Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

The John Carver Seminar Series yesterday was simply fantastic! For me, this event is one of our annual highlights and celebrates the enormous contributions our HDR students make throughout the year. My congratulations to all the speakers, and after a tough deliberation with my fellow judges Kaitlin Cook and Shridhar Manjunath, it was a pleasure to award;

• John Carver Prize: Shankar Dutt (DMP)
• Dean’s Prize: Emily Rees (CGA)
• Director’s Prize and People’s choice: Raghda Abdel Khaleq (FTP)

My thanks to Luda Mangos and Siobhán Ryman for organising the event, and Ash Pascale for MC’ing. Photo Credit: Luda Mangos.

Last week I had the pure joy of seeing our new auditorium host children from local childcare facilities, as well as some staff families, to see Prof Chris Ferrie read several of his science books. The engagement by the children was wonderful and in seeing the enthusiasm for the topics I took the opportunity to donate several of his books to our local childcare centres. My thanks to the Women* in Physics group for arranging this event, and in particular to Prof Jodie Bradby (Head DMP) and Dr Noemi Bastidon (DMP) for much of the organisation. Chris later presented a more adult seminar on his motivations to write early childhood science literature (see below, photo credit Jodie Bradby).  

Just advance notice of another chance to meet some authors. On Wednesday, 19th October we will host a “Celebration of Optics” to commemorate the third edition of the “Guide to Experiments in Quantum Optics”, by Hans Bachor and Tim Ralph. We will hear from the authors for 10 min and adjourn to the Level 4 Terrace for drinks and nibbles. All are welcome.

Have a good week,
Tim

Music on the Greens is free local live music. Every Saturday from 12:00 pm and Sunday from 1:00 pm, local musicians perform live sets on the central Kambri Lawns.

From up-and-coming to established artists that include DJs, bands, singers and everything in between – each week will provide a new soundtrack for your weekend!

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Is Sponge Bob a good dark matter detector? How can we hide from radioactive monsters like Godzilla? Why is dark matter a miracle? Why is a detector like a dog park? These questions and much more were answered at “Dark Matter in the Pub”, which took place at Canberra’s Smith’s Alternative as part of Science Week, organised by the Research School of Physics' Lindsey Bignell and Zuzana Slavkovska. About 130 enthusiastic participants learned about the mysterious dark matter that composes 85% of the mass in the universe. It was an evening full of fun, including a demonstration of the Doppler effect using a phone in a sock, dark matter songs, radioactive banana giveaways, and physicists attempting jokes. After such success, this event will be back again next year. 

In case you missed it, you can watch the whole event here.

This event was supported by the ACT National Science Week event grant, the Australian Institute of Physics, and the Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics.

Wizards of Oz: How Oliphant and Florey Helped Win the War and Shape the Modern World

The Hon Julie Bishop Chancellor with Professor Brian P. Schmidt AC FAA FRS Vice-Chancellor invite you to attend the Canberra book launch of the Wizards of Oz: How Oliphant and Florey helped win the war and shape the modern world, hosted at The Australian National University (ANU).

When: 6-7pm, Wednesday 28 September 2022 
Where: Manning Clark Hall, Cultural Centre, Kambri 153 University Ave ANU campus

Register via Eventbrite

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The ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics (CDM) accepts applications for Vacation Studentships from enthusiastic university students with excellent scholastic records who are in the last, or second last, year of their undergraduate or Honours/Masters degree in a relevant field. Applications are strongly encouraged from underrepresented groups in STEM, and those that have experienced uncommon hardship and will be assessed relative to opportunity.

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2022 Innovation Forum

The 2022 Innovation Forum brings together forward thinking collaborative innovation advocates to discuss, plan, collaborate and innovate.

Date: Wed 28 Sep 2022
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm AEST
Location: Canberra Innovation Network, Level 5, 1 Moore Street

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ANU - Optiver PG/Honours Careers Workshop

Thinking about your next career move? Come and learn about all the opportunities out there in industry for ANU Science graduates.
 
The ANU-Optiver Careers Workshop is a half-day event open to Postgraduate and Honours students in quantitative fields such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc. Students will learn all about the incredible careers awaiting them in industry along with how to gain the knowledge and skills to get employment.

There will also be an opportunity to network with Optiver staff and students over lunch.

WHEN: Monday 10 October, 11am - 1:30pm
WHERE: Seminar Room 1.33, Hanna Neumann Building #145, Science Road

Register here

College Hot Desking In Physics

EVERY TUESDAY
Mornings - HR Team
Afternoons - Finance Team

EVERY THURSDAY
Mornings - RM Team

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2022 Wall Planners

ANU Costing and Pricing Approvals Tool

Reminder to all ANU Costing and Pricing Approvals tool (CPA) users to update your Department within the tool to ensure the CPA approvals process goes smoothly next time you apply for or receive funding.

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EVENTS

Departmental seminars

Sujan Das - 28 September
V3O5 as a Potential Material for Oscillator-based Solid-State Neurons
» read more

Mr Bryte Hagan - 29 September
Corner Transfer Matrix Approach to the Yang-Lee Singularity in the 2D Ising Model
» read more

Mr Justin Wong - 30 September
Digitally Enhanced Molecular Dispersion Spectroscopy
» read more

From Previous Weeks...

Mandatory Training Courses for School Induction and Building Access - All Persons