IOP Scotland

The Institute of Physics is the professional body and learned society for physics in the UK and Ireland. On these pages you can find more information about the IOP’s work in Scotland.

The IOP in Scotland aims to promote the role of physics in education, health, the environment, technology, and scientific literacy.

We work with a range of partners to support and develop the teaching of physics in schools; we encourage innovation, growth and productivity in business including addressing significant skills shortages; and we provide evidence-based advice and support to policymakers across Scotland.

Our members come from across the physics community whether in industry, academia, the classroom, technician roles or in training programmes as an apprentice or a student. However our reach goes well beyond our membership to all who have an interest in physics and the contribution it makes to our culture, our society and the economy.

IOP Scotland news

5 May 2022
IOP publishes priorities for next Scottish council terms

6 November 2020
Big Bounce 2020 turns East Glasgow’s iconic ballroom into science lab

View all IOP Scotland news

Newsletters

Publications

The role of physics in supporting economic growth and national productivity in Scotland

Read the introduction and download the report

Education support

Support for teachers

IOP Scotland’s education manager and physics coaches provide a range of support for teachers, including workshops, day meetings and online forums. For further information or education-related queries, please contact our education manager Stuart Farmer at [email protected].

Details of upcoming events organised by IOP Scotland physics coaches can be found at Talkphysics events.

Physics teaching resources can be found on IOPSpark. Further details of IOP’s wider support for teachers can be found on the IOP education page.

In Scotland we hold two major annual career-long professional learning (CLPL) events for physics teachers:

The Stirling Physics Teachers Meeting is the must-attend event of the year and is usually held in May;
The Physics Teachers Summer School takes place over four days in May and is a residential event with high-quality physics education professional learning.

Support for students in Scotland

We organise a range of events and activities and offer IOP membership.

Find out more

Public engagement

Public engagement programme

Learn about and get involved with our diverse portfolio of activities, ranging from early-years storytelling to pop-up physics busking and beyond.

Support and grants

IOP Scotland public engagement grant

Find out more about how to apply to receive up to £2,500 for physics-based events and activities.

Find out more

Kelvin Maxwell Fund

Support for physics outreach exclusively in Scotland, to reach new audiences and inspire Scotland’s future physicists.

Find out more about the fund

Member activities

ReMNet (Scotland)

REMNet (Scotland), previously known as Scottish Seniors, is part of the IOP’s national REMNet (Retired Members Network). This group is intended for members of IOP Scotland who have ceased full-time employment and who are over 60 years of age.

The primary objective of the group is to facilitate members to contribute to the professional activities of the IOP in ways that are normally different from those associated with full-time employment. In particular, the seniors group provides a means of exchanging information between members about relevant professional activities. Members are encouraged to make a contribution to the community in various ways, including:

support of organisations such as the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation.
serving on IOP panels, such as the fellowship panel.
becoming a science and engineering ambassador through STEMNET.

Lunchtime rendezvous

The main social activities of the seniors group are visits or lectures followed by lunch. At present these meetings are on hold due to the pandemic, but there are online talks being hosted monthly.

For further information, contact our REMNet Scotland representative Gail Millar at [email protected].

Policy in Scotland

IOP Scotland’s policy manager and committee aim to influence government policy and decisions in Scotland, regarding the funding of scientific research, physics education at all levels, the public perception of physics, and regarding physics in industry.

To this end, members of the Institute of Physics Scotland Committee sit on influential committees and advisory boards where possible.

We are keen to ensure that the views of the members are well represented and so would be delighted to hear from anyone who would be interested in giving feedback on drafts being prepared. If you would like to be kept on an email listing for this purpose or just have physics issues which you would like to raise, please contact policy manager Derek Young at [email protected].

Policy consultations in Scotland

Read our archive of key policy papers for Scotland.

View recent policy documents

Committee (from 1 October 2022)

Chair	Ms Laura Thomas, MInstP
Vice-chair	Dr Iain Moore, MInstP
Secretary	Dr Kate Macdonald, MInstP
Treasurer	Dr Susannah Heck, CEng MInstP
Retired Members Representative	Mrs Gail Millar, CPhys FInstP
Ordinary Member	Dr Ashleigh Barron, CPhys MInstP
Ordinary Member	Dr Dawn Beddard, MInstP
Ordinary Member	Mr Lachlan Dufort-Kennett
Ordinary Member	Professor Anton Edwards, CPhys FInstP
Ordinary Member	Professor Giles Hammond, FInstP
Ordinary Member	Miss Karen Haughian, MInstP
Ordinary Member	Dr Katherine Kirk, CPhys FInstP
Ordinary Member	Dr Nicolas Labrosse, FInstP
Ordinary Member	Mrs Julia Paterson, MInstP
Ordinary Member	Dr Peter Sneddon, MInstP
Ordinary Member	Dr Tom Vettenburg, MInstP
Ordinary Member	Dr Alan Walker, MBE FInstP

Events

View upcoming events for Scotland on our events site.

IOP Scotland education committee

The IOP Scotland education committee is a sub-committee of the IOP Scotland committee. The chair of the IOP Scotland education committee is an ex-officio member of the IOP Scotland committee.

Members of the IOP Scotland education committee 2021-22

Bruce Sinclair (chair)
Laura Alexander
Norman Bethune
Anne Brown
Drew Burrett
Paul Campbell
David Greig
Ann Griggs
Aileen Hamilton
Ken Hargreaves
Nick Hood
Nancy Hunter
Jane Manson
Chris Noble
Malcolm Thomson
Muza Farid (in attendance)
Stuart Farmer (in attendance)
Alison McLure (in attendance)
Charles Tracy (in attendance)
Derek Young (in attendance)
Lisa Jardine-Wright (ex-officio)
Laura Thomas (ex-officio)

Noted physicists

Blue plaques in Scotland

The IOP has erected blue plaques in various locations in Scotland to celebrate physicists who lived or worked in the locality.

Area policy

It is important to note that the IOP Scotland branch has to abide by the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016, which aims to increase the level of public transparency in relation to direct, face-to-face contacts made between certain individuals or organisations and the Scottish parliament or Scottish government.

In Scotland the PVG disclosures run by Disclosure Scotland are in place instead of DBS checks. For more information on applicable checks see mygov.scot.

Contact us

You can contact us by emailing IOP’s Head of Scotland Alison McLure at [email protected].