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Director's Message
Dear Colleagues,
It is my pleasure to announce two new appointments to the Physics Executive team. Ilya Shadrivov will take on the role of Head of the Department of Fundamental and Theoretical Physics, and Patrick Kluth will become our new Associate Director Translation. It's wonderful to see both positions filled, and I look forward to working closely with Ilya and Patrick in their new capacities.
Semester 1 classes are also now underway, so good luck to everyone involved in teaching and to our students settling into the new semester. It has been a busy start to the year, with the ANU co-design strategy process also gathering pace. This week the Heads of Department will be working with the Associate Directors to collate feedback from across the school, and we plan to circulate a draft submission by the end of the week. Feedback is welcome, never too late, via your Head of Department, the School Manager James, or directly to me.
Looking ahead, International Women's Day falls on Sunday 8th March this year, and the school will mark the occasion with a morning tea on Wednesday 11th March at 10am. This year's theme is "give to gain", a celebration of collaboration and generosity that feels very much in the spirit of our school community. All are very welcome.
This week's research highlight comes from the Department of Quantum Science and Technology. Ludovic Rapp, Andrei Rode and their coauthors present the first demonstration of drilling a nanochannel more than 1mm long and approximately 600 nm in diameter — an aspect ratio of around 1,700! This is produced by a single ultrashort X-ray pulse from the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser in Germany. A remarkable result, and the paper can be found here.
Finally, it was lovely to see a photo of the first lunch of the EMCR cohort in the school. Thanks to those who organised it, these kinds of gatherings are a wonderful opportunity for people to connect and get to know colleagues from across the school.
Jodie |
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Printing Notice
Please do not put transparencies through the school’s printers unless you are 100% sure that they are laser printer safe and the printer has been set to print on transparency. Attempting to use non-laser safe transparencies causes significant damage as they melt onto the printers internals which then need replacing. |
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ANU Open Day Volunteers Wanted | Mar 28
We’re seeking Academic and Student representation for the Physics booth at ANU Open day, Saturday March 28th between 9am - 3pm.
Please email pec.physics@anu.edu.au if you are available for an hour or two. |
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International Women's Day: Careers In An Evolving World | Mar 5
Join the ANU Agrifood Innovation Institute (AFII), the ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development, and the ANU Gender Institute on Thursday 5 March, 10:30am-12pm for their annual event celebrating progress, collaboration, and equity.
Brondwen MacLean and Professor Lyndall Strazdins will share insights from their diverse experience across research and industry. Their reflections will launch a dynamic, interactive session exploring opportunities and challenges affecting people working in today’s agrifood and research environments—from career development and wellbeing to climate change, innovation and sector transformation.
Enjoy light refreshments and connect with colleagues, students and early‑career researchers in a relaxed setting designed to spark fresh ideas and new collaborations.
Register here
For any questions, dietary or accessibility needs, please contact the AFII team at agrifood@anu.edu.au. |
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Equity in Science Breakfast | Mar 11
Join us to hear Victoria Haritos speak on her scientific career. Once a CSIRO employee (14 years), now a Monash academic, Victoria made the late change to go back to academia. Hear the challenges she faced, the horror stories and the lessons she’s learnt as a supervisor while also staying relevant in the field of bioengineering.
Date: March 11th 2026
Time: 7:45 – 10:00 am
Venue: CSIRO Discovery Café, N Science Rd, Acton 2601
Price: $25 Adult, $15 Uni Student
Register
Free parking, barista made coffee, breakfast included!
Sponsored by John Morris Group
*This is an approved ANU HDR Annual Supervision Renewal Activity* |
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How To Tell If Your Quantum Measurement Is Any Good
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New research from the Department of Quantum Sciences and Technology (DQST) is helping to define the quality of quantum measurements.
“A collaborator asked us to help work out how good their measurements were, and to our surprise we realised no one had explored the theoretical limits,” said Aritra Das, PhD student in the Quantum Information Group within DQST.
“People had thought about the quantum states they were measuring and had come up with the best sort of ruler to measure them with.
“But the reverse problem, of quantifying how good their rulers themselves were, was left unexplored. Everyone just assumed a perfect ruler, which is often not a realistic assumption,” said Mr Das, who was the lead author on the paper. » read more
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2026 Young Achiever Awards NSW/ACT | Nominations Open Now
Across New South Wales and the ACT, young people are making a real difference - in their workplaces, communities, schools, businesses and beyond.
The 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards for NSW/ACT exist to recognise, encourage and celebrate these individuals, aged 30 and under, who are creating positive change and helping shape the future of NSW and the ACT. Nominations close 10th April, 2026.
Nominate Now » read more
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2026 Young Tall Poppy Science Awards | Nominations Open Now
Nominations for the 2026 Young Tall Poppy Science Awards are now open (20th of February - 20th of April).
This year marks an exciting evolution for the program. Alongside the traditional state‑based Young Tall Poppy Awards, we’re introducing two new national awards recognising excellence in First Nations science and industry‑based research. In 2026, all award recipients will also come together in Sydney for the inaugural Young Tall Poppy Science Summit - a national conference celebrating research, science engagement and leadership culminating in the Young Tall Poppy Science Award gala dinner.
We invite you to nominate outstanding early‑career researchers and STEM professionals who are making a meaningful impact through both their science and their communication.
Further Young Tall Poppy information (such as eligibility criteria and the nomination portals) can be found on the website. » read more
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College Hot Desking In Physics
HR & RM Teams
Thursday Mornings
Lv2 Tearoom, Bldg 160 » read more
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Staff Movements
Prof Greg Lane will be away 23/2/26 - 27/2/26
Ed Simpson will be Acting HoD in this time |
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University Travel
- When booking travel for any type of University business, it is mandatory to use ATPI - » read more
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2026 Wall Planners
2026 wall planners are available now at Reception (C3.07). |
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Departmental seminars
Mr Hendrik Heimes - 25 February
Squeezing And Twisting Carbon Until It Gives Up
» read more
Ms Nahid Afrin - 26 February
Application of conical nanopores in SiO2 membranes for molecular separation and biosensing
» read more
Mr Oleg Kameshkov - 4 March
Terahertz Polarization Elements
» read more
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Know your administrators...
Nikki Azzopardi, Belinda Barbour, Petra Rickman & Michelle Bettanin » read more
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Know your HDR Convenors...
A/Prof Vanessa Robins
Dr Michaela Froehlich
HDR Convenors
Prof Vince Craig
Associate Director HDR |
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Pint of Science Festival 2026 | EoI
The Pint of Science festival, held annually in May, offers researchers the opportunity to engage with their local community and share their recent work in a relaxed and casual pub environment.
Expressions of interest are now open! Please fill out the form to register. » read more
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HR Support For CoSM SharePoint
The People and Culture division have re-aligned work within functional teams to improve consistency and quality of advice across the University.
This includes re-aligning recruitment support to the People and Culture recruitment team for CoSM. Information to assist CoSM Schools and areas, and to provide some clarity on who to contact for support, can be found at the HR Support for CoSM SharePoint. » read more
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