Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

My heartfelt thanks to all those who donated to the Vinnie Sleep-out tonight. Prof Hoe Tan (EME/ANFF) and I coped well enough under a -5° starry night sky. We are both grateful and between us raised the equivalent of finding accommodation for 20 people for a night. I’m always struck by how widespread homelessness is.

A reminder to come and celebrate our valued colleagues who elected to take a voluntary separation package. The morning tea is on Wednesday 25th June, at 1030 in the foyer. As they will be departing at different stages of this year I have left it to local areas to recognise each individual. The School event is an opportunity to come together as a community and jointly thank them. 

• Matthew Sellars
• Graeme Cornish
• Dennis Gibson
• Ping Koy Lam
• Simon Foxcroft
• Steven Huynh
• Wasantha Ramasundara
• Patrick Lang
• Julie Arnold
• James Sullivan
• Andrew Stuchbery
• Justin Heighway
• John Close
• Nikolai Lobanov

Below, a bit of winter art from A/Prof Cormac Corr (MP). He took this snap from home after a local water mains broke the other night.

Have a good weekend.
Tim

Quantum Future Talent: Open Day & Careers Fair

The Sydney Quantum Academy is hosting a Quantum Careers fair in Sydney on the 15 July. Connect with universities and employers, discover scholarships, internships, and graduate opportunities and gain insights from thought-provoking panel discussions. More information and free registration at this link (spots are limited)

'Development of Advanced Semiconductor Radiation Dosimetry at Centre for Medical Radiation Physics'
Distinguished Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld
^{(on behalf of CMRP) University of Wollongong}

Date: Wednesday 25 June
Time: 1-2pm AEST
Zoom Link

» read more

The Space-inspired Breakthrough Tackling ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Water

 A remark by a first-year student about a space researcher’s lack of real-world impact has led to a project which is developing a groundbreaking device capable of degrading a carcinogenic form of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in water in just six minutes. 

The project began unexpectedly when PhD researcher Josef Richmond, from ANU’s Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion Laboratory (SP3), set out to replicate how fine, potentially toxic, and electrostatically charged dust behaves on the Moon, Mars and asteroids.  

“In order to replicate these extreme space environments in the lab, I needed to build a radiation source to replicate the high-energy, low-wavelength portion of the Solar radiation that is constantly bombarding these bodies in outer space.” Mr Richmond said.  

» read more

3 Minute Thesis Competition 2025

Preparations have begun for this year’s Three Minute Thesis competition – the time when ANU’s PhDs are challenged to engage, entertain and inform you with the gist of their thesis in three short minutes (and not a second more!) supported by just a single PowerPoint slide.

3MT allows our PhDs to showcase not only the amazing research that we do here at ANU, but also to show off their research communication skills. To see a good 3MT presentation can be an incredibly informative, entertaining and even quite moving experience.

Training for the year begins with the launch/information session next Monday and the carries on through to the College heat on 1 July and ultimate Grand Final on 11 July. Students can attend the training without competing if they just want to brush up on their communication skills with the pressure of competition. With oral exams now very much ‘in the mix’, 3MT training has become much more relevant to our HDRs.

Please register here if you are interested.

» read more

College Hot Desking In Physics

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

Staff Movements

Prof Greg Lane will be away 23/6/25 - 14/7/25
^{AJ Mitchell will be Acting HoD in the period 23/6 - 27/6. Kaitlin Cook will be Acting HoD in the period 30/6 - 14/7}

EVENTS

Departmental seminars

Professor Yuri Kivshar - 18 June
From metamaterials to Mie-tronics and metasurfaces
» read more

Mr Daniel Lee - 23 June
Investigation of excitation energy dependence of fission modes in actinides through transfer-induced fission
» read more