Scientists go to war with their funding council

By Anna Fazackerley. A war has erupted between senior research scientists and their main funding body over who decides which projects to support – and how
If you thought scientists were quiet types who pulled their lab coats over their heads at the first whiff of confrontation, try saying five letters out loud in a university near you this summer – EPSRC. Leading chemists, physicists and mathematicians are at war with their major funder, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. They accuse the council of being out of touch and arrogant, ignoring scientific expertise and fostering mediocre science.