Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

The next School Executive meeting is scheduled for the Thursday 5th September. If you have topics you’d like covered please pass them onto your representatives. The agenda will be finalised next Friday. Since the last meeting the Heads, ADs and I have been catching up informally every fortnight to try and keep on top of the changing environment at ANU. If you have concerns or questions please talk to your Heads. They are as up to date as I am.

On Tuesday, the College General Manager, Dr Kate Bisshop-Witting, led a College-wide meeting for all Professional staff concerning proposed re-alignment of supervision and re-classification of roles. I will endeavour to understand more and assist where I am invited to. I do want to add that as this process unfolds I consider all professional staff hosted in Physics as part of our community and will happily engage to make anyone feel value in their role. I understand this may be unsettling and please feel free to bring your concerns to James Irwin or myself.

Next Tuesday 27th, at 10am in the Level 4 Conference room I'll hold a update on the new Defence Trade Controls Act amendment. Over the past 6 months I have been part of a consultation led by Defence Export Controls in advance of the new legislation commencing on 1st Sept. My aim is to sketch out the obligations and share my thoughts on how we might implement this in our School. There are potential wide-ranging implications for staff and students alike, but I firmly believe that we can find a common-sense approach to our new obligations.  

In preparing for the Oliphant refurbishment I came across these curious graphite objects (see above). I reckon I know what they were once used for, do you? If you know, or would like to take a guess please drop me a note.

Have a good weekend,
Tim

Would you like to learn about the invisible mystery of the dark matter? If your answer is “Yes!”, join us for the “Dark Matter in the Pub” event in the Badger & Co pub in Canberra on Friday 23rd August 2024. Please register using the QR code on the event poster and bring your friends and family. Places are limited.

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Advancing Learning and Teaching Course - CLT

Dates: 2 August – 6 September
Time: 9:00 am – 12:30pm, each Friday

Advancing Learning and Teaching (ALT) is for academics, course convenors and program leaders looking to holistically invigorate and improve the teaching and learning experience in their course(s) through course design and the use of diverse research-led approaches to enhance teaching, student engagement and assessment.

More information and registration details can be found here.

"On rational and irrational numbers, strings and harmony"

Date: Tues 20 August 2024
Time: 6:00-8:00pm
Location: Llewellyn Hall

Join MSI for a Public Lecture by Uri Onn, a Professor with the Mathematical Sciences Institute (MSI), as part of National Science Week. Uri will be accompanied by musician’s Wayne Kelly (Piano), Lachlan Coventry (Guitar), John Mackey (Tenor Saxophone) and Eric Ajaye (Double Bass) for this unique talk and performance exploring mathematics and music.

Register

Researchers have come up with a radical new algorithm to significantly boost the performance of quantum computers in certain problems, and also show that classical solutions can be just as good in other circumstances.

Quantum computers leverage the principles of quantum mechanics which enables them to perform some complex calculations at speeds far in excess of that of conventional computers. Like their classical counterparts, quantum computers operate by executing an algorithm composed of precise set of instructions.

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Westpac Research Fellowship 2025 - EoI

Please be advised that the Westpac Research Fellowships for 2025 will soon be open for applications. The application period is from 4 July to 28 August 2024 5:00pm AEST. 

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AIP Photography Competition - 'The Beauty of Physics'

The ACT Branch of the Australian Institute of Physics is inviting photographers of all levels to participate in our photography competition celebrating the awe-inspiring beauty of physics.

Closing date - 31st August 2024. To enter, please follow the link.

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Establishing a Community of Practice - Conceptual Frameworks for HDR Candidates

University House has received generous philanthropic support to host a project of research and educational development to support HDR candidates in the development of conceptual frameworks. This academic work is consistent with University House’s commitment, as part of its hailstorm recovery program, to supporting HDR candidates across campus.

The project is being undertaken in partnership with the PVC (Graduate Research) portfolio, including the Directors of HDR Supervision Development and Researcher Development.

We invite ANU colleagues with an interest in this topic to join us in a community of practice to engage with the project.

Please contact: Em Prof Craig McDonald (e: craig.mcdonald@anu.edu.au | m: 0403 653 884)

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Call For EoI For 2025 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

Applications are now open for the Science and Industry Endowment Fund - Australian Academy of Science Fellowships to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. The Fund is to cover attendance of the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting with Nobel Laureates from the field of Chemistry related disciplines.

Please ensure complete EoI’s are returned to the College as follows (note different closing dates for HDR students and ECRs):

• Tuesday 27 August 2024, 5pm - Complete ECR EoIs submitted to the local College Research Office (CRO).
• Thursday 29 August 2024, 5pm - Complete HDR EoIs submitted to either: 
  
  • CoS / CHM via (hdr.cos@anu.edu.au)
  • CECC via (studentservices.cybernetics@anu.edu.au; hdradmin.comp@anu.edu.au; or hdr.eng@anu.edu.au)

EoI Form

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College Hot Desking In Physics

Finance, HR & RM Teams
Thursday Mornings
^{Lv2 Tearoom, Bldg 160}

EVENTS

Optica-SPIE Student Chapter Seminar - 26 August

A Morning Glory in the Lab-19th century mathematics in a fibre laser - Professor Martijn de Sterke

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Departmental seminars

Ms Jessica Wierbik - 28 August
Ion tracks are anisotropic: a case study of the cross-section of swift heavy ion tracks in minerals
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Dr Kostas Mouloudakis - 29 August
Probing spin-fluctuations in dense alkali-metal media
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Dr Maria Hernandez Ruiz - 29 August
Cavity-enhanced atomic magnetometer for micro-bio-magnetic measurements
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