Category Archives: Bulletin

Bulletin

Three Australian physicists with exciting research; Australian Space Agency partners with NASA; and more physics in October

I hope you have been enjoying the diversity of careers highlighted in our Hidden Physicist column. This month we meet Mark Turner, an Australian physicist who recently launched a start-up on laser micro-machining in Silicon Valley in the US.

The call for abstracts for the second AIP Summer Meeting is has been extended a few more days, and the early-bird registration is now open. We are excited to offer this conference, which aims to showcase upcoming talent in physics. I hope to see you at RMIT in Melbourne in December!

Nominations for the 2019 NSW Community Outreach to Physics Award will close on Friday 11th October. More below.

Congratulations to the three physics projects among the 2019 Australian Laureate Fellows announced in September, and to the Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) team at the University of Adelaide for creating the first ATTA facility in the Southern Hemisphere. Read more below.

An opportunity has arisen to help deliver the Australian Science Olympiads physics program as the Deputy Program Director of the event. Details below.

Also this month: The Australian Space agency partners with NASA, apply for the CSIRO Alumni 2020 Scholarship in Physics, and find an opportunity in our Jobs Corner.

Kind regards,

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

Continue reading Three Australian physicists with exciting research; Australian Space Agency partners with NASA; and more physics in October →
Bulletin

AIP Summer Meeting; jobs; conferences; and more physics in September

The call for abstracts for the Summer Meeting is now open. We are excited to offer this conference as a ‘cheap and cheerful’ opportunity on our off-Congress years. All welcome and we especially hope to see lots of our students and ECR members there.

Senior Instrument Scientist and neutron-scattering expert Helen Maynard-Casely’s Women in Physics Lecture Tour has finished after a mammoth 40+ lectures! I attended her talk in Canberra and loved going on a journey through the amazing crystals of solar system. I was so impressed by her storytelling skills. More below.  

Congratulations also to Pegah Maasoumi, who has been touring around Queensland spreading the word about foldable mobile phones, Ironman’s suit and solar panel winners on the John Mainstone Youth Lecture Tour.

National Science Week was again a success last month and featured everything from coffee in space with our Australian Physics co-editor Davis Hoxley, the Einstein Lecture with Elisabetta Barberio, and a look at whether bigger telescopes are always better, with Richard de Grijs. Well done to everyone who helped to spread the word about physics during the week.

Congratulations to the Dark Matter Particle Physics team with the announcement of their Centre of Excellence. More below.

Congratulations as well to all winners at last week’s Eureka Prizes. While seven physicists were finalists this year, sadly none walked away with a trophy. Next year!

Also this month: Register your interest for the International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors 2020; Virginia Trimble receives cultural award in physics; meet Jane Turner – our September Hidden Physicist; and find an opportunity in our Jobs Corner.

Kind regards,

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

Continue reading AIP Summer Meeting; jobs; conferences; and more physics in September →
Bulletin

Neutrons will save the world; physicists in the Eureka Awards; how to survive the end of the universe during National Science Week; and more physics in august

National Science Week is happening from August 10 to 18 and is packed with many wonderful physics events. We’ve selected some of the best physics events around the country and listed them below.

“How neutrons will save the world” is the topic of our 2019 Women in Physics lecture, given by Dr Helen Maynard-Casely from ANSTO. Helen has now begun her tour in Tasmania and after 36 talks all over Australia will finish at the Girls in Physics Breakfast in Melbourne on Wednesday 28 August. Good luck Helen! More below.

The AIP national executive team were at ANU last week for a packed two days of strategic planning, priority-setting and discussions. We are working on a strategic plan and new opportunities to promote all things physics in Australia. Stay tuned for more in the coming months.

Several physicists were announced last week as finalists for the 2019 Eureka Prizes. Read all about them here. Winners will be announced at the end of this month. Good luck to all finalists!

I really enjoyed the great posts on the AIP Instagram account from the Australians attending the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Germany last month. SBS journalist Lydia Feng also attended the meetings and wrote about the young women levelling out gender imbalance in science. Women comprised eight out of the 13 physicists chosen by the Australian Academy of Science to attend.

Also this month: Nominate for the 2019 NSW Community Outreach to Physics award, read about the speediest quantum operation yet, meet Registered Patent Attorney Matthew Lay – our August Hidden Physicist, and find an opportunity in our Jobs Corner.

Kind regards,
Jodie Bradby
President, Australian Institute of Physics

Continue reading Neutrons will save the world; physicists in the Eureka Awards; how to survive the end of the universe during National Science Week; and more physics in august →
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.

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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 →