Research Assessment Exercise

Science in Sheffield is amongst the very best in the UK and well up with leaders in the world. According to the last Research Assessment Exercise in 2008 the University is ninth in the UK for "research power", with most departments in the Faculty ranking in the top ten, and almost half ranking in the top three.

As well as scoring well for quality of research we also show depth, with 96% of our research being internationally recognised, or better. Some recent headlines include:

• 3rd in the UK for Biological Science
• 11th in the UK for Chemistry
• 9th in the UK for Physics and Astronomy
• 6th in the UK for Psychology research power
• 96% of research output internationally recognised

Research stories

BIOMASS space mission The BIOMASS space mission to measure carbon storage by the Earth's forests, proposed by staff from the Applied Mathematics department, has just been selected by the European Space Agency to go to the next stage of development for launch in 2016.	RNAi screening facility RNAi screening facility to open in Biomedical Science department supported by funding from the Wellcome trust. The facility will use state-of-the-art, genome-wide cell-based screens for the study of functional-genomics in Drosophila cells.
High-yield rice plant research Researchers from the University of Sheffield are involved in an ambitious project led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, looking into a new, higher-yielding rice plant that could ease the threat of hunger for the poor. Photo courtesy of IRRI.	Studying the behaviour of risk Psychology researchers awarded ESRC funding to study behaviour of risk. The research will investigate how our perception of risk affects our actions.