There are many different tasks that an academic must complete. One such important task is applying for grants to do research. A proposal is written and submitted to a funding agency, such as STFC. A committee looks at the proposals and asks for them to be reviewed by referees. After the referee reports are returned, the committee then uses them to help decide whether the grant is approved. The bulk of the members of the committees are also academics. When a grant application of a member of the committee is discussed, that person has to leave the room. Although the commitee members sometimes get paid a small amount of money for being a member of these committees, they usually do it because it is a “service” to their community.
Currently STFC is deciding what grants to give out to do theoretical particle physics. This is job is done by the Particle Physics Grants Panel. Dr. Antonio Rago from CMS is serving on this committee. Antonio also serves on the Particle Physics/Nuclear Theory Sub-Panel for the allocation of computer time via Dirac in the UK.