Top PI Jon Butterworth: Standing out in big physics

Particle physics research often involves hundreds of scientists collaborating, but career progression requires individuals to stand out. Jon Butterworth, a major player in the Large Hadron Collider, tells Funding Insight how he achieves both.

What was your first grant?

When I came to University College London as a lecturer in 1995 there was already a grant in place, funding a particle physics experiment. I became a co-investigator on that immediately. It was a rolling grant from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, which later became the Science and Technology Facilities Council. Within a couple of grant rounds I was a principal investigator.