In a Commentary exclusive to Nature (Nature 455, 592; 2 October 2008), Professor Bill Wakeham, Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton, discusses the findings of his long-awaited review on the state of physics in the United Kingdom. The field is healthy, he says, but scientists need to reclaim the intellectual ownership of research at the margins of the discipline such as medical or atmospheric physics. Read the article free online for two weeks from today, and check out next week’s issue on 9 October for more news and audio. (Nature‘s website is here.)

There is a Nature Network forum for discussion of Wakeham’s key messages that physicists will need to take ownership over their field and capture new funding streams. All are cordially invited to participate.

See also a related Nature news story by Geoff Brumfiel. (Nature 1 October 2008. doi:10.1038/news.2008.1145)