Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

Last Thursday we had the pleasure of hosting the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) Accreditation Panel, seen above Professors Deb Kane (Chair, UMacq, middle), Michael Wheatland (USyd, 2nd left) and Tim McIntyre (UQ, right). Our Associate Director (Education), Professor Joe Hope, joins the panel on the left. In a very busy day, the Panel had a chance to engage with undergraduate students, lecturers, convenors and other key people in the Physics Education Centre. My thanks to everyone involved in this important process. Accreditation provides our undergraduate program the opportunity to standardise against the National professional standards set by the AIP. The panel are currently finalising their report.

A couple of things to note; 

- The Travel eForm has now been re-released, allowing domestic travel (including non-fieldwork travel). There are some new components to accommodate the complexities of the COVID environment. Please note that in the College of Science, there is no expectation that travel forms are to be sent to the College General Manager. We will just stick to our usual School travel delegations (supervisor, Head, Director).
- The ANU has a refreshed corporate image, and correspondingly has refreshed Microsoft document templates (official letterhead, powerpoint slides, meeting agenda, etc). The ANU sharepoint holds everything you might need.

As we approach mid-Semester break I would like to thank everyone involved in teaching to date. Below are two photos showing our students engaged in a Virtual Reality-based lab from PHYS1001 and 2nd year Electromagnetism lab in PHYS2016.  

Professor Hoe Tan will be Acting Director while I’m on leave next week.  Thanks, Hoe!

Have a good week and don’t forget Hot Cross buns in Oliphant and DQS tea rooms, 1030 Thursday.
Tim

Changes to Travel Eform

Please be aware that some changes have been made to the ANU Travel eForm.

These changes are relevant to all ANU travellers (ie staff, students and VaHA) and includes the following:

- The addition of an acknowledgement on the General Travel Information page.  This is to confirm that the travel is essential for work purposes.
-  A Purpose of Travel section provides a full list of travel options. Depending on the type of travel selected, it will allow you to download an appropriate WHS Risk Assessment Form (mandatory) for attachment to the travel application.
- An Evacuation Plan (mandatory).

The existing approver list and assign delegation 458 (Domestic Travel Delegate under COVID-19 response measures) has also been expanded to Service Division Directors, General Managers and School Managers (where agreed with the General Manager). Within Physics the travel approval form will be submitted to your supervisor for initial approval, then to the RSPhys Director for final authorisation.

You can find information on the link here.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, you can contact travel.approval@anu.edu.au.

HDR Boot Camps

The Dean HDR, Ann Evans, is pleased to announce an expansion of the popular ANU Boot Camp program.

Due to popular demand, the number of boot camps run by Professor Inger Mewburn and the ANU Researcher Development team has been increased from two per year to ten. We can now offer everyone who is more than 3 years into candidature a chance to take part in the original Thesis Bootcamp, where we challenge participants to write 20,000 words. 

» read more

A year cooped up reading papers and doing theory… it’s time to come back to the pub! Physics in the Pub is on again, so come and share your latest research, coolest demo or weirdest lockdown discovery.

You have eight minutes in front of a friendly audience to get creative. A story, a comedy routine or just a well-crafted powerpoint show, it’s up to you. All types of physics welcome.

Sponsored by the AIP, ACT Branch.

» read more

TMOS Light Painting Photo Competition - International Day of Light

Bring some light to your favourite charity

Celebrate the International Day of Light with our light painting competition! 

We want to raise awareness about the International Day of Light (May 16th) and our work here at TMOS, as well as give back to our community. 

We're hosting a light painting competition, where each node can submit an entry. These will go onto the TMOS social media pages and the general public will decide the winner. 

Prizes include a donation made to the charity of the node's choice and the first annual International Day of Light trophy. 

» read more

ANU Researcher Development coordinates and facilitates workshops, events, and competitions to develop your skills even further. 

» read more

National Library of Australia 2022 Fellowships

Apply for a National Library Fellowship
The National Library has diverse collections that support, inspire and transform research. Fellowships enable scholars, writers and researchers to conduct intensive research into our collections in a supportive, intellectual and creative environment.

» read more

Hot Cross Buns

Easter Eggs

STAFF MOVEMENTS

Julie Arnold will be on leave 25/3/21-9/4/21

Lee Philip will be acting Facilities and Services Manager 8/3/21-5/4/21

Building and Room Security Access

Please note that the school now has a general access restriction of 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.  

If you need to complete a new after-hours risk assessment, please see the new top section here: https://physics.anu.edu.au/intra/whs/

EVENTS

Departmental seminars

Ms Yiyi Zhong - 31 March
Characterization of cosmogenic background in NaI(Tl) crystal for the SABRE dark matter experiment
» read more

Ms Xingshuo Huang - 1 April
Mechanical Properties of Exotic Phases of Carbon
» read more

NHMRC schemes opening in 2021 (Q1)

The College of Science Research Office (CRO) is now inviting notices of intent (NoI) to submit applications for the following schemes opening in 2021.

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Helping HDR candidates with their career options