The Women in Physics Lecture tour celebrates the contribution of women, everywhere, to advances in physics. This annual tour selects one outstanding lecturer each year to showcase her contribution in the field of physics.

The AIP is thrilled to announce that Dr Karen Livesey, theoretical physicist at the University of Newcastle, will be touring Australia in 2023 as the AIP’s Women in Physics Lecturer.

Free public talks in Sep as part of 2022 Women in Physics Lecture Tour in SA, WA,*** NSW and QLD

QLD events will also be streamed online

What’s the difference between a meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite? How do you measure quakes on Mars and what do they tell us about the structure of Mars’ interior? How do you go about it if you want to work with NASA?

Find out from planetary scientist Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic, our 2022 Women in Physics Lecturer.

She’ll be giving free public talks this month in Adelaide, Perth*** , Newcastle, and Brisbane. Everyone is invited. The events in Brisbane are a reschedule from the cancelled July dates.

Katarina will be talking about her modelling work on impact processes and cratering mechanics, and how these affect the evolution of planets. She will also provide insights on her involvement in billion-dollar space missions and her unique career path.

She was a co-author on a recent Nature paper that traced the source of a Mars meteorite that crashed into Africa.

Register to attend her public talks:

• Tue 6 Sep at University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 6:30 pm onwards.
• Thu 22 Sep at Curtin University*, Perth, 5:30 –7:40 pm. ***
• Wed 28 Sep at University of Newcastle, Newcastle, 7 – 8 pm.
• Thu 29 Sep at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane and Online, 4:30 – 5:30 pm.
• Fri 30 Sep at University of Queensland**, Brisbane and Online, 11 am – 12 pm.  

* The talk at Curtin University will follow an expo featuring science demonstrations and hands-on activities in physics, featuring impact craters, rocks from space, and space exploration.

** This is a physics colloquium geared towards those with physics training.

*** Curtin University talk rescheduled for 1 Dec due to the new 22 Sep public holiday.

As part of her lecture tour, Katarina will also give private talks to high school students and participate in afternoon teas with university students studying physics and early career researchers.

Read more about Katarina and the lecture tour here.

CANCELLED: Due to unforeseen circumstances, all QLD events of the 2022 Women in Physics lecture tour will not be going ahead.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We hope to re-schedule the events, either in-person or online, at a later date.

Please watch this space for more announcements.

Free public talks by Women in Physics Lecturer Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic in Melbourne in July.

Women invited to participate in Girls in Physics Breakfasts in VIC.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: QLD EVENTS CANCELLED - more below.

The 2022 Women in Physics (WiP) Lecture Tour continues with events in QLD from 18-20 July and in VIC from 27-28 July.

The title of the WiP lecture is ‘Impacts! Rocks from space colliding with planets’ and will give given by planetary scientist A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic (Curtin University). She will describe her work on impact processes, cratering mechanics, and shock physics applied to geological materials.

She’s already given lectures at high schools, universities and public venues in NSW and ACT, including Science Space (Wollongong) and Questacon.

This month, A/Prof Miljkovic will give free talks open to the public on:

• Tues 19 Jul at Room 7-22, Parnell, Bldg, University of Queensland, 2 - 3 pm. 
• Wed 20 Jul at The Gibson Room (Z Block, Level 10), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, 11 am - 12 pm.
• Wed 27 Jul at Storey Hall, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Melbourne, 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

Click on the event venues for more details and to register.

A/Prof Miljkovic will also participate in the Girls in Physics Breakfasts occurring across VIC. These events are an opportunity for students in years 10 – 12 to share a table with women in physics or engineering and ask them about their work and lives.  She will participate in the event on 28 Jul at the William Angliss Institute, Melbourne.

Women in physics or engineering (including those studying these subjects at university) are invited to attend and participate in the Girls in Physics Breakfasts by registering here.

A/Prof Milkovic will also give private talks at senior high schools in Brisbane, Cairns, and Melbourne.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

CANCELLED: Due to unforeseen circumstances, all QLD events of the 2022 Women in Physics lecture tour will not be going ahead.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We hope to re-schedule the events, either in-person or online, at a later date. Please watch this space for more announcements.

More information

To read more about A/ Prof Miljkovic and her work, as well as the lecture tour, visit here.

Further requests for information about the Girls in Physics Breakfasts can be directed to the organiser, Dan O’Keefe.

A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic will be giving free talks open to the public at the following NSW and ACT venues:

• Tues 31 May at Macquarie University, North Ryde, 6 - 7 pm.
• Wed 1 Jun at Science Space, North Wollongong, 6.30 - 7.30 pm. 
• Thu 2 Jun, at UNSW Canberra, Canberra, 5.30 - 7 pm.

Click on the events for more details and to register.

She will also be giving at talk at the follow event but it is only open for physicists at the Australian National University:

• Thu 2 Jun, at Australian National University, Canberra/online, 2 - 3 pm.

The 2022 Women in Physics Lectureship tour kicks off at the end of May and runs through to September.

Planetary scientist Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic from Curtin University will be giving a lecture series entitled ‘Impacts! Rocks from space colliding with planets’.

The Women in Physics Lectureship is awarded annually to recognise and publicise significant contributions by a woman to advancing a field of physics and to inspire future physicists.

A/Prof Miljkovic will be giving her lecture to schools, academics, and the general public.

Catch a speak peek of what she’ll be talking about in Impact: Beyond the Night Sky (2020), a short documentary written and directed by Kath Dooley. This immerse, 360, virtual-reality documentary was a finalist in the best experimental film category at the 2022 Atom Awards. 

The currently confirmed dates for the lecture tour are:

• NSW: 30 May – 1 Jun
• ACT: 2 – 3 Jun
• QLD: 18 – 20 Jul
• VIC: 27 – 28 Jul
• TAS: 8 – 10 Aug
• SA: 6 – 8 Sep
• WA: 22 Sep

Further tour dates in WA are TBA. Watch out on social media and in next month’s newsletter for venues and times.

“When imagining the space in our Solar System, many people think of a dark silent void but the space around us is not empty; it is filled with particles, with dust, and with rocks – some very small and some large.  The history of our Universe is a history of impacts when things collide.” – A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic in Impact: Beyond the Night Sky (2020).

Photo credit: TAKE2STEM.