Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics.
The 2014 Nobel Prizes have been announced, and both the physics and chemistry prizes fit neatly with the coming International Year of Light.
Blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have opened up a new era in energy-efficient lighting and computer and smartphone displays. They earned the Nobel Prize in Physics for Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura. As my Japanese colleagues have proudly indicated, this is also a win for applied physics, with much of the initial work having been done in industry.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry also went to a team of physicists. Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner’s microscopy techniques give a resolution better than the diffraction limit of light. And since the announcement, news has emerged of another advance by Eric Betzig in the safe illumination and observation of living cells—more details below.
These Nobel Prize winning technologies are also used at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, which I was pleased to see launched recently. This new Centre brings physicists, chemists and biologists together to change the way we see the immune system and to help tackle cancer, infections and auto-immune diseases.
Congratulations too to all the winners at the 2014 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, especially Matthew Hill, winner of the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year for his work on nanoporous crystals, and astronomy and physics teacher Geoff McNamara, who won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. You can read their stories below.
Our annual Women in Physics lecture series continues this month, as Sheila Rowan from the University of Glasgow brings her talks on gravitational wave detection to Western Australia, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. With clever use of props, such as a yo-yo, a whistle and ball bearings on a rubber sheet, her lectures engage school students and the public alike.
Another overseas visitor soon to arrive is the influential American theoretical particle physicist, cosmologist and author Lisa Randall. She’ll be one of the key speakers at the 2014 AIP Congress in Canberra in December—you can read more about her below.
Next Thursday is the annual AIP Physics in Industry day, with the theme this year being ‘Physics of the Mind. To get you thinking in advance of the event, we’re featuring an essay by our NSW Branch chair Scott Martin on the possibility and danger of artificial consciousness.
Australian science still faces funding uncertainty following threats to the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (NCRIS) and the Future Fellows scholarship program. Science and Technology Australia (STA), of which the AIP is a member, is urging the government not to waste these programs’ valuable investments and opportunities. You can read the STA statement below.
As mentioned in the last newsletter, the AIP’s new Executive Committee will be elected unopposed at our next AGM. This will take place on 2 February 2015—full details are below.
Please note that replies to this email go to Science in Public, who send the bulletin out for me. You can contact me directly on aip_president@aip.org.au, and there is a comprehensive list of contact details at the end of the bulletin.
Regards,
Rob
Rob Robinson
President, Australian Institute of Physics
aip_president@aip.org.au
In this issue…
AIP member news
AIP Annual General Meeting
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the occasion on which we make formal decisions for the coming year, including the election of the new Executive Committee.
The only nominations for the Executive, who will be elected unopposed at the meeting, are:
- Warrick Couch (as President)
- Andrew Peele (as Vice-President)
- Joe Hope (as Secretary)
- Ian McArthur (as Registrar)
- Judith Pollard (as Treasurer).
The AGM will take place at 5.30 pm on Monday 2 February 2015, at the Australian Synchrotron, 800 Blackburn Rd, Clayton VIC 3168.
Congress speaker Lisa Randall
American theoretical physicist Lisa Randall is one of the prominent researchers who’ll be speaking at this year’s AIP Congress (7–11 December in Canberra).
Lisa’s work connects fundamental particles and symmetries with cosmological phenomena like dark matter from inflation, as well as seeking experimental tests of these theories.
Her most prominent achievement is the Randall-Sudrum model, developed with Raman Sudrum, in which our universe is embedded in a five-dimensional warped spacetime.
Lisa regularly appears on radio and TV, and two of her books have made the New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of the Year. And in keeping with the Congress theme of ‘The Art of Physics’, she has written a libretto for an opera and curated art exhibits.
In 2007, Lisa was named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine.
Registrations to see Lisa Randall and other speakers at the Congress are now open at aip2014.org.au.
Surviving the singularity: Physics of the Mind
What is consciousness? Can a machine ever become conscious? Should we fear replacement by a digital superintelligence?
In the lead-up to the annual Physics in Industry day, NSW Branch chair Scott Martin considers these questions in an essay on the day’s theme, ‘Physics of the Mind’.
In particular, he looks at the different viewpoints of six guests who will speak on the day, and what they can tell us about the nature of intelligence.
This involves thinking about complex systems and quantum mechanics, as well as where technology is heading now. Can we expect benevolence to emerge, or can we instil it from our own insights?
To learn more, read Scott’s essay.
The NSW AIP Physics in Industry day will be held on Thursday 6 November at CSIRO in Lindfield West. It will be covered by the ABC’s Big Ideas program.
Find out more and register at physics-industry.com.
Other physics news
Doubt for future research funding
Earlier this month, the future of Australian research infrastructure and our best and brightest mid-career researchers was cast into doubt after comments by the Minister of Education, Christopher Pyne.
He said that if the government’s higher education reforms are not passed, “the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme [NCRIS] and the Future Fellows [scholarship program] will end.”
Catriona Jackson, the CEO of peak group Science and Technology Australia (STA)—of which the AIP is a member—responded, “The science community and the general public have had enough of the nation’s knowledge future being tossed about like a political football.”
“Very significant sums have already been invested on behalf of the taxpayer as part of the NCRIS scheme,” she said. “To ditch this vital scheme now would be a terrible waste of taxpayers’ money and of opportunity.”
“The Future Fellows scheme stems the drain of our best and brightest researchers to better resourced nations. Losing the talent—the future science, technology, engineering and maths superstars—that we have nurtured and resourced, just doesn’t make sense.”
You can read more about the government’s statements and the STA’s response at the STA website.
Nobel Prize for blue LEDs
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to a trio of applied physicists, Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura, for inventing blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
These compact, efficient light sources are longer lasting and use much less energy than incandescent bulbs or fluorescent tubes, and are rapidly taking over in domestic and automobile lighting, as well as in computer and smartphone screens.
Although LEDs were first constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, for a long time they were only able to cover the spectrum between infrared and green light.
However, in the late 1980s the development of gallium-nitride semiconductors with high bandgap, and the construction of structures like quantum wells, enabled their extension into blue light, covering the entire visible spectrum.
(Some of this early work on nitride semiconductors was done by Trevor Tansley, Cathy Foley and Scott Butcher at Macquarie University.)
With lighting consuming 20–30% of our electrical energy, the tenfold increase in efficiency of LED lamps stands to greatly reduce our energy needs and our carbon footprint.
Read more at the Nobel Prizes website.
Trick of the light wins Chemistry Nobel
An advance in optical microscopy has won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner.
Their technique achieves resolution greater than the diffraction limit—determined by the wavelength of light—by using two overlapping laser beams. The first laser stimulates molecules to fluoresce, while the second suppresses the fluorescence.
Although the size of each beam is determined by the diffraction limit, their overlap can be made arbitrarily small, causing only a fraction of the molecules to fluoresce at once. A complete image can then be made by scanning the entire sample.
Unlike electron microscopes, which require a high vacuum, super-resolution fluorescence microscopes can be used to observe living cells.
Since the award was announced, Eric Betzig has revealed yet another new microscopy technique, using a sheet of light to illuminate only a small part of a specimen at a time. This minimises damage from intense light, allowing living processes to continue while being watched.
You can read about the laureates at the Nobel Prizes website.
Physical science at the PM’s Prizes
Crystals that are the world’s most porous materials have earned Matthew Hill the 2014 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.
An ARC Future Fellow and leader of CSIRO’s Integrated Nanoporous Materials team, Matthew has demonstrated that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can used as an efficient and long-lasting filter. Considering that forty per cent of the energy consumed by industry is used to separate things—in natural gas production, mineral processing, food production, pollution control, etc.—their applications are endless.
Appropriately, as the International Year of Crystallography nears its end, the structure of Matthew’s MOFs is examined using X-ray light from the Australian Synchrotron, and their pores measured with positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy.
Also honoured was Geoff McNamara from Canberra’s Melrose High School, who won the 2014 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools.
‘Mr Mac’, as he is known to his students, has a passion for physics and astronomy, having written three books on gravitational waves, dark matter and pulsars.
He is also looking to spread his message beyond those lucky enough to have been in his classroom, offering his extension program to other schools and working to build an astronomical teaching observatory at the University of Canberra.
You can read about all the winners at industry.gov.au/scienceprizes.
PLANCKS theoretical physics competition
The organisers of PLANCKS (Physics League Across Numerous Countries for Kick-ass Students) are inviting Australian physicists to take part in their international competition.
In the contest, teams of three or four bachelor or masters students compete to solve challenging physics exercises. But as well as competing, the entrants get to meet and share ideas with their colleagues from around the world.
Last year, 31 teams from 14 countries took part in the competition—but there were no Australian entrants! As vice-president Jeroen van Doorn said, “In order to make PLANCKS a real global competition we want to change this for PLANCKS 2015.”
The 2015 competition will be held from 22 to 24 May at Leiden, The Netherlands. Registration is open until 16 January 2015.
More information, including past exercises, can be found at www.plancks.info.
AIP events
7–11 Dec 2014
ANU, Canberra
Ice sheet modelling and applications
Mon 3 Nov, 8 pm
Physics Lecture Theatre 1, Sandy Bay campus, University of Tasmania
Public lecture
Ralf Greve shows how numerical modelling helps us understand glaciers and ice caps.
The search for gravitational waves—Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Mon 10 Nov, Perth
Wed 12 Nov, Sydney
Thu 13 Nov, Newcastle
Fri 14 Nov, Wollongong
Sat 15 Nov, Sydney
Wed 19 Nov, Adelaide
Fri 21 Nov, Brisbane
Women in Physics lectures
Sheila Rowan explains how experiments to detect elusive gravitational waves will show us a hidden side of the Universe.
NSW Postgraduate Awards Day & Lecture
Tue 18 Nov, 2–8 pm
Slade Lecture Theatre, University of Sydney
AGM & Public lecture
Presentations of postgraduate research, followed by a public lecture by Ragbir Bhathal on 40,000 years of Aboriginal Astronomy.
WA AGM Dinner & Guest Speaker
Wed 19 Nov, 5.30 pm
UWA Club, Formal Dining Room, University of Western Australia
AIP WA Branch event
Physicist, explosives engineer, soldier, stand-up comedian and Mars astronaut candidate Josh Richards speaks at this annual event.
News in brief
Detecting gravitational waves on a tabletop
A coin-sized resonant-mass detector built at the University of Western Australia could detect high-frequency gravitational waves.
Many interacting worlds solve quantum puzzles
A new approach to quantum mechanics using parallel universes, developed by Griffith University physicists, may be testable.
Dark matter in Milky Way half what was thought
Australian astronomers use detailed measurement of stellar velocities to solve longstanding mysteries.
Long-distance tractor beam
A hollow laser beam built at ANU can attract and repel objects at up to 20 cm.
High school students publish jittery pulsar study
PULSE@Parkes observations of a flickering neutron star have been published in the Royal Astronomical Society’s journal.
Quantum computing record achieved
UNSW teams accurately store qubits for longer than 30 seconds.
How galaxy clusters grow
Radio astronomer Nick Seymour part of a team that found the most intense star-forming region of the Universe.
Nova fireball seen in action
For the first time, an explosion caused by matter pulled into white dwarf star has been tracked by University of Sydney astronomers.
Controlling quantum noise
Researchers of University of Sydney use insights from aerospace engineering in quantum technology.
Electronics and photonics on one platform
Researchers at Swinburne show graphene can carry both electrons and electromagnetic waves.
Gyroscopes key to vortices in superfluid turbulence
Undergraduate students at Monash University have their paper published in Physical Review Letters.
Model predicts heat flow in geothermal reservoirs
CSIRO petrophysicists model thermal conductivity of sandstones in deep wells.
Paradox in STEM shortage
Why do science graduates have trouble finding jobs when employers report a skills shortage?
Events
denotes AIP events
ACT
No events are currently listed.
NSW
Science Teacher Workshop: Physics
Mon, 3 Nov 2014
School of Physics, Physics Rd, Camperdown Campus, University of Sydney
For teachers
Physics in Industry Day: Physics of the Mind
Thu, 6 Nov 2014, 9am
CSIRO, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield West NSW 2070
All-day seminars
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Wed, 12 Nov 2014, 9am
North Sydney Girls High School, 365 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—for students
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Wed, 12 Nov 2014, 1:50pm
MLC School, Rowley St, Burwood
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—for students
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Thu, 13 Nov 2014, time TBA
Newcastle—two schools TBA
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—for students
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Fri, 14 Nov 2014, 1pm
St Mary Star of the Sea College, 15 Harbour St, Wollongong
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—for students
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Fri, 14 Nov 2014, 6:30pm
Wollongong Science Centre, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—public lecture
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Sat, 15 Nov 2014, 6pm
Sydney Observatory, Watson Road, Observatory Hill, Millers Point
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—public lecture
Postgraduate Awards Day
Tue, 18 Nov 2014, 2pm
Slade Lecture Theatre, University of Sydney
For postgraduate students
Ragbir Bhathal: Some aspects of 40 000 years of Aboriginal astronomy
Tue, 18 Nov 2014, 6:35pm
Slade Lecture Theatre, University of Sydney
Public lecture
QLD
Journey Through the Cosmos with Brian Cox and the QSO
Thu, 6 Nov 2014
QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane
Public lectures and music
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Fri, 21 Nov 2014, 4pm
N34_0.05, Griffith University, Nathan Campus
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—public lecture
SA
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Wed, 19 Nov 2014, 6:30pm
Napier lecture theatre 102, Napier building, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—public lecture
TAS
Ralf Greve: Ice sheet modelling and applications
Mon, 3 Nov 2014, 8pm
Physics Lecture Theatre 1, Sandy Bay campus, University of Tasmania
Public lecture
PHYSCON: Conference for Teachers of Science & Physics – Years 7 to 12
Fri, 21 Nov 2014, 9am
Department of Physics, University of Tasmania, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay
For teachers
VIC
Virginia Kilborn: The role of hydrogen in the evolution of galaxies
Fri, 7 Nov 2014, 6:30pm
Swinburne University, Hawthorn Campus, ATC building, ATC101
Public lecture
Victorian Young Physicists’ Tournament
Tue, 2 Dec 2014
Quantum Victoria, 235 Kingsbury Drive, Macleod West
For students
Katie Mack: A Tour of the Universe (and selected Cosmic mysteries)
Fri, 5 Dec 2014, 6:30pm
Swinburne University, Hawthorn Campus, ATC building, ATC101
Public lecture
WA
Peter Quinn: WA on the threshold – new understanding, new discoveries and new opportunities with the SKA
Tue, 4 Nov 2014, 6pm
Theatre Auditorium, University Club, UWA
Public lecture
Sheila Rowan: The search for gravitational waves – Ripples from the dark side of the Universe
Mon, 10 Nov 2014, 5:30pm
Ross Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, University of Western Australia
AIP Women in Physics lecture tour—public lecture
AGM Dinner & Guest Speaker
Wed, 19 Nov 2014, 5:30pm
UWA Club, Formal Dining Room, University of Western Australia
Annual general meeting
Conferences
ANSTO-AINSE Neutron School Neutron Scattering for Soft Matter
3–7 November 2014, ANSTO, Lucas Heights, NSW
Science Teacher Workshop: Physics
3–4 November 2014, University of Sydney, NSW
The Periphery of Disks
3–6 November 2014, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, NSW
NEW VCE Focus on Physics 2014
14 November 2014, University of Melbourne, Vic
New User Symposium: Synchrotron, Accelerator and Neutron techniques 2014
19 November 2014, Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Vic
Australian Synchrotron User Meeting 2014
20–21 November 2014, Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Vic
PHYSCON: Conference for Teachers of Science & Physics – Years 7 to 12
21 November 2014, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, Tas
IONS-KOALA 2014 Conference on Optics/Photonics, Laser Applications and Atomic/Quantum Physics
23–28 November 2014, The University of Adelaide, SA
STAVCON: Annual conference of the Science Teachers’ Association of Victoria
28 November 2014, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Vic
Frontiers in Physics: 23rd Canberra International Physics Summer School
1–5 December 2014, Australian National University, ACT
OSA Optics and Photonics Congress on Light, Energy and the Environment
2–5 December 2014, Australian National University, ACT
AIP Congress – The Art of Physics
7–11 December 2014, Australian National University, ACT
NEW JACoW Team Meeting 2014
13–16 January 2015, Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Vic
Annual Condensed Matter and Materials Meeting (“Wagga 2015”)
3–6 February 2015, Wagga Wagga campus of the Charles Sturt University, NSW
AMN7 Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology
8–12 February 2015, The Rutherford Hotel, Nelson, New Zealand
The Most Massive Galaxies and their Precursors
9–12 February 2015, Luna Park, Sydney, NSW
Physics Teachers Conference
20 February 2015, Monash University, Clayton, Vic
NEW Physics in General Science (PIGS) Conference
20 February 2015, Monash University, Clayton, Vic
Astronomy from the Ground Up Teacher Workshop
15–17 May 2015, Parkes Radio Telescope, NSW
VIII Southern Cross Conference Series: Multiwavelength dissection of galaxies
18–22 May 2015, Sydney, NSW
AOCNS 2015 – 2nd Asia-Oceania Conference on Neutron Scattering
19–23 July 2015, Novotel Sydney Manly Pacific, Manly, NSW
Conference on Laser Ablation (COLA) 2015
31 August – 4 September 2015, Pullman Cairns International Hotel, Cairns, Qld
Contributions and contact details
Please get in contact if you have any queries about physics in Australia:
- Rob Robinson, AIP President aip_president@aip.org.au
- the AIP website is www.aip.org.au
- membership enquiries to the Secretariat aip@aip.org.au or 03 9895 4477
- ideas for articles for Australian Physics to the Chair of the Editorial Board and Acting Editor Brian James, on b.james@physics.usyd.edu.au, or the editorial board, which is listed in your latest copy of the magazine
- contributions to the bulletin (e.g. activities, conferences and announcements) to Chris Lassig from Science in Public on chris@scienceinpublic.com.au or call (03) 9398 1416, by the 23rd of the month prior
- the AIP Events Calendar to check what’s on, and also to submit your own physics-related events (any queries to Chris, as above)
- to receive these bulletins, please email Chris, as above (you don’t need to be a member of the Institute).
(Sent by Niall Byrne, Science in Public, on behalf of the Australian Institute of Physics, www.aip.org.au)