Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics.

The 2014 AIP Congress is less than six months away and you have just one more day to submit an abstract for a presentation or poster. Registrations have opened, with early-bird rates available until 29 August, so book in now to get together with your colleagues in December.

Of course, on the other side of the world the summer conference season is now on, and many of us will be flying north for the winter. The connections made at these events are crucial to the health of Australian physics, so I wish everyone happy hunting.

The Queen’s Birthday Honours were announced earlier this month, and I congratulate physicists Steve Buckman (ANU), Jim Piper (Macquarie), Ian Allison (Tasmania) and Tomas Kron (Peter Mac), as well as applied mathematician and physical chemist Barry Ninham (ACT) and former physicist Ziggy Switkowski, whom I think we can also claim, on their awards.

Young stars are also shining, with the announcement of the team of students who will represent Australia at the International Physics Olympiad in Kazakhstan in July. I was fortunate to attend the event in Canberra, along with media personality Adam Spencer and Dennis Jensen MP. You can read more about the team below.

Finally, I and some fellow AIP members recently had the opportunity to attend lectures by visiting American theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. He didn’t dumb things down too much, giving an entertaining performance to packed houses. It was inspiring to see so many people turn out and pay to hear a physicist speak, and a timely reminder of how much the public values what we do. [continue reading…]

Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics.

There have been many voices raised in response to the Federal Government’s budget, and the concerns of scientists need to be heard among the clamour.

Although we welcome some measures, including support for infrastructure like the Square Kilometre Array and the continuation of the Future Fellowship scheme, the $420 million cuts to agencies like ARC, CSIRO, DSTO, ANSTO and the CRC program will hit physicists very hard.

Together with changes to university fees that will see significant increases to the cost of earning a PhD (as described in The Conversation), we’re seeing increasing obstacles to research in Australia. This is especially disappointing when compared to the value countries like the United Kingdom are placing on their graduates.

The AIP is trying to make a difference by advocating for science funding as a member of Science and Technology Australia, but I also encourage all members to communicate to our elected representatives how much science brings to Australia’s prosperity and health as a nation.

Of course, we will celebrate everything physics does at the AIP Congress, to be held at the ANU in Canberra from 7 to 11 December, under the banner ‘The Art of Physics’. There’s already a fabulous program of speakers, including two Nobel Prize winners, so I encourage all of you to attend. And also to contribute: the deadline for submitting abstracts for presentations has been extend to 27 June. [continue reading…]

Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics.

There’s an art to presenting research, and that’s never been more true than it will be in December at the 2014 AIP Congress, ‘The Art of Physics’. Now is your chance to show off your creativity, by submitting an abstract for a 15-minute presentation or poster.

We’re fast approaching the federal government’s budget, and along with our fellow members of Science and Technology Australia and other research groups, we’re hoping to see a fulfilment of election promises for a long term, stable vision for science and research. There are worrying signs though with rumours of large cuts to CSIRO. Universities Australia have launched a campaign to keepitclever.com.au.  [continue reading…]

Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics

This year we are celebrating the United Nations International Year of Crystallography, marking 100 years of using X-ray diffraction to study the structure of materials. There’ll be all kinds of events: the public art exhibition Crystals in the City will tour Australia in August, and the AIP and ANSTO will host a public talk on crystallography in May. [continue reading…]

Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics

This December we’re celebrating ‘The Art of Physics’—from the art of being a physicist to the extension of physics into the world of art—at the AIP’s 21st biennial Congress.

We already have some great speakers lined up, including Nobel laureate and former US Energy Secretary Dr Steven Chu. And it’s our chance to catch up with colleagues and see what’s happening across the various sub-disciplines.

Registration opens next month for the Congress, which will run 7-11 December at the ANU in Canberra. [continue reading…]

Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics

Already, 2014 is shaping up to be an interesting year, in terms of both discoveries and the political and funding environment in which we operate.

But it’s great to start with a triumph, so we congratulate Professor Bruce McKellar who was named a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day honours. With his achievements in theoretical physics and his continuing contributions to scientific organisations here and overseas, this is an honour richly deserved.

For the AIP, this year we want to reinvigorate our Women in Physics programs. Physics has traditionally been a field dominated by men, and we must work to redress the deeply-rooted gender imbalances that prevent career advancement. [continue reading…]

Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics

The Australian Research Council announced a new grant round on 8 November, and there were of course winners and losers in this process. I congratulate those in physics who’ve been successful, and particularly the three AIP members who received Australian Laureate Fellowships in July this year.

Earlier in the year I congratulated Lloyd Hollenberg for receiving the 2012 Walter Boas Medal but, as is the tradition, I don’t actually hand it over to him until he delivers a lecture on his work at a Victorian Branch meeting. So his talk on 5 December is a good opportunity to hear more about what he’s been up to. Another chance is at this weekend’s Science, Technology and the Future Conference at RMIT University, where Lloyd will be presenting alongside people like Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty.

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Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics

It’s been a great month for prizes and recognition of physicists.

Heartiest congratulations to physicist Andrea Morello on winning the 2013 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year— it’s a fantastic dream to make qubits in silicon, and Morello and others at UNSW are making it a reality. Thanks to my place on the Board of Science and Technology Australia, I was fortunate enough to attend the ceremony for this and the other Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science at Parliament House last night and see Andrea’s work receive this high-level recognition.

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Posted on behalf of Rob Robinson, President of the Australian Institute of Physics

Now that the federal election is over, things are starting to settle down and, while “Science” no long has its own named Cabinet seat, my own perception is that we may have a strong friend of science in Ian Macfarlane as the new Industry minister. I met with Mr Macfarlane twice last year—he visited us at ANSTO, and joined Science Meets Parliament, and he showed a keen and educated interest in a wide variety of research issues.

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