Year ahead: Physical sciences, engineering and the environment

In the fourth part of our 2019 forward look, Research Fortnight casts an eye over physics, engineering and environmental research.

As the UK prepares to leave the European Union in March, physicists and engineers will press the government to secure access to the EU-funded research facilities known as European Research Infrastructure Consortiums, or Erics, two of which are in the UK. Researchers—and climate scientists in particular—are also eager to find out whether they will be able to continue accessing data from the EU’s Copernicus Sentinel satellites in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Aerospace companies competing for a £92-million government contract to carry out a feasibility study on a home-grown replacement for the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system will find out if they are successful early in the year. The UK is set to stop using Galileo for defence or critical national infrastructure after Brexit.