Russia risks becoming scientifically isolated as countries cut ties with state research institutes, an expert has warned.
“It will take Russia a long time to repair this damage,” says Prof. Robin Grimes, a nuclear physicist who is Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society.
Researchers cannot participate in high-end cross-border experiments.
And he says they could leave Russia to pursue their research elsewhere.
The government is expected to release formal guidance for UK universities collaborating with scientists in Russia this week.
- Stop Russian missile launch, demanded by Britain
- European Mars Rover launch ‘very unlikely’
Some universities have already announced that they will cut ties with Russian institutions.
Imperial College said it had ended its partnership with “a Russian state-owned majority-owned company” and was reviewing current ties with Russia.
The University of Warwick is reviewing all ties to Russian state institutions “with a view to possible termination of contracts.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s main government funding agency for research in UK universities, UK Research and Innovation, is reviewing research projects with Russian partners and has reportedly suspended grant payments to some projects involving scientists in Russia.
Prof Grimes said relationships with individual scientists would likely continue in certain circumstances, along with data sharing for humanitarian causes such as Covid and meteorology.
British, Russian and Ukrainian scientists have worked closely together in areas such as public health, high-energy physics and space exploration for decades.
Space exploration has already been hit hard and some partnerships have broken up. And Ukrainian researchers are pressuring scientific journals to boycott Russian scientists.
Add Comment