Director's Message

Dear Colleagues,

Last week's ANU-University of Tokyo workshop at Kioloa was a wonderful example of what cross-institutional collaboration can look like at its best. Organised by Dr Jie Zhao (Sophie) and Prof Ian Peterson from CSS, the workshop brought together more than 40 participants from CSS, Physics, and colleagues from the University of Tokyo, RIKEN, and OptQC. Joining from Japan were Professors Akira Furusawa, Hidehiro Yonezawa, and Shuntaro Takeda. Akira is Deputy Director of Quantum Computing at RIKEN and co-Founder of OptQC, an optical quantum computing startup that has attracted US$100 million in funding in less than two years since incorporation. Kioloa is our beautiful coastal campus and an excellent setting for a small workshop. By all accounts the combination of the spectacular Australian nature and some serious science made for a very productive few days! Thank you to Sophie and Ian for putting it together and see the pic above. 

This week's research highlight is a Physical Review Letters on stardust trapped in Antarctic ice which is used to trace the solar system's passage through the Local Interstellar Cloud. The key is iron-60, a radioactive isotope produced in supernovae that does not occur naturally on Earth. Counting individual atoms of iron-60 in ancient Antarctic ice was made possible by accelerator mass spectrometry at our Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility, currently the only facility in the world capable of detecting it in such tiny quantities! Congratulations to Stephen Tims and the HIAF team, and to the international collaboration led by Dominik Koll at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. You can read more in The Conversation here.

For those interested in the intersection of research and industry, I would draw your attention to the DINAMIC Innovation Program from Defence Trailblazer, which has opened applications for live Commercialisation Bootcamps. These are practical, hands-on opportunities to develop skills in taking research through to real-world application, and I would encourage anyone curious about the commercialisation pathway to have a look. Details can be found here.

Finally, a reminder to our HDR students about the Three Minute Thesis competition. The College of Science and Medicine is calling for presenters for the 2026 CoSM 3MT, where candidates have three minutes and a single PowerPoint slide to explain their research to a non-specialist audience. It is excellent practice in communication regardless of where your career takes you, and the winner goes on to represent the College at the ANU final, with the ANU winner competing at the Asia-Pacific event at the University of Queensland. I would strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to put their hand up. 

Jodie

ANU Staff Card Printing And Collection

New and replacement staff cards will now be printed and collected from different locations.

New staff cards are printed and collected from the Provisioning Team at Chancelry 10B (Lower Ground Floor) by appointment.

Replacement cards are printed and collected from ANU Security in the Fulton Muir Building (Building 95). Staff can just drop-in.

For building access enquiries, please email security@anu.edu.au.

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Scientists have used the collision of two black holes to measure and correct the calibration of the detectors that observe them.

The technique was perfected using two exceptionally strong gravitational-wave signals, produced by the collisions of pairs of black holes. These events were so strong that they allowed researchers not only to study the black holes that created them, but also to check how accurately the detectors were recording the signals.

 “We are using black holes to help check the accuracy of our detectors. How cool is that!” said Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, from the ANU Centre for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, the research School of Physics and ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav).

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Ideas On Tap | June 18

A night of big ideas and great conversations

Ideas on Tap is a relaxed, cross‑sector pitching and networking event bringing together researchers, manufacturers and industry organisations working at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 2–5 across space, quantum and cyber. The event focuses on early‑to‑mid stage ideas with clear potential for collaboration, translation or commercial impact. This event is perfect for researchers, industry advocates and working professionals to meet and connect in a laid-back atmosphere.

Date: Mon 18 June 2026
Time: 4:30-6:30pm
Location: Work Club Two24 Bunda, 224 Bunda Street #Lvl 13

Register

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Defence Trailblazer | Commercialisation Bootcamp

As part of the DINAMIC Innovation Program from Defence Trailblazer, applications are now open for live Commercialisation bootcamps:

In-Person
Location: Canberra
Date: 10-11 June

Online
Location: Online
Date: 17-18 June

Format: 2-day intensive workshops
Cost: Free

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Call For Presenters - College of Science & Medicine 3MT Competition 2026

Take your research to the College, the University and the world!

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an international competition for HDR candidates to showcase their research.

Using plain language and with only a single PowerPoint slide, candidates have three minutes to present to a non-specialist audience on what their research is and why it is important.

3MT is a great opportunity for you to develop presentation skills that are crucial for your future careers, regardless of whether they are inside or outside of academia.

The winner of the CoSM 3MT competition will represent the College in the ANU 3MT final, and the ANU winner will go on to compete at the Asia-Pacific event, to be held at the University of Queensland.

Eligibility
To participate in this competition, please check if you meet the following criteria:

• You have completed your Confirmation of Candidature (CoC) or Thesis Proposal Review (TPR). If you are unsure, please contact our office on hdr.cosm@anu.edu.au. 
• You haven't won the CoSM 3MT Competition in the past.
• You are available to present at the COSM 3MT event, Wednesday 25 June, 10.00–12.00pm, noting this is an in-person event and there is no option to present virtually.

It’s a great opportunity to showcase your thesis in just 3 minutes! 

If you are interested in participating in this competition, please speak to your primary supervisor before registering your interest here. 

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College Hot Desking In Physics

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

Staff Movements

Prof Greg Lane will be on leave from 11/5/26 until 29/5/26
^{Michaela Froehlich will be acting HoD during this time}

RSPhys Executive Meeting Minutes

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EVENTS

Departmental seminars

Mr Md Arifuzzaman - 21 May
Controlling electrical transport and gas sensing in graphene devices through defect engineering
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