Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you to those who popped along to congratulate Barry and Neil on their combined 101 years of service. They have each given so much to our School community and it is a pleasure to see them still so active. 

Just a couple of things from me;

• Founder’s Day will be on Friday 18th October. Over the next few weeks, your Head will be selecting a couple of people as proposed speakers for your Department. Please talk to you Head if you are interested.
• Outstanding Risk Assessments need your attention by next Wednesday (see my email) 

Below a few photos capturing some of the events of the week around the School.

• With Prof Vince Craig (AD(HDR)), our HDR student reps (Aditya Babu, Victoria Bashu, Jessica Wierbik, Hendrik Heimes) present at the HDR inductions on Monday.
• Dr Fouad Karouta (IEEE), Dr Ed Simpson, Prof Andrew Stuchbery, Tom Coughlin (IEEE President), Ambarish Natu (ACT IEEE), Takako Hashimoto (Incoming IEEE President) seen taking a tour on Monday in support of the active nomination for HIAF being recognised by the IEEE as an international site of historical significance.
• Tuesday, the new ANU Provost, Prof Rebekah Brown, thanking the IEEE President on the recognition of the Mt Stromlo Solar Observatory as an international site of historical significance.

Have a good weekend,
Tim

PS. For SciFi buffs, I can highly recommend the new James SA Corey novel, The Mercy of Gods, as an excellent and enjoyable distraction.

John Carver Seminar Series 2024

You are warmly invited to participate in the John Carver Seminar Series 2024, an annual event aimed at showcasing the amazing research done by our HDR students and celebrating the wealth of talent in our School.

The John Carver Seminar Series 2024 will be held on Thursday 26 September starting at 10am in the new Auditorium (building 160).

Participants will need to present a 15-minute talk on their research to the audience of fellow students and RSPhys colleagues. The talks are not followed by questions.

The talks are judged by a panel of three judges (two academics and a student). See here for competition rules and the judging criteria.

Expressions of interest: Please register your interest by 15 September 2024 via this link.

Everyone is invited to attend and support your colleagues as this is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the incredible research undertaken by our students!

» read more

Rae Armantrout Reading and in-Conversation with Physics Professor Ben Buchler

Join us for an evening of poetry featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning poet from the US Rae Armantrout.  

This is a unique opportunity to hear renowned poet Rae Armantrout read from her body of work. She will present selections from her ‘science’ poems and other works, including readings from her latest collection, Go Figure (Wesleyan UP, 2024). The reading will be followed by a Q&A session with Professor Ben Buchler, an expert in quantum and nano-optics from ANU.

When: Thursday 19 September, 6:30pm
Where: Street 2

'Read More' for ticket information.

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'Plant immunity at the cell surface: Engineering non-canonical plant cell surface immunity receptors to protect our crops'
Associate Professor Simon Williams

Date: Monday 16 September 2024
Time: 12:30pm
Location: Eucalyptus Seminar Room, RN Robertson Building (46) or Via Zoom

Our research endeavours to unravel the intricate molecular mechanisms employed by pathogenic fungi to manipulate host plants and cause disease. Additionally, we aim to understand how plants recognise fungal virulence proteins, thereby activating defence pathways.

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The first application of der Waals metasurfaces to nonlinear chiral photonics has been demonstrated for the resonant generation of chiral optical harmonics. The metasurfaces were designed to support resonant modes in the near-IR frequency range. It was predicted and demonstrated experimentally three orders of magnitude enhancement of the third harmonic generation compared to a thin film. The project was driven Mr. Pavel Tonkaev and Mr. Ivan Toftul, two PhD students from Nonlinear Physics Center (FTP) and the results are published in  Nano Letters.

» read more

The Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium (HIAS) abstract submission deadline is 8 September, please submit your abstract by this date.

Abstracts need to be sent to hias.physics@anu.edu.au.

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Use the QR code to register for the HDR student workshop. A link to the supervisor signup is available at the top of the 'Event Description' section.

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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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Staff Movements

Prof Andrew Stuchbery will be away 6/9/24 - 2/10/24
^{Prof Greg Lane will be Acting HoD in this period}

» read more

College Hot Desking In Physics

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

EVENTS

Departmental seminars

Ms Sally Valbuena - 6 September
Study of the 198Hg(d,d’) Inelastic Scattering Reaction
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Associate Professor Etienne Puyoo - 9 September
In situ thermal characterization of threshold switching devices
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Mr Hendrik Heimes - 11 September
Carbon Materials Under Extreme Pressure Conditions
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Director's Colloquium - 24 September

Quantum stochastic resonance of individual Fe atoms - Professor Susan N Coppersmith

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Research Fest 2024: Enhancing Research Impact

December 3 to December 5, Copland Theatre and other venues

Research Fest 2024 will offer valuable insights for researchers at all career stages, from early career to established academics and research leaders, who are interested in exploring strategies for improving their research impact and engaging with industry.

» read more