Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Science and Engineering Research Council
     
         (SERC) Formerly the largest of the five research
        councils funded by the British Government through the Office
        of Science and Technology.  SERC funded higher education
        research in science and engineering, including computing and
        was responsible for the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, near
        Oxford; the Daresbury Laboratory, near Warrington; the Royal
        Greenwich Observatory at Cambridge and the Royal Observatory,
        Edinburgh.
     
        In April 1994 SERC was split into the Engineering and Physical
        Sciences Research Council and the Particle Physics and
        Astronomy Research Council.  SERC's remote sensing efforts
        have been transferred to the Natural Environment RC and its
        biotechnology efforts merged with the Agriculture and Food RC
        to make the new Biotechnology and Biological Sciences RC.  The
        two major SERC laboratories - {Rutherford Appleton Laboratory}
        and Daresbury Laboratory are now independent.
     
        {(http://unixfe.rl.ac.uk/serc/serc.html)}.
     
        (1994-12-15)