Dear {Contact_First_Name},

We had a very successful Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 15 Feb which was well attended with representation from across the country.

One of the highlights was the adoption of a new Constitution, which you can read here. The amendments included measures for streamlining our operations and allowing us to apply for Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.

One challenge discussed was the recent decline in participation in physics at the high school level. This issue will be monitored, and I will report back with any updates. I am proud to note that the AIP is active in education and later this year there will be a STEM Education and Industry Forum, hosted by the AIP NSW Branch in association with the Teachers' Guild of NSW.

Staying on the topic of young scientists, if you are an early career researcher (ECR), please consider helping to improve the workplace environment and culture for future ECRs by participating in a survey by the Queensland University of technology (QUT).

In other news, I am pleased to announce that proposals for two new awards were adopted at the recent AIP Council Meeting:

  • AIP Medal for Women in Leadership
  • AIP Medal for Communication

Both awards will be presented every two years at our Congress. More details will be posted on the Medals, Awards and Honours page of our website soon.

The AIP Council has also elected Bruce McKellar as an AIP Honorary Fellow. We recently acknowledged him with an AIP award for Outstanding Service to Physics in Australia

On the sombre side, it is with sadness that I inform you that Moira Welch passed away. She received the Outstanding Service to Physics Award in 2003, partly for her service to the AIP in various roles.

I am writing this introduction to the bulletin from an actual, in-person scientific meeting, which is a very welcome and almost forgotten experience for me.

While most speakers and panellists are present in person, a few are joining the meeting online and I reflect that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a great learning experience in this regard.

Finally, my thoughts go out to those affected by the flood crisis in Queensland and the conflict in Ukraine.

All the best,

Sven Rogge
President, Australian Institute of Physics
aip_president@aip.org.au

 

More than a singular highlight

The 11th Australasian Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation

 ‘From Black-Hole Singularities to Cyclic Cosmology’ was the public lecture delivered by Professor Sir Roger Penrose at the recent 11th ACGRG.

Prof Penrose was jointly awarded the 2020 Physics Nobel Prize with Profs Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for their work on black holes.

Read more highlights from the ACGRG here.

 

Changes to the AIP Constitution passed unanimously

2022 AIP Annual General Meeting

Changes to the AIP Constitution that allow us to apply for Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status and include measures to modernise our operations were passed unanimously at the AGM on 15 Feb. An updated set of associated by-laws were also passed at the subsequent AIP Council meeting.

The AGM, which was held over Zoom, was well-attended with over 40 members present. Thank you to everyone that attended and contributed .

Read more here.

 

From refugee to theoretical physicist to STEM Ambassador

Professor Tien Kieu #PhysicsGotMeHere

A theoretical physicist by training, Prof Tien Kieu balances his STEM ambassadorship and parliamentary roles with his ongoing quantum research. 

One can take a person out of physics, but deep down one cannot take the physics out of the person, so goes some saying.”

Read more here.

 

Solar, terrestrial & space physics: coming up in Australian Physics

A recent solar storm knocked 40 of 49 newly-launched SpaceX satellites out of orbit, demonstrating why monitoring space weather is important.

The next edition of Australian Physics is brought to you by the Solar, Terrestrial & Space Physics (STSP) group of the AIP.

Read more here.

 

Renew your AIP membership to retain benefits

Remember to renew your membership before 31 Mar to stay a financial member of the AIP and retain your AIP membership benefits. To renew, visit here

 

More news

  • On a sad note, we acknowledge the recent passing of Ms Moira J Welch, who was awarded our 2003 Outstanding Service to Physics in Australia Award, partly for her roles as NSW Branch Chair and AIP Honorary Secretary.
  • zOOm into Physics, our light-hearted online discussion on physics-related topics, resumes on 23 Mar. Topic, TBA. Watch this space for updates. 
  • Help inform changes to the workplace culture and environment for future early career researchers in Australia by participating in a survey by QUT. If you are an ECR and have worked less than 10 years in Australia, please consider sharing your challenging experiences. Survey closes 13 Mar.
  • Quantum computers, circle arc templates, nanomedicine, planets & populations: catch up on major discoveries in the sciences at the Frontiers of Science Forum  in Sydney on 25 Mar.
  • Nominate a young physicist with prominent research achievements for the 2022 Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS) and Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) Chen-Ning Yang Award. Hurry - submissions close 1 Mar. More details under News here.
 

The most important experiment, jobs & neutrinos: Australian Physics in 2002

From the vault: Ten years ago, the Mar—Apr 2002 edition of Australian Physics  featured:

  • 'The Most Important Experiment Ever Performed by an Australian Physicist'
  • The outlook of jobs in physics
  • Current VP Prof Nicole Bell wins the 2002 Bragg Gold Medal for her thesis 'Neutrino Oscillations and the Early Universe'
Read this edition, and other editions here.  

 

Upcoming events 

Scicomm comedy event: A Flying Photon, presented by Rachel Rayner | Adelaide | 1 — 14 Mar  

AIP Theoretical Physics Group Webinar: 'Composite quantum particles at the interface with gravit— foundations and new insights' by Dr Magdalena Zych (UQ) | Online | 3 Mar

Australasian Radiation Protection Society Conference | Canberra | — 10 Mar 

Frontiers of Science Forum, presented by the AIP NSW, Royal Society of NSW and Royal Australian Chemical Institute | Sydney | 25 Mar

 Mathēmatica Sōlis et Terrae: An Australian Academy of Science – Elizabeth and Frederick White Research Conference | Canberra & Online | 11 – 13 Apr

International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors | Sydney | 26 Jun — 1 Jul

STEM Education and Industry Forum - AIP and NSW and the Teacher's Guild of NSW | Sydney | 28 Sep 

24th AIP Congress | Adelaide | 11 — 16 Dec

Are you running an event? Email the details to your branch chair or events@aip.org.au and it can be posted to the AIP website. Some events are profiled in our monthly newsletter and shared through the AIP social media accounts. 

     

    Australian physics in the news

    • Keeping Australia's quantum advantage: the importance of supporting local expertise (ACS: Information Age)
    • The mission to reduce the carbon footprint of astronomy (space.com)
    • 24 million stars in new stellar calatog could unlock Milky Way's secrets (Newsweek
    • Two-dimensional material could store quantum information at room temperature (Phys Org)
    • Quantum leap: Has next-gen computing moved from hype to hope? (The Age)
    • University of Western Australia: Scientists track space junk on path to collision with moon (India Education Diary)
    • Our universe probably isn't special enough to be in a multiverse (Popular Science)
    • Is there gravitational attraction between matter and antimatter? (Cosmos)
    • Is math the key to quantum entanglement protection? (IEEE Spectrum)
       

      Jobs corner

      Multiple PhD scholarship opportunities

      Multiple PhD scholarship opportunities are available for eligible, outstanding students in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane.

      If you are finishing your undergraduate training and thinking of pursuing a PhD program, apply for a project with FLEET to perform high impact research, build the future of electronics, and train to be a science leader.

      Submit your Expression of Interest here

      Applications always open.

      Other opportunities

      See here for a list of selected physics-related jobs, including Superconductor Theoretician for CSIRO, Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Materials/Battery Research), and Physics Teacher.

      The 2022 Editions of Physics World Careers and APS Careers, which are excellent and free resources on Physics careers, can be accessed here and here.

      We can provide a free link to your physics-related job or PhD opportunity. If you would like to advertise your job, we can feature more details and a picture for a small cost. Email Kirrily Rule for more information.

       

      Contact us

       

      Thank you to our supporters


      Advertise with the AIP today! Contact aip@aip.org.au 

      Sent by Science in Public, on behalf of the Australian Institute of Physics, www.aip.org.au. Enquiries and contributions to: Tara Bautista by the 20th of each month physics@scienceinpublic.com.au / (03) 9398 1416

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