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William Barter

@wjbarter.bsky.social
937 followers 1.7K following 828 posts

Particle Physicist, Academic, Reader, Walker, Talker. Home: Edinburgh, CERN Pronouns: He/Him Web: www2.ph.ed.ac.uk/~wbarter

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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Some difficult new questions for UKRI to answer here.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Where's Derry Girls?
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Riker Googling @rikergoogling.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
is it normal to be tired all the time
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Proud PhD supervisor: Congratulations to (soon-to-be) Dr Keira Farmer, who passed her PhD viva today.
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Euan Healey @euanhealey.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Edinburgh University created the first ever Chair in Celtic in Scotland in 1882 (Donald Mackinnon of Colonsay). This is a cultural retreat happening before our eyes where there was once leadership.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It's not an original thought from me, but I worry about how we (society) treats university students who are adults as though they are still children.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Over the last two weeks I've been lucky enough to co-lead the STFC HEP Summer School in Durham. We've brought together the UK's first year PhD students in experimental particle physics to learn the theory that underpins their studies.
A group of about 90 people standing together in a courtyard.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Oh no, however will we survive.
A message noting that the operating system is out of date...so Teams won't work...
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I realised why I am so meh on AI for so many things. I think there are two classes of problem: 1/ sudoku style problems, where there is a joy in the intellectual challenge and 2/ vocational problems (eg cancer detection) where you want to use the most advanced tech that works best.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
All I'm saying is that with a different result in 1066 we might have avoided Brexit.
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Lev Parikian @levparikian.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
– good lord, Parikian, what on earth is that? – well, sir, it’s rather complicated – yes, I can see – it’s an arboreal conglomeration of small Spanish dishes such as you might find in a slow-moving creek or stream – oh fuck – yes, it’s my… – please don’t – bayou tapas tree – get out
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I always liked Feynman's approach: reply noting you aren't an expert and putting the last two 'alternative' experts in touch with each other.
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Leigh Reeves @leigh-reeves.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
This is funny to me every time I think about it. Prob because I love bike riding. 🚴‍♂️
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Back to Durham for the STFC Experimental HEP Summer School. I swear it was only last year (2011) I was attending this school myself as a student.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
A policy that is sure to go down well in Northern Ireland.
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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Just came across this again 😄
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The other thing I can't get over for the new HP series is how similar the visuals are to the movies. As though they want to make sure the same toys and merch still work. Rampant capitalism.
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
LHCb: "It's not clear to scientists working on the project exactly why it's been deprioritized. Cancelling projects, in closing facilities will lead to the loss of talent and reduce UK competitiveness in high precision, science, and international collaborations. "
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Kind of hilarious as well given how most of the/us university sorts react to being asked to wear a lanyard
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Tim Lyons @picketer.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is very, very true. Having a tiny, tiny number of elite schools isn't about education it's purely about the replication (and in a far smaller number of cases the acquisition) of social capital.
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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
ideally at tertiary level I think you want a lot of *good* schools and having Oxbridges is generally bad.
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Harry Cliff @harrycliff.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
My colleague @wjbarter.bsky.social on the devastating impact of UKRI's withdrawal of funding for the LHCb Upgrade @lhcb.bsky.social. "There is still a window of opportunity for BIST to act". Let's hope the new Secretary of State, Jonathan Reynolds, is listening. telescoper.blog/2026/08/19/t...
telescoper.blog
The Cuts to LHCb – Guest Post by William Barter
The following is a guest post by William Barter, who recently finished a term as the ‘physics coordinator’ of LHCb-UK. –o– The European particle physics community recently u…
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Peter Coles 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇮🇪 @telescoper.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The Cuts to LHCb – Guest Post by William Barter The following is a guest post by William Barter, who recently finished a term as the 'physics coordinator' of LHCb-UK. --o-- The European particle physics community recently undertook a two-year process to update our strategy – setting out the things…
telescoper.blog
The Cuts to LHCb – Guest Post by William Barter
The following is a guest post by William Barter, who recently finished a term as the 'physics coordinator' of LHCb-UK. --o-- The European particle physics community recently undertook a two-year process to update our strategy – setting out the things that we, as a field, choose to prioritise. The highest priority in that update was “the full exploitation of the physics potential of the Large Hadron Collider”.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
One of the things I am thankful for — in the midst of the UK Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics funding crisis — is that our different disciplines are connecting more than we have in the past. I hope that no matter how this all resolves, we keep these connections as we move forward.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Always said Joe Root is a great captain.
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 19/08/2026
This stopped me in my tracks. An independent study by @qmul.bsky.social has found that after ULEZ was introduced, children’s lungs grew faster in Central London and have now caught up with children outside of the capital. Incredible.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Very grateful to @lucienheurtier.bsky.social for the opportunity to explain why UKRI's decision to cut the LHCb Upgrade matters. See here for more information: lheurtier.github.io/LHCb.html
lheurtier.github.io
Why the LHCb Upgrade Cuts Matter
UKRI and STFC have cut funding for the next-generation LHCb upgrade at CERN. This article explains what is at stake for UK science, international credibility, skills, detector expertise and the future...
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Janey Salisbury @serendipitysmith.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Next time you see someone say Jason Arday was obviously a liar because he said he ran 30 marathons in 35 days bear in mind that a) there are contemporary news reports still online about it from 2010 b) Eddie Izzard did the equivalent and Arday was fit. www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/8331133...
yourlocalguardian.co.uk
Lecturer close to completing 30 marathons in 35 days
The end is in sight for an energetic lecturer who has nearly reached his target of running 30 marathons in 35 days.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
There’s an underlying assumption a lot of people are making that if a black guy successfully misleads you, it means you have set your racism levels too low.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The best Higher Education joke was made by philosopher George McDonald Ross. When some universities that were not part of any other group announced they were forming a group of their own, George wrote to the newspaper suggesting they call themselves the Russell’s Paradox Group.
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Una McCormack @unamccormack.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
A little empathy and human kindness, eh, even when people have made mistakes. Perhaps especially so. Imagine where that might get us.
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Nadine Batchelor-Hunt @nadinebh.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I feared this would happen. His story was troubling but the wave of hatred and obsession in the media when he was clearly someone who was vulnerable - whatever you thought of him - was entirely disproportionate and in my view fuelled by racists. My thoughts are with his loved ones tonight.
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Paul Duane 🥔 @paulduane.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The news about Jason Arday is awful and sad and I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that it will not take his story out of the UK's culture wars, they're too far gone.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I hadn't commented before, but the level of scrutiny of Arday was beyond that faced by other academics, and this scrutiny was driven one factor: his race. Whether his behaviour was right or wrong is immaterial, he experienced a racist witch hunt and those who carried it out should be ashamed.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Since today is bin day, I thought I would share my favourite song about our hope for what England could be. youtu.be/dVQEh74If4A?...
youtu.be
A Place Called England
YouTube video by The Young'uns - Topic
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Really sad to see a Research Council chair react to Jodrell like this. It's a huge part of British heritage. And we are all stronger together as researchers - we should be growing the pot of money that funds UK research excellence and protects uni jobs - and instead one of our leaders does this.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
I realise we have been able to do it for centuries, but the fact that humans can predict solar eclipses never ceases to amaze me. It's just incredible when you stop and think for a moment.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The outcry over Jodrell is showing many things. One that strikes me: for years we have told funders that big science projects like those carried out at the LHC and telescopes play a unique role in engaging the public & driving young minds towards physics and big data. Now they see we weren't lying.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Latest idea: LinkedIn for new parents. Delighted to share that this morning I managed to clean part of the kitchen...
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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I am all for saving Jodrell Bank, but please don’t lose sight of the fact that it is simply the most visible manifestation of a much bigger problem, which isn’t solved if someone magically finds the money to keep it going, simply to shut people up. 🔭🧪
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
No other experiment can access the same details about the subatomic universe as LHCb, and no other experiment is likely to until the advent of the proposed future FCC-hh collider in the 2070s. Cutting LHCb will push back science by fifty years.
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Lucien Heurtier @lucienheurtier.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
📢UKRI’s decision not to fund LHCb Upgrade II is not just a project cut. It puts UK leadership, access to the future LHCb dataset and opportunities for hundreds of scientists, engineers, technicians and students at risk. 🧪 ↩️This decision should be reversed. #UKRI #STFC @andyburnham.bsky.social
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Number 10 North is significantly closer to Lands End than to John O Groats...
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Simon Cox @simonfrcox.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
no *you’re* crying - and I love how Avtar still sees ChatGPT for what it is www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
‘I thought, I’ve tried everything else, why not give AI a shot?’: the long-lost family reunited by ChatGPT
Avtar spent decades wondering what happened to the mother he never got to know. Thousands of miles away, Nicci was haunted by the story of a half-brother given away before she was born. How did a chat...
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I completely agree that universities are critical to local economies - students bring money in and their money gets spent locally - but to do this the PM has to ensure unis have a sustainable funding model.
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
If we truly valued growth we would rejoin the Customs Union and Single Market, massively remove barriers to immigration, and invest in capital infrastructure that enables growth. I'm still angry at Starmer's "growth is our number one priority" but he so often picked the anti-growth route.
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Rev Darren Jalland @oldmacharrev.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
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William Barter @wjbarter.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
In addition to everything else, universities serve as a conduit to bring money from outside the UK and invest it in local communities (via staff salaries, catering, all the little things etc - where do you think we spend our pay?)
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The Secret Barrister @barristersecret.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This is very disappointing. Such an important and undervalued brief which was for years held by a succession of uninterested itinerants. A prisons minister who genuinely cared and who was starting to see results.
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