Category Archives: News

Bulletin

AIP Summer Meeting; neutrons will save the world; foldable phones; jobs; and more physics in July

We are excited to announce that the AIP is running a Summer Meeting on 3rd – 6th December 2019 at RMIT University in Melbourne. The meeting aims to showcase the upcoming talent in physics and will offer career development opportunities for students and early career researchers, including a jobs fair and a brilliant scientific program. Details here https://aip-summer-meeting.com/

A group of Australian students are attending the 29th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany and they’re taking over our new AIP Instagram account. See what they’re doing here.

July 5th 2019 marks the International Day of LGBTQ+ People in STEM. I’m so proud to be the president of an organisation that supports diversity and inclusion in STEM. And take a look at our social media accounts that have gone rainbow for the day!

This month in our new Hidden Physicists section, we’re featuring Eliza-Jane Pearsall, who is loving her job as Assistant Director of Policy Analysis at the Department of Social Security. Get in touch if you’d like to nominate a ‘hidden’ physicist for us to profile. More below.

This month Harvard physicist Lene Hau will present ‘Nothing goes faster than light… usually!’ at UNSW on July 23rd. For August: Helen Maynard-Casely will tour the country to talk about how neutrons will save the world for the Women in Physics lectures; Pegah Maasoumi will be around Queensland, talking about Ironman’s suit and solar panel windows on the John Mainstone lecture tour; and Elisabetta Barberio will present the 2019 Einstein lecture exploring what we know so far about dark matter. Details below.

I am also very proud to say that we found two Australian physicists honoured in the Queen’s Birthday 2018 Honours list. Congratulations to Olivia Samardzic and Michelle Simmons! Olivia is a long-time AIP executive team member and looks after the AIP awards and medals, and Michelle of course is a quantum physicist and 2018 Australian of the Year. If you know of other physicists, please let us know.

We await the results of the South Australian Science Excellence Awards with shortlisted physicists Andre Luiten and James Tickner. Good luck!

In WA, hear from medical physicist Pejman Rowshanfarzad about the latest advances in radiotherapy machines at the WA Branch AIP General Meeting on Thursday 11th July. Register by emailing WA Branch Chair Dean Leggo.

Also this month: mentoring and guidance in careers (MAGIC) workshop for women ECRs, five of Australia’s brightest students to attend the International Physics Olympiad in Israel, apply for a role at CSIRO as an optical satellite systems engineer and more jobs in our Jobs Corner.

Finally, if you know someone considering becoming a member, let them know that now is an excellent time to join. From July 1st, new members pay only 50 per cent of the membership rates for the remainder of the year.

Continue reading AIP Summer Meeting; neutrons will save the world; foldable phones; jobs; and more physics in July →
Bulletin, Women in Physics

Canadian reciprocal rights for AIP members; Australian Academy of Science Awardees, the unravelling Great Red Spot; and more physics in June

I’m excited to announce that Nanotechnologist Tim Van der Laan will be joining the AIP team as our new Special Projects Officer for Outreach, focusing on digital content creation. Follow the new Instagram account at @aus_physics and send through your interesting and engaging physics pictures to Tim for posting on the account. Tim is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Queensland University of Technology, and he will work on ways to connect physicists with students and the broader community. Read about his plans below.

As well as our new Jobs Corner, this month we are introducing our ‘Hidden Physicists’ section, which profiles a physicist in the workforce. Our first profile is on ANU and UWA physics graduate Stuart Midgley, who now builds supercomputers at DownUnder GeoSolutions to process seismic data for mining companies.

In other good news we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Canadian Association of Physics (CAP) in May. This is a fantastic achievement and allows AIP members to attend CAP Congresses at member rates, subscribe to CAP’s magazine and be invited to speak at CAP Congress. Congratulations to our hard-working secretary Kirrily Rule who is working to set up MOUs and reciprocity agreements with other physics societies around the world. The response has been very positive, so watch this space!

In May I had the pleasure of attending the Asian Physics Olympiad in Adelaide—the first time the event was held in Australia. Congratulations to the young physicists on the Australian team who competed in two five-hour exams – one experimental and the other theory-based. I also had the pleasure of speaking on ABC RN Breakfast Radio with Siobhan Tobin about the Olympiad, women in STEM and optics. Have a listen here and read more below. 

If you’re in WA, come along to the WA Branch AIP General Meeting on Thursday 11th July. Medical physicist Pejman Rowshanfarzad will be guest lecturer, speaking about the latest advances in radiotherapy machines. More below.

Also this month: Australian Academy of Science Honorific Awards, attend the last Girls in Physics Breakfast for the year, apply for a graduate position at the Bureau of Meteorology, Jupiter’s shrinking Great Red Spot, and the last chance to be a presenter at Physics in the Pub in Melbourne.

Kind regards,

Jodie Bradby
President, Australian Institute of Physics
aip_president@aip.org.au

Continue reading Canadian reciprocal rights for AIP members; Australian Academy of Science Awardees, the unravelling Great Red Spot; and more physics in June →
Bulletin, Women in Physics

Asia’s toughest physics competition; understanding the foldable mobile phone, the first image of a black hole; and more physics in May

Join our election campaign to ‘solve it with science’. The AIP has signed up to Science and Technology Australia’s call for a science focus this election, alongside 100 other leaders from the science and technology sector. The call to action is in response to declines in research funding, falling business investment, freezes to government support of universities and insufficient STEM graduates to meet future demands. You can support the campaign by joining the conversation on Twitter at #SolveitwithScience or by writing to or meeting your local member or candidates. Read more on the STA website and in last month’s bulletin.

See Pegah Maasoumi in Queensland in August talking about the mystery of foldable mobile phones and next-gen apartment windows that can produce light. Congratulations and thank you Pegah, our 2019 John Mainstone Youth Lecturer and past Chair of our Women in Physics Group.

Our newly-elected Chair of the Women in Physics Group is nanotechnologist Victoria Coleman. Victoria has a strong interest in equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM and we’re delighted that she is taking on this role.

Last month I was lucky enough to attend the announcement of the Australian team for the Asian Physics Olympiad—eight teens who will compete against more than 200 of the region’s smartest kids in Asia’s toughest physics competition (pictured right). It’s the first time the Olympiad will be held in Australia. We wish Stephen, Benjamin, Min-Je, Alexander, Jessie, William, Simon and Rosemary the best of luck in May!

Like me, I’m sure physicists around the country were very excited about the first image of a black hole released in April by the Event Horizon Telescope team. Although there weren’t any Australians involved, the picture was the result of almost a decade of preparation and involved a global collaboration of researchers. It’s an example of the amazing, seemingly impossible things that can be achieved with collaboration. Read more about the announcement below, or for a quick recap take a look at this great comic produced by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).

Also this month: apply for the Women in STEM early career grant and paper writing retreat, take part in a survey for ECRs to help improve job satisfaction, read more physics-related jobs in the new Jobs Corner section and put yourself forward to be a presenter at Physics in the Pub in Canberra or Melbourne.

Kind regards,

Jodie Bradby
President, Australian Institute of Physics

Continue reading Asia’s toughest physics competition; understanding the foldable mobile phone, the first image of a black hole; and more physics in May →
Bulletin, Women in Physics

Cleaning the Sydney Harbour Bridge with lasers; make science a focus this election; and more physics in April

It’s been an exciting month for Australian physics. And particularly for women in physics. We started with a call for gender balance around the world on International Women’s Day earlier this month. The AIP is striving to achieve gender balance in a variety of ways, including the Women in Physics group and annual Women in Physics lecture tour that supports a female physicist touring the country. 

I’m very excited to announce the Women in Physics lecturer for 2019: a talented physicist who will be spreading the good word about how neutrons can save the world. Read on to see who it is! 

We thank Pegah Maasoumi for her time as the Chair of the Women in Physics group for the last two years. We are looking for a new chair of this committee. Please send in an expression of interest if you’d like to take on this important role.

The cut off to renew your AIP membership was last Sunday, but it’s easy to renew (just email aip@aip.org.au with your request). If you need your memory jogged about all the benefits of being a member of AIP, read on below.

Jacq Romero is on a winning streak and will receive $1 million in combined funding over three years for the Westpac Research Fellowship. Our 1999 Women in Physics lecturer, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, has donated her £2.3m Breakthrough Prize to the Institute of Physics to a new PhD scholarship fund to encourage greater diversity in physics. Register your interest to keep up to date with the Scholarship Fund.

I attended Science and Technology Australia’s (STA) President and CEO Forum in Sydney last week. STA represents more than 77,000 scientists and technology workers and is heavily focused on promoting science in the upcoming election cycle. We added the AIP logo to the STA media release as part of the #SolveitwithScience campaign (along with those of almost 100 other Australian science and technology organisations!) I encourage you to support the campaign by writing to or meeting your local member or candidates. More below.

The 14th Asia-Pacific Physics Conference will be held in Malaysia from 17-22 November. Only eight Australians are registered so far and it would be great to see a stronger Australian cohort. Last time this conference was held in Australia. Submit your abstracts before Monday 15th April.

Also in April: the largest telescope in Victoria officially opened, physicists found that quantum tunnelling is instantaneous, National Science Week grants are open and it’s prize season so don’t forget to nominate, or encourage others to nominate today.

Finally, as part of a push to make the AIP a useful resource for our student and ECR members, keep an eye out in our new section called Jobs Corner. We’re going to start featuring physics-related jobs. Send us through any opportunities you’d like to advertise and we’ll include a link for free.

Kind regards,
Jodie Bradby

President, Australian Institute of Physics

Continue reading Cleaning the Sydney Harbour Bridge with lasers; make science a focus this election; and more physics in April →
Bulletin

Our new president; commercialising physics; the infinite shapes of particles of light; and more physics news in March

It is with great enthusiasm and delight that I step into the role of the new President of the AIP. I’m looking forward to meeting many of you over the coming years at AIP events. I would like to take this opportunity to first warmly thank Andrew Peele for his hard work and dedication to the role of President over the past two years. Big shoes to fill.

It has been a busy start to the year. The AIP was recently involved in the review of the Australian decadal plan for Australian Physics and in mid-February the AIP had our Council Meeting and AGM. Given that the AIP has seven state branches, eighttopical groups and nine Cognate Societies council meetings are always a very full two days. The scope of activities undertaken over the past 12 months was very impressive, as are many of the exciting events currently being planned for this coming year.

The council meeting was also a chance to welcome our new Vice-President Sven Rogge from UNSW to the AIP national executive. Sven will take over as AIP President for two years from 2021—so the future is looking bright. We also fondly farewelled Warrick Couch as he stepped down from the national executive as Immediate Past President. You can read more on the Exec team below.

The review of the Physics Decadal Plan at the Shine Dome also was a full two days. You can see my recap below. We’re aiming to publish the final review report by October and will need the support of the Australian Physics community to review and then ultimately implement this plan—so watch this space!

Last month the independent review into the Defence Trade Controls Act was praised by Universities Australia, the Group of Eight, the Australian Academy of Science and others. The AIP hopes that Australia adopts the recommendations of the review of the Defence Trade Controls Act—a sensible and workable approach that enables researchers to interact smoothly with our colleagues overseas and in industry without compromising Australia’s national security.

And if you’ve been thinking about commercialising your physics research but need some tips, the very successful entrepreneur Andre Luiten offers some suggestions as head of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) at the University of Adelaide and co-founder of Cryoclock Pty Ltd. More below.

It’s my pleasure to congratulate quantum physicist and AIP member Jacq Romero who has been selected as a L’Oréal International Rising Talent. Congratulations on this wonderful achievement—hot on the heels of her AIP Ruby Payne-Scott Award! This year we’ll be featuring science prizes, job opportunities and conferences, especially for our early-career and student members. Please spread the word and encourage others to get involved with the AIP.

Follow the AIP at @ausphysics on Twitter and Facebook for updates on physics news, events, prizes and job opportunities around the country.

Kind regards,

Jodie Bradby
President, Australian Institute of Physics
aip_president@aip.org.au Continue reading Our new president; commercialising physics; the infinite shapes of particles of light; and more physics news in March →

Bulletin

Hear Elisabetta Barberio speak about Higgs boson at the AGM in Melbourne; AIP Congress highlights; and the world’s thinnest hologram

The AGM is a great opportunity for members to give feedback on the future direction of the AIP. It will be held at The University of Melbourne on February 11th and 12th 2019. Everyone is welcome to attend and particle physicist Elisabetta Barberio will give a public lecture about the Higgs boson and the search for physics beyond the standard model.

On Australia Day four physicists were appointed to the Australian Honour Roll. Congratulations to Elaine Sadler, Ron Ekers, David Malin and Albert Pittock. Saturday also marked the end to quantum physicist Michelle Simmons’ tenure as 2018 Australian of the Year. Congratulations Michelle on a wonderful year.

Congratulations to the remarkable Tanya Monro on her new appointment as Chief Scientist at the Defence Science and Technology Group. It’s 20 years since Tanya won the Bragg Gold Medal for the best physics PhD thesis. We wish you all the best in the new role.

We had a fantastic conclusion to 2018 with 789 attendees at our Congress in Perth, including a dozen excellent plenary speakers from around the world. Read more below about the plenary talks about gravitational wave detection, metamaterials that can act as invisibility cloaks, and holographic optical tweezers. Our next Congress will be in 2020 in Adelaide—thank you to Andre Luiten and his team for hosting.

Congratulations to the six 2018 AIP medallists: including particle physicist Elisabetta Barberio, optical and quantum physicist Jacqui Romero, Michael Johnston for his significant contributions to applied science, Andre Luiten for his leadership in commercialising breakthrough research to support industry needs, Yevgeny Stadnik for their thesis on dark matter and fundamental constants, and Maria Parappilly for significant contributions to physics education in Australia. More on those awards below and a story about how Maria is making physics more accessible to students.

There’s another chance to have your say on the future of physics following the meeting about the Physics Decadal Plan at the 2018 AIP Congress. The National Committee for Physics will be meeting in Canberra in the coming weeks to conduct the mid-term plan review, so please have your say in the survey online.

RMIT’s Min Gu has been recognised by the International Society of Optics and Photonics for his work designing the world’s thinnest hologram. More below.

We’re also helping circulate the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies’ bulletin to raise their profile. You can subscribe to their bi-monthly bulletin online, which aims to promote the research developments and activities in the field of physics in the Asia Pacific region.

This is my last bulletin as President of the AIP. Next month you will be hearing from Jodie Bradby, who will be taking over the reins.
It has been a busy and enjoyable two years where I think we have continued the good work of previous committees in communicating the vital importance of physics for all Australians. My profound thanks and respect goes to my fellow executive committee members, to our branch and other committees around the country, and to you—our active and innovative physics community!

Kind regards,

Andrew Peele
President, Australian Institute of Physics

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this introduction stated that it was 11 years ago since Tanya Monro won the Bragg Gold Medal. This online newsletter has been corrected to say 20 years ago.

Continue reading Hear Elisabetta Barberio speak about Higgs boson at the AGM in Melbourne; AIP Congress highlights; and the world’s thinnest hologram →

Bulletin

Big finish to 2018; AIP Congress; how new stars are formed in galaxies

As the 2018 Congress approaches and the year draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on the last 12 months as we gather our energy for 2019.

It’s been a stellar year for Australian physicists, with several of our own recognised with prestigious awards throughout the year.

bulletin

Top billing of course goes to Michelle Simmons, Australian of the Year 2018. Michelle has been a wonderful advocate of our discipline, bringing public awareness of quantum physics to the fore. Her team recently overcame yet another hurdle on the path to silicon quantum computing with the demonstration of a compact sensor for qubit readout (see Aussie Physics in the News).

Other notable mentions include:

  • Geophysicist Kurt Lambeck, recipient of the 2018 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science for his research on understanding the changing shape of planet Earth;
  • The award of four Eureka prizes to physicists – the optical physics in neuroscience team at UQ, Mohsen Rahmani at ANU, the sapphire clock team at the University of Adelaide and Cryoclock Pty Ltd, and Alan Duffy from Swinburne University and the Royal Institute of Australia;
  • Early career researcher Liam Hall from the University of Melbourne, who was awarded a 2018 Veski Innovation Fellowship for his work on applying quantum sensing to chemical reaction systems;
  • Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop AO (UQ) and Professor Jai Singh AM (Charles Darwin University), who were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday 2018 Honours list
  • The six physicists appointed to the Australian Honour roll.

This year the 2018 AIP Women in Physics Lecturer, plasma physicist Ceri Brenner, has done a tremendous job in advocating for physics and female physicists. She spoke at 30 events across Australia during National Science Week and was featured on ABC’s The World for her work in developing powerful lasers. Nominations for the 2019 Women in Physics Lecturer close on December 14, so if you know an Australian female physicist who has made significant contributions to the field, nominate today. More below.

In 2019 we must continue striving to ensure that the Australian public and government are well-informed of the benefits of physics research.

I hope to see you at the AIP Congress next week. And an announcement yesterday spread internationally about physicists who detected a gravitational wave signal that was produced by the biggest black hole collision seen so far. A huge congratulations to all involved and particularly to Susan Scott from the Australian National University, who will be presenting new results from the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Virgo at the Congress.

The highlight-packed program can be read on the AIP Congress website.

Continue reading Big finish to 2018; AIP Congress; how new stars are formed in galaxies →

Bulletin

Register for AIP Congress; Physics plan review; Grants and nominations

Oxford active-matter expert Julia Yeomans, China’s quantum guru Jianwei Pan and gravitational wave Nobel laureate Rainer Weiss. Among the usual dazzling array of presentations at the upcoming AIP Congress in Perth, these are three I’m particularly excited about. Not to mention a special announcement from OzGrav on the final day.

The Congress begins on the 9th of December and registrations are still open. Please join us.

The time has come for a mid-term review of the Physics Decadal Plan. If you have suggestions about new opportunities for physics in Australia, now is the time to make them. We’ll be discussing the Plan in a Town Hall session at Congress.

For schoolteachers and other physics educations, the Physics Education Group will also be running a lively program at Congress including workshops and networking sessions. Special registration rates for schoolteachers are available.

The past month has seen a strong crop of prizewinners in the physics world. Congratulations to all.

Geophysicist Kurt Lambeck received the 2018 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science, for revealing how our planet changes shape—every second, every day, and over millennia. His original work in the 1960s enabled accurate planning of space missions. It led him to use the deformation of continents during the ice ages to study changes deep in the mantle of the planet. It also led to a better understanding of the impact of sea level changes on human civilization in the past, present and future.

Laser physics was the star of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics. The prize was awarded half to Arthur Ashkin for inventing optical tweezers and half to Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for creating extremely short and intense laser pulses.

Mathematician Alison Harcourt was named 2019 Victorian Senior Australian of the Year in recognition of her pioneering work – still in use today – on statistical measures of poverty and the best way to arrange names on a ballot paper.

Liam Hall of the University of Melbourne was awarded a 2018 Veski Innovation Fellowship for taking quantum sensing into the realm of chemistry.

Also, I was honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering alongside 24 other leaders in research, industry and government. I very much see this as a recognition and reflection of the important role that physics and physicists play in the generation and translation of innovation for the benefit of society. I congratulate my fellow new Fellows, many of whom have backgrounds in the physical sciences.

Continue reading Register for AIP Congress; Physics plan review; Grants and nominations →

Bulletin

Nominate for an AIP Executive role; Quantum pancakes; Physics in the Pub; awards and nominations

I’m pleased to announce the nominated ticket for the Executive for the AIP for 2019. Read on for more information and the process for election.

The NSW AIP Branch is calling for nominations for its annual NSW Community Outreach to Physics Award, worth $500. The Award recognises an individual who is a role model to the physics community, promotes student interest in physics, and is an effective physics educator. Nominations close Friday 12 October.

If you know an outstanding physics teacher in Queensland, nominate them for the very first Outstanding Physics Teacher Award. The AIP Queensland Branch is inviting you to nominate high school physics teachers that have made a significant impact to physics education.

This month brings a lot of exciting news. There will be more on the Nobel Prize for physics―just awarded to Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for work in laser physics. Donna Strickland is the first woman in 55 years to be honoured for the Nobel Prize for physics. Stay tuned to our Twitter account for updates. The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science will also be announced later in October. This year mathematics and technology teachers are eligible for nomination in the Science Teaching Prize for the first time.

If you’re in Brisbane on Thursday 11 October, head to Phil Dooley’s Physics in the Pub event. It’s a great opportunity to support local physicists in a friendly, informal environment. Contact Phil directly if you’d like to get involved, or register on EventBrite.

Nominations for the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) Clunies Ross Awards are closing this month on Friday 26 October. Even if you applied last year and were unsuccessful, try again, or encourage others to apply. More information below.

Last month we learned of changes to the HSC physics syllabus in NSW. The new syllabus focusses on physics and its modern uses, rather than its history and development, but the changes have also meant that women and contributions to physics by women have been entirely removed.

As Kathryn Ross and Tom Gordon pointed out in an article in The Conversation, the new syllabus mentions 25 scientists by name and all are men. The danger here is ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’: students will find no female role models in the syllabus, and may come away with the idea that physics is not a field for women. The AIP is committed to gender equity through initiatives like the Women in Physics lecture tour, and we will continue to strive for gender balance in Australian physics. I have written a letter to the NSW Minister for Education expressing these concerns.

Kind regards,

Andrew Peele
President, Australian Institute of Physics
aip_president@aip.org.au

Continue reading Nominate for an AIP Executive role; Quantum pancakes; Physics in the Pub; awards and nominations →

Education, News, QLD, Teacher

QLD Outstanding Physics Teacher Award – nominate now!

The AIP-QLD is looking to introduce the outstanding Physics teacher award. We are looking for nominations of Physics teachers that have made a positive impact to teaching Physics to students at the high school level by anyone of the following criteria.

  1. Promote student interest in physics by providing an environment that stimulates student curiosity and learning.
  2. Use, develop or write innovative instructional materials and new technologies and approaches to the teaching of physics.
  3. Be a positive role model or mentor for other teachers of physics.
  4. Participate in professional development activities in science as a facilitator and continuous development as an effective science educator, with a focus on physics.

If you have a colleague, a former teacher of your own, or have heard of an inspiring teacher in your circle of friends, please consider nominating them for this years award by filling out the nomination form and sending this nomination (or any inquiries) by email to: aip_branchsecretary_qld@aip.org.au
Nominations close Friday 19th October 2018.