments. |
| Prof Manas Upadhyay | Ecole Polytechnique, France | We are with you! Courage! |
| Mr Samuel Jackson | The University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Trevor Almeida | University of Glasgow | |
| Prof James Kermode | University of Warwick | |
| Dr Mohsen Danaie | Diamond Light Source | |
| Dr Asha Akram | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Tiarnan Doherty | Diffractive Labs | |
| Prof Karthikeyan Hariharan | Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | |
| Dr Marco Beaumont | BOKU University | |
| Dr Sae Matsunaga | The University of Tokyo | |
| Prof Vihar Georgiev | University of Glasgow | |
| Prof Patrik Johansson | Uppsala University | Keep the base for innovation - UK needs it crucially |
| Ms Elisabeth Kammermeier | Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany | |
| Prof Anthony Bull | Imperial College London | |
| Dr Robert Harrison | University of Manchester | |
| Dr Sarah Harrold | Glass Futures | |
| Mr Ayon Bose | AtkinsRéalis | |
| Prof John Canning | Dep Maths & Physics, University of South China | This is a material concern of significant substance for the UK's future... |
| Dr Yu Chen | University of Liverpool | |
| Dr Ed Darnbrough | University of Oxford | Sheffield is one of the leading Materials Departments in the country and is needed for UK high tech industries like nuclear |
| Dr Victoria Tucker | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology | |
| Dr Sarah O'Sullivan | Cerberus Nuclear | |
| Mr Josh Lee | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Arijit Lodh | Cranfield University | |
| Dr Jamieson Christie | Loughborough University | |
| Miss Sophie Barwick | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Josh Radford | NWS | |
| Dr Jessica Tjandra | Subsea7 | |
| Mr John Sedgwick | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Akash Vyas | University of Alberta | |
| Mrs Helen Thomson | Bodycote | |
| Dr Jean-Francois Croteau | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | |
| Prof Sebastian Bonilla | University of Oxford | |
| Dr Graham Richards | Abbey Forged Products | |
| Mr Kameshwaran Swaminathan | Brunel University of London | |
| Mr Marcos Sanchiz Boris | University of Sheffield | |
| Mr Ali Zahid | University of Rome Tor Vergata | Please respect the academia and the relevant faculty members. I guess you guys can lay off plenty of "useful" administrators. |
| Mr Abdulkadir Olatunbosun BIFFO | Delft University of Technology | |
| Mrs Annabella Wheatley | Amodo designs | |
| Dr Matt Bilton | UC Riverside | |
| Mr Samuel Chen | Stanford | Best of luck |
| Prof Kyle Brinkman | Clemson University | |
| Sir Abdul Rahman | PCSIR | Materials are building block of modern future and revolution |
| Mr Lucas Bolster | University of California, Berkeley | |
| Mr A K M AHSANUL HABIB | The University of Texas at Tyler | |
| Mr Zaheen Zahoor Banday | IIT MADRAS | Make it flourish 🌱🌷 |
| Dr Paul Franklyn | University of Birmingham | It would be a significant loss to the materials community to lose the diversity in Sheffield. Whole job cuts may be necessary, it is essential that universities look to the careers prospects of graduates and realise that materials graduates have excellent prospects. Instead of cutting jobs, work should be put into encouraging recruitment of students. There is a market! Just look at the increasing application numbers across the sector. But to achieve this in the north we have to work together to popularise the field. Shrinking departments and losing subject diversity is not the right approach. |
| Prof Saiful Islam | University of Oxford | |
| Mr Adisa Rasak | Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria | |
| Dr Jennifer Ashworth | University of Nottingham | |
| Dr Heath Bagshaw | University of Liverpool | Sheffield materials is among the best in the UK and internationally recognised for it’s sustained excellence in the field. Advanced materials are one of the priorities in the UK governments Modern Industrial Strategy and Sheffield is a leading institution in this field. It seems strange that institutional policy differs so markedly from government and UKRI objectives and must surely be re-assessed. Reconsider this decision before it is too late and the inevitable detrimental consequences become irreversible. |
| Prof Hussam Jouhara FREng | Brunel University of London | I strongly support the affected staff in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Research in materials is essential to many key areas in the UK, including energy, batteries, nuclear, aerospace, defence, healthcare, electronics, advanced manufacturing and sustainable technologies. Progress in all of these areas depends on strong materials research, specialist facilities and highly skilled researchers. The department at Sheffield has built an excellent international reputation and has made important contributions through its research, teaching and collaboration with industry and other universities. Reducing its staff and research capability would not only affect Sheffield, but would also weaken the wider UK materials community, disrupt existing collaborations and reduce the training of the next generation of scientists and engineers. Such expertise takes many years to build and is very difficult to replace once it is lost. At a time when advanced materials are increasingly important to the UK’s economy, energy security and future technologies, these proposed cuts seem short-sighted. I urge the University to reconsider and to find an alternative that protects this important national capability. |
| Dr Edmund Tarleton | University of Oxford | Sheffield is a historic cornerstone of materials science and metallurgy. Cutting academic staff would risk breaking the vital pipeline of talent and research that UK industry relies on for sustainable manufacturing and future innovation. |
| Prof Susan Trolier-McKinstry | The Pennsvylania State University | I am writing to express my strongest support for the Functional Materials and Devices Group at the University of Sheffield. It is much, much easier to destroy an academic reputation than it is to build one. In this case, you have a group of academic leaders with world-wide reputations in the area of electroceramics. While I understand indeed that you are in the position of having to make difficult and painful decisions, I believe that you also need to make them with the academic reputation of your institution in mind. Amongst the people you are considering for redundancies are professors with sustained track records of attacking difficult and important problems, and making substantial scientific and technological contributions to solve them. In doing so, they have attracted funding from both the government and from industry. Moreover, they are outstanding scientists. Loss of their employment at the University of Sheffield would lead to the need to close down the international arm of the Industry University cooperative research Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics that I direct. The long-standing collaboration between Penn State and the University of Sheffield has enabled us to recruit the global leaders in the electronic ceramics and semiconductor industry as industrial members of the center (Murata, Apple, TSMC, TDK, Bosch, and many others). We also have numerous partnerships with major national laboratories, including Sandia National Laboratories in the US, and ITRI in Taiwan. The intellectual breadth added by the Materials Department at the University of Sheffield is very helpful in maintaining these memberships. I have a strong personal commitment to excellence, and I thoroughly understand the need for leadership to make difficult strategic decisions in difficult times. I am a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, and my advice is frequently sought by major laboratories in the US and abroad. This means that I am often called on to advise when those difficult decisions must be made. In your case, I would urge you to continue to support and employ the materials faculty well into the future to bolster an existing area of strength at your institution. |
| Prof Joao Quinta da Fonseca | The University of Manchester | Materials Science is a vital discipline for UK, essential for innovation, resilience and prosperity. Materials at Sheffield is one its brightest beacons, and it needs to be protected. The proposed cuts are short-sighted and will end up costlier in the long run, for Sheffield and for the nation. Difficult times sometimes demand difficult decisions, but these cost-cutting actions would only make sense as a very last resort. I hope they will be reconsidered. |
| Dr Richard Hunt | Bridgnorth Aluminium | |
| Mr Nthape Mphasha | University of the Witwatersrand | To protect the STEM engagement for a sustainable future, we need each other across the globe |
| Prof Cameron Pleydell-Pearce | Swansea University | I have collaborated with academics within Sheffield's Department of Materials for over 10 years. There's a very good reason for that, they are some of the best and brightest minds in the field internationally as evidenced by their collectively outstanding track record and esteem. Furthermore, they are one of the few remaining institutions who share my own's focus on supporting the material producing foundation industry sectors on which the future resilience of the UK depends. To my understanding this focus remains a key component of the regions placed based growth strategy and priorities for strategic investments such as the forthcoming Local Innovation Partnership Fund. The decision to impose cuts on this capability will systematically undermine the institutions standing quantitatively (leading to negative impacts on QS ranking and QR funding) and qualitatively. Moreover, Advanced Materials remains a key priority area within the Advanced Manufacturing IS8 priority of the UK Industrial Strategy which defines the priorities for £1.9bn of strategic priority investment by UKRI IN THE NEXT YEAR. If the approach to re-organisation is to improve the financial sustainability of the institution the leadership should bear this in mind. Finally, Sheffield's reason to exist is heavily tied to the social and economic value that it imparts on the city, the region and the wider UK. The disciplines and expertise under threat in this re-organisation directly underpin that civic mission in an area that is critical to the future growth strategy of the region and the wider UK. I therefore advise against this course of action in the strongest possible terms as it is likely to weaken the university's international standing and, ultimately, its financial sustainability. |
| Dr Mandy Fong | Sheffield Alumni | |
| Dr Sameer Rahatekar | Loughborough University | |
| Dr Daniel Cairns | Worley | |
| Miss Holly Pearce | Diamond Light Source | |
| Mr Tom George | University of Oxford | |
| Ms Melisha Barboza | University of Warwick | |
| Miss Rachel Kane | University of Warwick | |
| Miss Charlotte Brown | University of Manchester | |
| Dr Ryo Mizuta | University of Cambridge | |
| Dr Aneeqa Khan | University of Manchester | We have worked closely with the Materials group at Sheffield for a number of years and this is an invaluable collaboration. Our students and colleagues work closely together and these cuts would be an insurmountable loss. These cuts should absolutely not happen. The whole UK and international fusion community will be at a huge disadvantage if this were to happen. |
| Ms Tes Monaghan | UoS | |
| Dr Aneeqa Khan | University of Manchester | |
| Dr Bethany Jim | Assystem (prev. University of Oxford & University of Sheffield) | |
| Dr Stavrina Dimosthenous | Henry Royce Institute, University of Manchester | |
| Mr Shaokai Tang | The University of Manchester | |
| Dr Ahmed Fardan Jabir Hussain | Chalmers University of Technology | |
| Miss Lucy Ellwood | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Chris Thomas | University College Dublin | |
| Mr Peter Gross | University of Sheffield | |
| Prof Paul Mummery | University of Manchester | |
| Dr Philipp Frankel | University of Manchester | |
| Miss Esraa Mohamed Farag | University of Houston | Signed and all the best. |
| Prof Philip Edmondson | University of Manchester | |
| Prof Karl Whittle | University of Liverpool | |
| Dr Jianfei Wei | Design Authority, Nuclear Development, Sizewell C | |
| Dr Suraiya Zabeen | Aeroflow Intelligence | |
| Prof Yaroslava Yingling | North Carolina state university | |
| Dr Alan Dunbar | University of Sheffield | Unnecessary penny pinching |
| Prof Tony Kenyon | UCL | Materials Science and Engineering is one of Sheffield's strongest performing departments. It is madness to be cutting academic staff at such a high profile department. I urge the university management to think again. |
| Dr Christoforos Moutafis | University of Manchester | Sheffield’s Materials Science and Engineering department is a leading contributor to neuromorphic computing and spintronics, alongside its broader excellence in research, teaching, and graduate outcomes. Reducing staff in such a high-performing and diverse department risks lasting damage to its students, research community, and international standing. |
| Prof Susan Stepney | University of York | Cutting Materials Science positions anywhere in the UK, but especially in the North of England, should be considered an act of national sabotage. Materials Science is crucial for our future, in areas impacting health, transport, climate change, manufacturing, and more. Short-term financial gain will in no way compensate for the longer-term damage to the university, the discipline, and the country that this misguided plan would result in. |
| Dr Jack C Gartside | Imperial College London | It is vital that the strength & diversity of UK Academia is protected, especially in the current climate where the UK's leading position in global research stands at a pivotal point. The strength, diversity & track record of Sheffield Materials & it's important to the local, national, and global position of UK research excellence must be preserved. The proposed cost cutting measures are excessive and are likely to cause long lasting damage to the university of Sheffield |
| Dr Stephan Menzel | Forschungszentrum Jülich | |
| Prof Volodymyr Kruglyak | University of Exeter | |
| Prof Marco Fanciulli | University of Torino | Materials Science at Sheffield is among the most recognized worldwide research and education area, I strongly support it and I think it should get more support, certainly not a reduction. |
| Prof Russell Cowburn FRS | University of Cambridge | |
| Prof Bartel | Van Waeyenberge | |
| Prof Adekunle Adeyeye | Durham University | Materials Science and Engineering is a strategically significant discipline that underpins advances in manufacturing, energy, healthcare, infrastructure, aerospace, transport, and sustainability. The retention of academic staff in Materials Science and Engineering is not simply a matter of preserving a department: it is a matter of safeguarding a strategic institutional asset whose loss would have profound and potentially irreversible consequences for the University of Sheffield. I am therefore writing to express my strongest support for the Functional Materials and Devices Group at the University of Sheffield. |
| Prof Christopher Marrows | University of Leeds | I am shocked and saddened by the proposal to dramatically reduce the size of Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield. Advanced materials are a key national priority recognised by the creation of the Royce Institute, they underpin the majority of the IS-8 sectors and are to be supported by the National Materials Innovation Programme for the coming 5 years. Hence, whilst being against the national interest, the proposal also seems extremely poorly timed - materials have never been more important. Having grown from the strong historic base in metallurgy, materials at Sheffield has broadened into almost every area of importance. Repairing the damage that this proposal represents will take years if not decades. Please reconsider. I write as Head of Condensed Matter Physics, Director of Research and Innovation and Theme Lead for Electronic and Photonic Materials. |
| Prof Erik Folven | NTNU | |
| Prof Shireen Adenwalla | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Our collaboration with Sheffield University has been extremely productive. They are well known, highly published and frequently cited in the active and thriving spintronics community. The field of spintronics in general is poised to take a large leap forward with applications in logic, memory and other computing processes and will require deep expertise in this field. Cuts in this field are shortsighted; both fundamental and applied research will be required by industry and cutting people at this juncture is waste of time, talent and money. |
| Prof Kelly Morrison | Loughborough University | The proposed cuts to Sheffield Materials are shortsighted and damaging to the Universities reputation. Its success with regards to broader impact (including publications) is a result of the variety of experience that staff bring, which can rival standards set by single discipline Departments (such as Physics or Chemistry). This is a strength for student recruitment and teaching quality, which will be decimated by the proposed ~20% cut in staff. There are opportunities here to explore alternative changes to deliver sustainable funding streams which taps into the UKRI restructure, including 'Strategic government and societal priorities' or 'Supporting innovative companies'. This is especially true for Materials Science, which often works closely with industrial partners. I would strongly encourage a broader consultation and review of the Departments strengths that include the potential to secure such additional funding, whilst also protecting the quality of teaching delivery. |
| Prof Mario Chemnitz | Leibniz-Institut of Photonic Technology Jena | I’m signing in support of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Cutting into a department that leads its Faculty in research quality and graduate outcomes, precisely in the areas where it excels, is a false economy. It trades long-term intellectual and economic value for short-term budget relief. The breadth of research at MSE, spanning neuromorphic computing, spintronics, metallurgy, nuclear waste containment, and natural materials, is exactly the kind of interdisciplinary strength that produces breakthrough science and well-prepared graduates. Losing that diversity wouldn’t just hollow out one department; it would weaken the UK’s standing in materials research at a moment when these fields are only becoming more critical. In particular, I’ve collaborated with Tom Hayward for the past several months on physical hardware implementations of Kolmogorov-Arnold Neural Networks. His expertise has provided the missing piece in our work, opening up an entirely new avenue for our technology. That work wouldn’t have been possible without the breadth and freedom of science that MSE provides. I urge the University to reconsider these proposed redundancies and protect the staff and research areas that have made this department a genuine success story. |
| Dr Richard Sheridan | University of Birmingham | I sign this letter in strong support of the excellent work conducted by the University of Sheffield in the Materials Science and Engineering department. I have had the pleasure of assessing PhD students from this department who have demonstrated high quality contributions to the advancement of Science and Engineering. The work in this department in both the research and teaching aspects are developing future leaders in this space and helping to advance the UK engineering scene. Materials Science and Engineering is vital for developing future technologies as we face monumental challenges surrounding climate change, AI, healthcare etc. This subject area is growing in popularity regarding UG applications and we must therefore strengthen this critical area and protect the valuable science and teaching that is undertaken. |
| Prof Hide Kurebayashi | UCL | |
| Prof Hide Kurebayashi | UCL | |
| Prof Adekunle Adeyeye | Durham University | |
| Dr Ivan VERA MARUN | University of Manchester | It is sad to see such a short-sighted approach from the senior leadership at the University of Sheffield. These academic positions are crucial for Sheffield to keep its positive impact in the North West region and in the UK as a whole. Just last year colleagues at Sheffield hosted the Institute of Physics Magnetism 2025 conference, evidencing their major role within the field of materials science and technology. Please, consider a more constructive and long-term approach. |
| Prof Mathias Kläui | Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz | As Director of the State Research Center TopDyn - Dynamics and Topology and Spokesperson for the National Collaborative Research Center Spin+X in Mainz, I find it unreasonable to weaken an outstanding department by the proposed redundencies. Materials science is central to modern industry. It underpins semiconductors, quantum technologies, batteries, clean energy, aerospace, defence, healthcare, transport, construction, sensing and other key industrial assets. It is vital to reindustrialization of the UK and other countries. With the looming AI revolution, jobs will be lost in services, which the UK (and many other countries) relies on heavily, so supporting industrially relevant research is key to a strong future economy. Redundancies in this strategically important discipline directly contradict these aims. They would weaken research and reduce the supply of skilled graduates, doctoral researchers and future scientific leaders needed by UK industry. Sheffield has a distinguished history, an international reputation and a vital place in the worldwide materials ecosystem. This capability has taken decades to build and would be extremely difficult to replace. I have worked with some of the colleagues at Sheffield and I can attest to their high quality research and the international esteem. While I am aware that budget pressure leads to difficult decisions (also in outher countries), I believe that redundancies in this area will backfire and weaken Sheffield and the UK overall in the long term. |
| Prof Thomas Thomson | University of Manchester | Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield has a distinguished record in my field of magnetism and spintronics. More importantly, it continues to make a leading contribution in this area and the idea that Sheffield would chose to discontinue this activity seems very counter-productive and short sighted. We all understand that the University sector is under financial pressure but compensating for the failures of senior management, evident in many institutions across the country, by diminishing the core resources of the university which cannot be rebuilt easily seems to me to be akin to eating the seed corn. |
| Dr Gonzalo Vallejo Fernandez | University of York | |
| Prof Roland Kroeger | University of York | |
| Prof Aires Ferreira | University of York | |
| Dr Rohan Kakade | University of York | Materials Science at Sheffield sits at the heart of the UK’s economic strength, and there is a clear opportunity to expand our efforts to support the North’s renewed momentum as an industrial powerhouse. The historic Departments of Metallurgy, Ceramics and Polymers each made major contributions throughout the last century, and their legacy continues in the merged Department’s strong and diverse capabilities. Looking internationally—both to rapidly developing nations and to leading economies across Asia—we see significant enthusiasm and substantial investment in Materials Science, underscoring the importance of strengthening our own activity in this field. **Save Sheffield Materials** |
| Prof Roy Chantrell | University of York | |
| Prof Stuart Cavill | University of York | Another institution, the same story! Cutting staff in is not the way forward. If the institute is financially stressed then that is a failure of senior management and consecutive UK governments. Perhaps rather than going along with this managed decline the VC at Sheffield could stand up for his staff and effectively lobby Government for a more sustainable funding system - something that all VCs have failed at so far! |
| Prof Vlado Lazarov | University of York | |
| Prof Claire | Davis | Research and teaching in Materials Science and Engineering make vital contributions to the health of the UK (and global) economy. Whilst undergraduate numbers may be relatively small compared to other science and engineering subjects the importance of the subject should not be ignored. The discipline sits at the interface between physical sciences and engineering, with significant interactions with healthcare and biological sciences, and the contributions made to advances in those fields is significant. The Sheffield department has the breadth and depth that ensure interdisciplinary research of the highest quality is pursued - to the benefit of the students fortunate enough to study there, but also to the many industrial partners that work with the department. It has to be hoped that redundancies are not necessary and the department can be supported to flourish. |
| Prof Paula Maria Vilarinho | University of Aveiro, Portugal | As President of the Federation of European Materials Societies (FEMS), and as an appointed member of the European Technology Council Subgroup contributing to the European Materials Act, I wish to emphasize that this is a pivotal moment for advanced and functional materials in Europe. With the European Materials Act expected to become the largest strategic and financial framework ever dedicated to advanced materials, Europe requires a stronger—not diminished—scientific community to address the challenges of innovation, industrial competitiveness, and technological sovereignty. Reducing academic capacity in the field of functional and advanced materials at this critical time would be contrary to Europe's strategic priorities and would weaken our collective ability to support the reindustrialisation of Europe. Advanced and functional materials are recognised as key enabling technologies underpinning the green and digital transitions, energy security, healthcare, defence, and advanced manufacturing. Maintaining excellence in research, education, and talent development is therefore essential and crucial if Europe is to achieve its long-term economic resilience and strategic autonomy. |
| Prof Andy Marvin | University of York | As a Sheffield graduate (BEng '72, MEng '74, PhD '79) I always thought that Sheffield took Engineering seriously. Clearly times have changed. |
| Dr Mark Post | University of York | |
| Dr Phil Hasnip | University of York | Sheffield has an international reputation in materials science and engineering, both as a university and as a city. This expertise has brought technological advancements to the whole of the UK, indeed the world, and trained generations of expert scientists and engineers. Jeopardising this crucial work and undermining your skilled and hard-working staff, especially at such a key time for materials innovation, is unconscionable. |
| Prof Irene | D'Amico | |
| Prof Del Atkinson | Durham University | Sheffield Materials is an outstanding department with an on-going and extensive track record of research innovation across materials science and engineering that aligns with government priorities in advanced materials. Once lost it will not be recoverable. |
| Dr Eugene Avrutin | University of York | These are sad times - but even sad times need to be handled equitably! |
| Dr Jo Sharp | University of Sheffield | Materials Science is a big part of how we get out of this mess we've got ourselves into as a species. As a metallurgist, when we stop looking at the world around us with wonder we are diminished. We are also diminished when a quarter of our non-metallurgist colleagues, who we collaborate with and have inspirations with, are made redundant. UEB, get out there and lobby the new education secretary instead of standing in here waving that scythe around. |
| Prof Keith McKenna | University of York | |
| Dr Patrick Mason | Ayup Ltd | |
| Prof Andrew Pratt | University of York | I have recently collaborated with colleagues in MSE at Sheffield on a large-scale multi-institution grant that produced excellent outputs. The research infrastructure in place in MSE is world-class, as are the many personnel there I have worked with over the years. Cutting capacity and capability in this area will be detrimental to Sheffield's ambitions and long-term ability to secure funding, establish new collaborations, and produce high-end research output. It is a backwards step that should be revised and reconsidered. |
| Dr Dorleta Jimenez de Aberasturi | CIC biomaGUNE | The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield provides an outstanding environment for research, innovation, and education. Its internationally recognized expertise across the field of Materials Science and Engineering, particularly in advanced manufacturing and 3D bioprinting technologies, places the department at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to biomedical and technological challenges. Combined with its collaborative and interdisciplinary culture, this expertise fosters impactful research while providing exceptional training and support for the next generation of materials scientists and engineers. |
| Dr John Provis | Visiting Professor, Materials, U. Sheffield | Materials as a discipline is essential to the UK's future. Sheffield University has always been renowned for its work in this area, and this level of excellence should be highlighted and supported, not put at risk. |
| Dr Junxi Wu | University of Strathclyde | |
| Dr Freya Johnson | Imperial College London | |
| Dr Julie Grollier | Laboratoire Albert Fert | The MSE Department at Sheffield enjoys a worldwide reputation, particularly in the fields of spintronics, as well as materials and circuits for artificial intelligence, and includes several internationally renowned professors. Cutting positions in a department that consistently produces research of the highest standard would send a very negative message about the University internationally. It would also have a serious adverse impact on the University itself in terms of academic recognition, visibility, and its ability to educate and train students in the years ahead. |
| Prof James Busfield | Queen Mary University of London | Materials activities in the UK university sector has supported the UKs manufacturing base for decades. A contraction now could have a very adverse effect on the UK economy. |
| Prof David Cann | Oregon State University | The University of Sheffield’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering has a distinguished history of delivering both local and global impact. Its exceptional research and teaching expertise will be vital to advancing emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and biotechnology, all of which depend fundamentally on innovations in materials. Preserving this department is an investment in the technologies, skilled workforce, and scientific leadership of the future. |
| Prof Marco Lucamarini | University of York | As Chair of Experimental Quantum Communications at the University of York, I strongly support this letter and urge the University of Sheffield to reconsider the proposed cuts to Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). Materials research underpins many strategic technologies, including quantum technologies, photonics, semiconductors, telecommunications, clean energy, defence and advanced manufacturing. Sheffield has a distinguished history and international reputation in this field. This expertise takes decades to build and would not be easily recreated once lost. At a time when the UK seeks technological sovereignty, economic growth and leadership in advanced industries, reducing capacity in one of its recognised centres of excellence would be a serious strategic mistake. |
| Prof Martin Trefzer | University of York | Trust and reputation take a lifetime to build, a second to break, and an eternity to repair. |
| Prof Joseph S. Friedman | The University of Texas at Dallas | |
| Dr Lorna Sinclair | University of Manchester | The Sheffield materials department is an invauable asset to the wider materials science community in the UK and internationally, known as a well respected institution and home of world class research. It is not a large department, and cuts of this magnitude will be an insummountable loss of unique knowledge, to the detriment of both research progress and undergraduate students alike. It is an incredibly short-sighted decision. |
| Prof Timothy Spiller | University of York | |
| Prof Matt Probert | University of York | |
| Prof Robert Hicken | University of Exeter | While these are difficult times, materials research is critical for the future economic development of the UK. I am very disappointed to learn that University of Sheffield is considering cuts in this area. |
| Dr Niall Paterson | Terumo Aortic | |
| Prof André Studart | ETH Zurich | |
| Prof Kim Jelfs | Imperial College London | |
| Prof Matthew Gibson | University of Manchester | |
| Prof Anna Slater | University of Liverpool | |
| Prof Nicole Hondow | University of Leeds | Having seen the impact of Sheffield's world-leading materials expertise, I strongly feel that the UK's future depends on strengthening, not diminishing, capacity in this strategically important field. |
| Prof Daniel Read | University of Leeds | |
| Dr Rosselgong Julien | CNRS | |
| Prof Arunodaya Bhattacharya | University of Birmingham | |
| Dr Lee Fielding | The University of Manchester | As a Reader and the Head of Education in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester, I strongly support this petition and oppose the proposed redundancies within Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Sheffield has long been one of the UK's leading centres for materials research and education, producing generations of graduates who have made major contributions across academia, manufacturing, healthcare, energy and advanced technology sectors. At a time when materials innovation is central to addressing challenges in sustainability, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and economic growth, reducing capacity in this strategically important discipline would be short-sighted and damaging. We should be strengthening, not diminishing, the UK's materials science capability. |
| Dr Fiona Hatton | Loughborough University | Sheffield Materials has an excellent reputation and is world leading. Cutting staff will have a significant negative impact on the standing of the department and Materials strengths within the UK more broadly. |
| Prof Thomas Chamberlain | University of Leeds | Please don't do this. |
| Prof Tom McDonald | University of Manchester | |
| Dr Paco Fernández-Trillo | Universidade de Coruña | |
| Mr Anthony Baker | Syngenta | |
| Dr Faheem Padia | Syngenta | If we want any chance whatsoever of achieving our sustainability aims and correcting our trajectory we are going to need more investment in Materials Science and Engineering from top class universities like UoS not less! It is disappointing to hear of these proposed cuts and hope the university reconsiders its proposal. |
| Miss Mia Batchelor | University of York Alumni | Materials science at Sheffield is a renowned department; in my current workplace, it is regarded as a highly respected department, producing some of the best colloid and polymer chemists working today. |
| Dr Jan-Willem Bos | University of St Andrews | |
| Prof Florian Bouville | Imperial College London | |
| Dr Tom Hasell | University of Liverpool | |
| Prof Gin Jose | University of Leeds | |
| Dr Aidan Hindmarch | Durham University | |
| Prof Arunodaya Bhattacharya | University of Birmingham | |
| Dr Lydia Pickering | University of Birmingham | |
| Dr Becky Greenaway | Imperial College London | |
| Prof Arkadiy Simonov | ETH Zurich & Aarhus University | |
| Dr Naëmi Leo | Loughborough University | |
| Dr Katie Foster | Syngenta | |
| Prof Sebastien Perrier | University of Warwick | |
| Dr Katrin Schultheiss | Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf | |
| Prof Angus Kirkland | University of Oxford | |
| Dr Hao Wu | Imperial College London | |
| Prof Eduardo Saiz | Imperial College | |
| Dr Jonathan Van Buskirk | University of Cambridge | |
| Dr Xiao Hua | Lancaster University | |
| Prof Abbie Trewin | Lancaster university | |
| Dr Michael Mercer | Lancaster University | |
| Mr Gideon C. Irogbele | Clemson University | |
| Dr Aswathy Girija | IOP (Institute of Physics) Publishing | |
| Dr Stephen Ebbens | University of Sheffield | Working alongside these at risk colleagues, I know directly their passion and expertise to perform high quality research and deliver teaching, and am also thoroughly convinced that the proposed restructuring is not justified on financial grounds, and will turn out to be a short sighted decision that will devalue the Universities reputation and standing in a field for which it is internationally renowned. |
| Mr Bryson H | Clemson University | |
| Dr Christina M. Rost | Virginia Tech | |
| Dr Cheryl Shaw | University of Sheffield | |
| Dr Amber Mason | Nuclear Waste Services | |
| Mr David Palmer | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Everything is made out of something. The materials we use are so important that entire periods of history are named for them: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. A society that fails to pass on the knowledge of how to produce and use these materials to future generations -- and advance this knowledge to improve its standard of living -- cannot survive or thrive. The University of Sheffield has been a world leader in this field for 147 years. This program should be strengthened and grown, not cut. |
| Ms Akshita Sharma | Chandigarh University | I hope this will help ik saving the academic positions. |
| Dr Mark Coleman | Oxford Instruments | |
| Dr Elizabeth Davis-Fowell | RR SMR | This department is such a pipeline for UK engineering, staffed full of experts and brings in such talent. Cut some useless university administration or senior management, not the staff that actually bring in money |
| Prof Dustin Gilmer | University of Tennessee | |
| Prof Hazel Assender | University of Oxford | I concur entirely with others' comments on the importance of Materials Science and Engineering to the UK economy and to contribute to critical challenges in our society. A university needs to consider its strengths and opportunities to provide a sustainable future for itself. Materials is a clear historic and present-day strength of the University of Sheffield. Materials science and engineering is a discipline with incredible opportunity, and as an interdisciplinary subject that cuts accross science and engineering is well-positioned to be able to exploit these opportunities within research, teaching and technology transfer. I urge the university plan towards a strong future for Materials at Sheffield as an independent discipline. |
| Dr Richard Evans | University of York | |
| Dr Frank Mizrahi | Thales Research & Technology | |
| Prof Dorothy Duffy | UCL | |
| Dr Luke Townsend | Nuclear Waste Services | |
| Dr Olivier Cayre | University of Leeds | |
| Dr Edward Rackley | CRU Group | Materials Science is a core tenet of what makes the University of Sheffield unique. It's an essential part of every engineering course as materials are critical to all parts of the modern world. From steel to aerospace, to functional materials and glass the world doesn't evolve without materials science. More needs be done to protect and expand the department and arrest the rate of job cuts. |
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