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Director's Message
Dear Colleagues,
The Physics IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) Committee, co-chaired by Dr Thomas McGoran and Andrew Wade, is seeking new members. The committee works to foster a culture of inclusiveness and fairness across RSPhys, advising on practices that ensure equal opportunity for all staff and students, and contributing to school policies and awareness around equity and diversity issues. It is something that I am personally passionate about and I am a member of the committee. If you would like to join the committee too please email equity@physics.anu.edu.au with a few sentences about yourself and why you would like to contribute.
This week's research highlight is the main paper of Dr Dominik Koll's PhD, in just published in Nature Astronomy. By analysing layers of a deep-sea ferromanganese crust using accelerator mass spectrometry at HIAF and at ANSTO's VEGA facility, Dominik and the team led by the Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications measured three isotopes: iron-60, a fingerprint of nearby supernovae; plutonium-244, produced only in rare events; and curium-247, a shorter-lived process. The plutonium signal did not track the iron-60 peaks from recent supernovae, and curium-247 was absent entirely, together placing the last r-process event near Earth at more than 100 million years ago. It is the first experimental time limit of its kind, rules out several proposed models in the literature, and was achieved at the lowest detection limits worldwide for all three isotopes. Congratulations to Dominik and the whole collaboration. The paper can be found here, and Dominik has also written a lovely accessible summary here that I would encourage everyone to read. Thank you Dominik for sharing!
The 2027 Westpac Future Leaders Scholarships are now open. This is a wonderful opportunity for postgraduate students and we have had success in this program in our school before. To be eligible, applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents who have completed their first undergraduate degree from 2021, or will do so by 31 December 2026 (which makes this well worth discussing with our Honours students). Details can be found here.
Finally, it is with sadness that I share the news of the passing of Dr Snjezana Tomljenovic-Hanic, an alumna of our School who completed her PhD here under Prof. John Love and went on to build a distinguished career at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne. A funeral service will be held at Tobin Brothers Kingston, 75 Canberra Avenue, Kingston, on Tuesday 23rd June at 12:30pm.
Jodie |
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Join The RSPhys IDEA Committee
The IDEA Committee works to foster a culture of inclusiveness and fairness across RSPhys, advising on practices that ensure equal opportunity for all staff and students. Members help shape school policies, raise awareness of equity and diversity issues, and contribute to positive change - making RSPhys a place where everyone feels valued and supported.
If you’re passionate about equity and diversity and want to help make Physics at ANU a more inclusive and welcoming place for people of all backgrounds, we invite you to join the IDEA Committee. To express your interest, please email us at equity@physics.anu.edu.au with a few sentences about yourself and why you’d like to contribute. We look forward to hearing from you! » read more
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Science Movie Festival - Looking For Volunteers!
Embassies in Canberra are organizing a Science Movie Festival during Science week to celebrate the importance of sharing and coordinating research across the world to foster innovative approaches to a peaceful and sustainable development.
We are calling for volunteers to act as Fire Warden during the event which will take place in the Physics auditorium on 18, 19 and 20th August, from 5 to 8pm.
People interested should contact Prof Cedric Simenel. |
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Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship
Looking for a scholarship to support your postgrad studies or research?
Applications for 2027 Westpac Future Leaders Scholarships, each valued at up to $120,000 open on 24 June 2026.
Open to commencing postgraduate or research students ready to lead in sustainable futures, innovation, social change or Asia-Pacific leadership. This scholarship offers flexible funding, a nine-month leadership program and overseas opportunities to support your studies and grow your leadership potential.
Want to learn more? Register for our Online Information Session on Thursday 23 July 2026, 1.00 - 2.00pm AEST.
Applications close 20 August. |
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Deep-sea Analysis Deepens The Mystery Of Rare Ancient Cosmic Explosion
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A long time ago, in our galaxy, there was a rare, very violent explosion.
We may never know what it was: it could have been an especially large supernova (star explosion) or a collision between two neutron stars, and it was at least 100 million years ago.
Whatever it was, it was a hot enough furnace to create some of the rarest elements in the universe such as plutonium-244. These elements were strewn across the sky by the violence of the explosion, eventually reaching earth, where they settled at the bottom of the ocean some ten million years ago, to be dug up and analysed in the 21st century by Dr Dominik Koll and an international team of researchers. » read more
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CSIRO ON Prime - Applications Now Open
CSIRO ON Prime applications are now open again, with the window closing rapidly - round closes 8 July!
There is a strong opportunity to run the program locally in Canberra if we can reach a critical mass of ~10 teams in this round.
Application link: https://oninnovation.awardsplatform.com/ |
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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. » read more
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Physics In The Pub - Call For Presenters
It’s the season for Physics in the Pub! The call for presenters is open now, so get ready to share your secrets about the universe, be they small, large, and/or present at some intermediate length scale.
To register as a presenter, click here.
Physics in the Pub is your opportunity to get your creative hat on and dream up a fun way to engage a pub crowd with all things physics that take your fancy.
You have eight minutes to do it anyway you like - in the past we’ve had demos, rhymes, stand up, quizzes and even interpretive dance (and damn good powerpoint talks). What will you do?
MC Dr Phil Dooley will make sure the packed crowd will be warmed up and ready to listen, learn and laugh. We’re committed to showcasing the full diversity of the physics community in these events - everyone is invited to take part.
If you want a taste of the event - 2025’s show is on YouTube.
If you are interested please fill in the google form below. Any questions, ping Phil Dooley phil@philuponscience.com.au |
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InnovationACT - Registration Open
Are you passionate about innovation? Excited to turn bold ideas into real-world impact?
Register for InnovationACT and pitch your game-changing business concept to a panel of highly acclaimed judges to win from a pool of $10,000 AUD!
This opportunity is open to students and staff at the Australian National University, University of Canberra, University of New South Wales Canberra, Canberra Institute of Technology, and Australian Catholic University Canberra.
Over four weeks in August, teams will learn how to validate customer problems, test and evolve ideas, build a sustainable business model, and develop strong pitching skills. Program finalists pitch to a panel of judges for the chance to win funding.
To register and find out more, follow the link: https://cbrin.com.au/programs/iact
Registration closes 12 noon on the 10th of August. |
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College Hot Desking In Physics
HR, RM & Finance Teams
Thursday Mornings
Lv2 Tearoom, Bldg 160 |
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University Travel
- When booking travel for any type of University business, it is mandatory to use ATPI - » read more
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Departmental seminars
Mr Murray Jobbins - 25 June
Development of a Radio Frequency Inductively Coupled Plasma Torch for near-Thermal Nitrogen Plasma Production
» read more
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CoSM 3MT - June 24
Physics Auditorium - 10am - 12pm » read more
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Know your administrators...
Nikki Azzopardi, Belinda Barbour, Petra Rickman & Holly Zervos » read more
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Know your HDR Convenors...
Dr Michaela Froehlich
Dr Lilli Sun
HDR Convenors
A/Prof Vanessa Robins
Associate Director HDR |
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Know your Student Reps...
Lingxiao Li, Lakshmi Raja, Jessica Wierbik, Sheil Sequeira, Luke Johnstone & Taskil Dastoor
hdrsreps.physics@anu.edu.au |
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HR Support For CoSM SharePoint
The People and Culture division have re-aligned work within functional teams to improve consistency and quality of advice across the University. » read more
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CoSM Academic Promotions Intranet Page
Academic promotion underpins the University's goal to recognise academic staff achievements in research/creative activity, education, service and leadership.
Please 'read more' for key dates and information. » read more
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Free Flu Vaccinations
The University is committed to supporting staff health and wellbeing during the upcoming flu season. Free vaccinations are available this year, with three options to choose from:
1. On campus at the ANU Medical Centre (appointment bookings are available from 31 March 2026)
2. On campus at the ANU Pharmacy – book via the QR code on the Safety and Wellbeing webpage or attend as a walk-in
3. Off campus at a Terry White Chemist. Access the TWC voucher code in HORUS (valid until Friday 31 July) » read more
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