Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you enjoyed the lovely, short week.

Last week I found myself in London with a spare moment and dropped in on one of my favourite institutions, the Victoria and Albert Museum. I was so pleased to discover there one of our former students, Julia Brand (QST), who provided a behind-the-scenes tour of her laser cleaning facilities (above). If you’re one of our graduates, at any stage of your career, please reach out. I’m always keen to hear how physics provided a foundation for your career.

For friends and colleagues of Em/Prof Bob Dewar, his funeral will be held at Hall cemetery, Wallaroo Rd at 11am on Friday 3rd May. The wake will follow afterwards at 12:30 in the Jaeger Room, Shine Dome. MSI have created a memorial page for Bob which invites written tributes to be posted there in memory of Bob (here).

A call has just gone out for nominations to the ARC College of Experts. The ARC appoints the College members for a term of three years. The College of Experts assists the ARC by assigning external assessors, assessing and ranking ARC grant applications, moderating external assessments and many other important duties. For more information, please check the ARC website - ARC College of Experts | Australian Research Council

As of today there will be an additional step for all new recruitments (except CSA appointments). A Recruitment Approval Committee (RAC) has been constituted to review all new recruitment proposals campus-wide. The committee will aim to turn-around requests within a three week window so please factor this into any new recruitments you are planning. Please reach out to our College HR team as the need arises. The full procedure can be found here.

Best regards,
Tim

Lunchtime yoga sessions for 2024 are back! Every Thursday from 12:00 to 12:45 PM in the Conference Room (4.03), Level 4 of the new building. 

These sessions are open to everyone - staff, students, and visitors, men, women, all ages and genders. We provide 16 yoga mats, so just come dressed in comfortable attire. While we don’t have a live instructor, we enjoy guided practices with “Yoga With Adriene” videos. 

Please check the room's calendar beforehand to confirm availability, as sessions are subject to room bookings.

PhD Internship Opportunity (Melbourne-based)

Operational forecasting of cloud cover to tackle the intermittency from solar and battery hybrid power plants

Paid HDR internship opportunity with Proa Analytics: Proa Analytics is a fast-paced, innovation-driven start-up. They are an industry leading provider of solar forecasting, energy analytics, management, and weather monitoring solutions for the renewables industry.

Applications are reviewed regularly and this internship may be filled prior to the advertised closing date of 1st May 2024 if a suitable applicant is identified. Early submissions are encouraged.

For the full advert and how to apply, please head over to the APRintern website.

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Is there dark matter all around us, is there a dark matter wind passing through us as the earth travels through space? Victoria Uttaree Bashu is part of the Cygnus-Oz collaboration, building ultra-sensitive detectors to look for these elusive particles.

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Australia–Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme - Now Open

The Australia – Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme for funding commencing in 2025, opened on Wednesday 3rd April 2024. This scheme is a joint initiative of Universities Australia (UA) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).  

The UA-DAAD scheme supports exchanges for Australian researchers from University Australia (UA) member universities and German researchers from German universities and research institutes. This scheme is open for the exchange of academics with a focus on early career researchers and junior scholars from both countries who are working on joint (new or already established) research projects.  

If you intend to apply for UA DAAD please complete this short Notification of Intent (NOI), including your German partner university, so that we can provide you with up to date information about the scheme.

For further informartion please contact the Research Management Team.

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Detection celebrated the launch of its second term of funding that will span 2024–2031. With the $35 million ARC funding, over the next seven years, OzGrav will focus on:  

• Making breakthrough discoveries about the fundamental nature of relativistic gravity, ultra-dense matter and cosmology.  
• Fostering greater diversity and gender balance within OzGrav and providing opportunities and fellowships for First Nations students and post-docs.  
• Delivering impactful outreach programs aimed at collaborating with regional, disadvantaged and Indigenous schools, thereby creating opportunities for increased access and engagement.  
• Building and expanding relationships with industry, developing strong connections to identify and exploit commercialisation opportunities.  
• Leveraging the excitement of gravitational wave science to inspire and develop the next generation of graduates, whose talent will underpin the nation’s academic, high-tech, defence and space industries.  

The ANU node of OzGrav is based at the Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics with six Chief Investigators, David McClelland, Susan Scott, Kirk McKenzie, Bram Slagmolen, Ling Sun and Chris Lidman (RSAA). 

Photo Credit: Lilli Sun

NSW Physical Science Fund Opportunity Is Now Open

The NSW Physical Science Fund opportunity is now open, please note that projects will be externally led, given the requirement for eligible applicants (university research group to be spun out to a company, or an established company) to be based in NSW.

 Closing 29 April 2024 at 12:00pm.

Please contact the College Research Office if you have any questions or intend to apply. For further information, you may contact Laura Earl (Business Development Officer (NSW Smart Sensing Network)).

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Abstract submissions are now open for the 25th Congress of the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP 2024) to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia from 2 – 6 December 2024.

AIP themes will include:

• Astroparticle Physics
• Atomic and Molecular Physics
• Condensed Matter and Materials
• Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Physics Education
• Quantum Science and Technology
• Solar Terrestrial and Space Physics
• Theoretical Physics
• General Relativity and Gravitation

The abstract submission deadline is 7 June 2024

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Launch of The ANU Industry PhD Framework & Q&A Session On Industry PhDs

Date: Thursday 18 July 2024
Time: 10-11:30am 
Location: RSSS Auditorium, 146 Ellery Crescent

You are invited to the launch of the ANU Industry PhD framework, which has been developed to compliment the Australian Government’s National Industry PhD Program and the CSIRO iPhD. 

Join for an information and Q&A session where you can learn about the three different options of linking PhD projects with a research end-user. 

This will be a key opportunity to ask questions about industry PhDs, talk to the providers and discuss your ideas.

Limited places available. For more information and free tickets please head over to the event website. 

College Hot Desking In Physics

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

EVENTS

Director's Colloquium - 24 April

Some applications of laser-based measurements to fluid mechanical problems - Professor Sean O'Byrne

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