Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you had a great weekend.

I would like to congratulate Dr Sophie Zhao (QST) and Dr Maria del Rocio Camacho-Morales (EME) on their success in the current DECRA round. I would also like to thank all applicants for the effort they invested in their applications for this very competitive scheme.

The ANU Quantum Science Open Day was a real success, with over 200 attendees, 14 tours of experimental facilities, lots of liquid nitrogen ice cream, around 2.5kg holographic chocolate made and consumed, 7 public talks, interactive displays and hands on experiments. The above photo shows Dr Danielle Holmes (UNSW) explaining how to build quantum computers (see other photos of the event at the end). Many thanks to Dr Rose Ahlefeldt for leading the organisation of this event, and to the 50+ volunteers who made it possible.  

My thanks go to Prof Tim Senden and Dr Rose Ahlefeldt for meeting with a delegation from Fujitsu—including Vivek Mahajan (Global Chief Technology Officer)—to discuss their ongoing partnership with ANU. This follows a series of visits on both sides that led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2024.

I had the opportunity to attend a workshop for the ANU Leadership Group. It was inspiring to see so many ANU leaders brainstorming ideas for the future strategy of the University. Interim Vice-Chancellor Prof Rebekah Brown has set an ambitious agenda for drafting the ANU strategic plan by mid-2026. There will be several opportunities early next year to ensure that Physics secures a strong place in ANU’s future.

The new “week’s paper” tradition will resume when Jodie returns from her research experiment in Germany. Please remember to send your recent publications to your HoD.

It is the time of year to reflect on professional development, achievements, and future plans. Please make sure to discuss your Focus document with your supervisor. The next phase is due in December.

Cedric (Acting Director)

HR Support For CoSM SharePoint

The People and Culture division are in the process of re-aligning work within functional teams to improve consistency and quality of advice across the University. 

Part of this includes re-aligning recruitment support to the People and Culture recruitment team for CoSM. Information to assist CoSM Schools and areas with this transition, and to provide some clarity on who to contact for support, can be found at the HR Support for CoSM SharePoint.

Last Friday, Dr Nikolai Lobanov retired from 32.3 years of service with the Research School of Physics, all of that with the various incarnations of the Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications and the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility. Since arriving in 1993, Dr Lobanov has worked tirelessly to advance the research capabilities of the 14UD Peletron accelerator, playing a key role in the commissioning and design of the LINAC superconducting booster, including the full in-house design and construction of unique quarter wave resonator structures. As manager, he has led the modernisation of the facility to secure it's capabilities for another 50 years.

The History and Mystery Series

The ASA ECR Chapter's online talk series "The History and Mystery Series" aims to explore aspects of astronomy (e.g., social, political, geographical, and historical perspectives) that are usually not covered in conventional scientific talks. The talks are open to all, please register here.

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Maitri Scholarships

Applications for Maitri Scholarships 25/26 open

The Maitri Scholarships Program supports India’s top students to study at Australia’s world class universities. The scholarships prioritise students undertaking PhD studies in STEM-related fields that align to priorities outlined in A New Roadmap for Australia’s Economic Engagement with India:

• Clean Energy
• Agribusiness
• Technology and IT
• Resources and Resources and Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS)
• Defence Industries
• Space
• Health

The next round for applications is open now and closes on 14th January 2026. 

Please get in touch with us if you are wishing to apply.

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College Hot Desking In Physics

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

EVENTS

Departmental seminars

Ms Ellen McRae - 2 December
The quark-meson coupling model and applications to nuclear structure and reactions
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People & Culture CoSM SharePoint

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