Students across the country will learn to decipher “nature's hidden language” as the Australian Science Teachers Association announces its National Science Week Schools Theme for 2025.

The new theme, Decoding the Universe - Exploring the unknown with nature's hidden language, invites students and teachers to "delve into the mysteries of the Universe by exploring the fundamental languages of nature", with a special focus on "the groundbreaking field of quantum science".

The theme, inspired by Quantum Year, will also coincide with Australia's hosting of the 2025 International Maths Olympiad, providing an opportunity to connect foundational STEM skills with the cutting edge of deep tech.

Executive Director of ASTA, Guy Micklethwait, says the new theme reflects "a forward-thinking approach to STEM education, encouraging students to explore the unknown and decode the mysteries of our universe through the powerful lenses of science and mathematics."

"ASTA invites all educators, students and STEM enthusiasts to join in this exciting journey of discovery."

Grants of up to $500 will be available to schools to integrate the theme into their National Science Week programs, with applications opening in March 2025. ASTA will also distribute a resource book packed with information, lesson plans, experiments, and more.

Read more about Quantum Year.

The Quantum Australia 2025 is coming to Brisbane in March

Running from 24 to 27 March, just a few months into the Year of Quantum - it will be four days to bring together the Australian quantum community, from researchers to entrepreneurs and policymakers.

Next year's event will be the first to be run by the new unifying body for quantum science and technology in Australia: Quantum Australia. Established by a Federal Government grant of $18.4 million, Quantum Australia's mission is to bring together the Australian quantum industry and extend its reach, both at home and abroad.

"Quantum Australia gives muscle and momentum to the national quantum strategy," says founding director Stephen Bartlett.

"Its arrival is a signal that industry, government and academia can work together to further press Australia's quantum advantage."

Read more about Quantum Year.

Nominations are now open for the 2025 WIP Lecturer. The award is made annually to recognise and publicise significant contributions by a woman to advancing a field of physics and to inspire future physicists.

The Women in Physics Lecture Tour was established nationally in 1997 to promote the work of outstanding women in Physics and was initiated by the South Australian Branch. In South Australia it is known as the Claire Corani Memorial Lecture. In 2009 a Federal Medal was established to honour the women who had been selected to undertake these national tours and to recognise them for their time and dedication to communicating their research to academics, students and the general public.

Nominations must be received by 15 November 2024.

Apply Here

The lecture tour is expected to include presentations suited to a range of audiences, including school lectures, public lectures and research colloquia (subject to negotiation with the various AIP branches and their contacts). School and public lectures are expected to be of interest to non-specialist physics audiences, and to increase awareness among students and their families of the possibilities offered by continuing to study physics. University lectures will be presented at a level suitable for the individual audience (professional or graduate).

Find out more: 2024 WiP Lecture Tour

In 2025, to celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, COSMOS Magazine and the Australian Institute of Physics will showcase all things quantum, inspiring the next generation of quantum pioneers.  We want quantum to be understood by everyone, the challenge is how to explain quantum physics to the younger generation as they embrace this collaborative STEM field.

Why not share your knowledge and passion for quantum through our QUANTUM EXPLAINED CHALLENGE.  Imagine you have 90 seconds or 250 words to explain your topic to a middle secondary school audience (12 – 14 years old).  Focus your content on either ‘Quantum Made Clear’ or ‘Quantum in Action’ as you share your expertise using ‘everyday language’, to help those who aren’t experts further their understanding.

COSMOS Magazine and the Australian Institute of Physics will select the best entries for inclusion in a ‘Quantum Explained’ education resource collection to be shared through COSMOS Magazine and Double Helix publications across 2025.

How to be involved:

• Select a focus area linked with ‘Quantum Made Clear’ or ‘Quantum in Action’.

Quantum Made Clear - share the science that underpins quantum, help those who       aren’t experts understand how quantum connects to the science around them.

Quantum in Action - share the ways in which quantum is shaping our world and solving global challenges, include examples of the impact quantum can bring to our lives.

• Create and submit a 90 second video or a 250-word article. All submissions must be in English.
• Find out more and submit your content using the link below. Please include your Name, Organisation, Role Title, and Contact Details. 
• Submissions must be received no later than 5pm, Monday 2^nd December 2024.

Submit Entries Here

• • be over 18 years of age at the time of content creation
  • work and/or study in a field connected with quantum science and technology (scientist, STEM educator/teacher, researcher, science communicator)
  • hold the rights to all images, sound and music included in content
  • acknowledge that all judging decisions by COSMOS Magazine and the Australian Institute of Physics are final

Professor Matthew Bailes heads Australia’s research into fast radio bursts (FRBs) and gravitational waves, both of which are leading to important breakthroughs in astrophysics and cosmology. He and his team discovered the first FRB, a massively energetic flash of radiation from a distant galaxy.

Congratulations Professor Bailes, Swinburne University of Technology and ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), for receiving the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.

Dr Andrew Horsley founded Quantum Brilliance, making quantum devices with diamonds. He and his team conducted research to address the key barriers to using synthetic diamond for room temperature quantum computing. He has unlocked pathways for quantum computing to become an everyday technology.

Congratulations Dr Horsley for receiving the 2024 Prize for New Innovators.

Distinguished Professor Tianyi Ma has developed new technologies including a floating device that uses solar energy to produce hydrogen from seawater, and a way of turning carbon dioxide into fuels such as ethanol. His research is supporting Australia’s transition to clean energy and net zero.

Congratulations Professor Ma, RMIT University, for receiving the 2024 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.

More about the 2024 PM's Prizes winners here.

Congratulations to Professor Michael Edmund Tobar, The University of Western Australia, who was awarded the Harrie Massey Medal and Prize.

Michael created and undertook numerous new precision measurement techniques and experiments in the field of time and frequency, and low temperature quantum physics, with the goal of solving some of the biggest questions in fundamental physics. These led to several translational outcomes.

The Massey Medal is a gift of the Institute of Physics (UK) to the AIP. It will be presented at AIP Congress in December by IOP President Elect Michele Dougherty.

The biennial Award recognises outstanding contributions to physics made by an Australian citizen working anywhere in the world, or by an Australian resident for work carried out in Australia.

More about the award.

Congratulations to the following members who have been recognised with AIP Awards for outstanding accomplishments in research, leadership, communication, and industry.

Professor Joanne Etheridge (Monash University) has been awarded the Walter Boas Medal for Excellence in Research, recognising her “development of electron scattering methods to determine the structure of condensed matter at the atomic scale and the application of these methods to understand structure-property relationships in functional materials.”

Associate Professor David Simpson (University of Melbourne) has been awarded the Alan Walsh Medal for Service to Industry. A/Prof Simpson’s award recognises his work in the “industry translation and commercialisation of diamond quantum sensor technology.”

Dr Judith Pollard (University of Adelaide) has been awarded the Award for Outstanding Service to Physics in Australia, recognising her “outstanding work as the Australian Institute of Physics Honorary Treasurer and for services to Australian physics”.

Professor Jodie Bradby (Australian National University) has been awarded the Women in Leadership Medal, recognising her“leadership at the Australian Institute of Physics including strategic advocacy and community building at the national level and for her long-standing work in gender equity.”

Associate Professor Suzie Sheehy (University of Melbourne) has been awarded the Physics Communication Award, recognising her “narrative-based, human-centric approach to engage millions of readers, viewers and listeners throughout her career-long commitment to physics communication, raising the profile of physics with audiences of a diverse range of ages and backgrounds in Australia and internationally”.

Dr Cullan Howlett (University of Queensland) has been awarded Ruby Payne-Scott Award for Excellence in Early-Career Research, recognising “his development, leadership, and analysis of the largest galaxy surveys in the world, leading to new insights into the fundamental ingredients and forces that make up our Universe.”

Dr Matthew Berrington (Australian National University) has been awarded the Bragg Gold Medal for Excellence in Physics, recognising the most outstanding PhD thesis in physics or its applications by a student from an Australian University, for the thesis titled: “Optical studies of magnetically ordered erbium crystals.”

Sophie A. Young (University of Tasmania) has been awarded the Thomas H Laby Medal, recognising the most outstanding Honours or Masters thesis in physics by a student from an Australian University, for the thesis titled: “Free-Free Absorption in Young Radio Galaxies”.

These awards, plus the Harrie Massey Medal (to be announced soon), will be presented at the AIP Congress in December.

Early bird discounts for the Congress have been extended one week and close Friday 6 September. Register here.

Associate Professor David Simpson(University of Melbourne) has been awarded the Alan Walsh Medal for Service to Industry. A/Prof Simpson’s award recognises his work in the “industry translation and commercialisation of diamond quantum sensor technology.”

He currently leads the development of diamond-based magnetic microscopy techniques to explore the magnetic properties of biological systems at the single cell level. In 2013, Dr Simpson was part of the team awarded, The University of NSW Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Research, for work on quantum probes in biology. His broader research interests include quantum measurement, nanoscale magnetic resonance spectroscopy and the material properties of diamond.

Dr Judith Pollard (University of Adelaide) has been awarded the Award for Outstanding Service to Physics in Australia, recognising her “outstanding work as the Australian Institute of Physics Honorary Treasurer and for services to Australian physics”.

She is a past winner of the AIP’s Education Medal, in recognition of her achievements in improving physics education at universities in Australia. Judith’s emphasis has been on making physics real for university students.

Associate Professor Suzie Sheehy(University of Melbourne) has been awarded the Physics Communication Award, recognising her “narrative-based, human-centric approach to engage millions of readers, viewers and listeners throughout her career-long commitment to physics communication, raising the profile of physics with audiences of a diverse range of ages and backgrounds in Australia and internationally”.

When she’s not developing new particle accelerators for applications in medicine, she is communicating science to the masses. Her 2018 TED talk has been viewed over 1.8M times and she has been an expert TV presenter for a number of Discovery Channel shows including four seasons of Impossible Engineering. Suzie has shared real-life demonstrations and experiments with hundreds of thousands of audience members. In 2022 she published her first popular science book: The Matter of Everything: Twelve Experiments that Changed Our World (Bloomsbury).