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Director's Message
Dear Colleagues,
Congratulations to Dr Shankar Dutt from the Department of Materials Physics, who has won the Symal Innovation Award at the 2026 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards, a national program recognising Australians aged 30 and under. Shankar was recognised for his work developing AI-integrated solid-state nanopore biosensors for early disease detection and environmental monitoring, work that could eventually support low-cost blood tests for conditions such as Alzheimer's. Well done Shankar.
Continuing the biophysics theme, this week's research highlight also comes from the Department of Materials Physics, from Dr Philipp Lösel. The paper, in Communications Medicine, describes a tool that compares CT scans taken at rest and under abdominal strain to map how the abdominal wall moves and deforms. Surgeons repairing a hernia normally size the mesh from the opening itself, but the unstable region of the wall is often larger and not centred on that opening, so making the strain visible beforehand gives them a much better picture to work from. It was used alongside standard practice in 31 patients, all of whom remained free of pain and recurrence at three years, though the cohort was small. The work draws on imaging and segmentation expertise developed here through the ARC Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling and Manufacturing, and the paper can be found here. If you would like your own work featured as a future research highlight, submissions can be made here, or feel free to email me directly.
Last week it was a pleasure to welcome Prof Meera Parish from Monash University who gave the July Director's Colloquium, on quantum mixtures and quasiparticles. Meera spoke about how the quantum impurity problem, where a few particles become dressed by a surrounding medium, has grown into a framework spanning everything from cold atomic gases to neutron stars. These colloquia are an important part of academic and community life in the school and I would encourage all staff and students to come along, whether or not the topic sits close to your own research. I gather there were even sausage rolls left over last week!
Finally, we are still looking for a few volunteers for the ANU 80th Celebration on Saturday 15 August, running from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, to help with two activities (Quantum Games and Holographic Chocolate making!) Please get in touch with Claudia Nicoletti if you would like to help.
Jodie |
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Congratulations!
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Dr. Shankar Dutt on winning the Symal Innovation Award at the 2026 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards. This award recognises a young achiever under the age of 30 whose work demonstrates outstanding innovation. The 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards is a long-running Australian program delivered by Awards Australia in partnership with the Seven Network, celebrating the achievements of young Australians aged 30 and under. » read more
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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.
Applications close 20 August |
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ACT Space Workforce Strategy | Student Consultation EoI
The Canberra Cyber Hub is currently undertaking a project to better understand the current and future workforce needs of the ACT space sector and identify opportunities to strengthen Canberra's position as a leading centre for space capability, innovation, and economic growth.
As part of this work, they are seeking input from students who may be considering careers within the broader space ecosystem. On Thursday 6 August from 3:00pm - 4:30pm, they will be holding a virtual student consultation to explore perspectives on career pathways, workforce attraction and the factors that influence decisions to live and work in Canberra.
In particular, they are hoping to include:
- A mix of undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students.
- Primarily domestic students, with limited places available for international students; and
- Students from disciplines relevant to the broader space ecosystem, including engineering, computing, cyber security, data, physics and related fields.
As places are limited, completing the form does not guarantee participation. Attendees will be selected to ensure an appropriate mix of study levels, backgrounds and perspectives. They will confirm participation directly with selected students and provide the Teams invitation. » read more
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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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MSI Public Lecture | Aug 18
'On Rational And Irrational Numbers, Strings And Harmony'
Speaker: Uri Onn (ANU) | Musicians: John Mackey (Tenor Saxophone), Wayne Kelly (Piano) and Ben O'Loghlin (Double Bass)
This lecture aims at introducing the general audience to a beautiful relationship between maths, physics and music. We will explore the evolution of ideas that led to the equal temperament, the 12-note system which prevails in much music worldwide. The main characters in this story are the wave equation in a string and its pure solutions, which are given by waves with integral periods; the relations between them which are rational numbers; and finally, a twist in the plot where equal temperament is actually done with irrational numbers to achieve symmetry.
The lecture will be accompanied by live music.
Date: Tues 18 Aug 2026
Time: 6-8pm
Venue: Llewellyn Hall, Building 100
Register » read more
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Staff Movements
Prof Jodie Bradby will be on leave from 14/8/26 through 1/9/26
Prof Cedric Simenel & Prof Hoe Tan will be acting Director over this period* » read more
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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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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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Research Opportunities Funding Portal
Explore current and upcoming grants, funding opportunities, and a curated collection of forms, templates, and resources to support your research journey. » read more
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ANU Staff Card Printing And Collection
New and replacement staff cards will now be printed and collected from different locations. » 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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