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From Marc Duldig, President of the Australian Institute of Physics

Welcome to my bulletin for AIP members covering physics news and events for October 2011 and beyond.

This month European astronaut Hans Schlegel gives a public talkin Melbourne (6 October) and the next day, schools across the country will have the chance hear him via video conference.

“The Dish,” at CSIRO's Parkes Observatory in NSW is celebrating its 50th anniversary by giving the public a rare chance to go up and through the iconic telescope on 8-9 October 2011.

Tamara Davis, young award-winning astrophysicist from the University of Queensland, continues her Women in Physics speaking tour in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.

AIP Vice President Rob Robinson, Bruce McKellar and I will be flying to London as Australian delegates to the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) General Assembly.

The AIP Executive is meeting on 17 October at Monash University in Victoria. If you have any issues you wish to bring to the executive’s attention please let me know.

Read more about these and other topics below. Then click through to our calendar at http://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/events/aip-event-calendar to book events into your diary and to add your own events.

If you have trouble reading the bulletin in this format, it’s also online at www.aip.org.au. You can also read it and RSS it on my blog here and on LinkedIn.

You are welcome to contact me regarding AIP or other physics matters. Just email aip_president@aip.org.au.

Please note that replies to this email go to Niall Byrne, Science in Public, whose team compiles and manages the bulletin on my behalf, and also handles corrections, updates and bounces. If you have news or other information for the bulletin, email Niall by the 23^rd of each month.

Kind regards,

Marc Duldig,

AIP President

In this bulletin:

1. AIP events across the country
2. Activities for the general public, students and teachers
3. Kids in space – the Victorian Space Science Education Centre
4. Books available for review for Australian Physics
5. Cloud astronomy
6. Fellowships and competitions
7. Seminars
8. Conferences
9. Submissions to the bulletin and journal

Tamara Davis, an award-winning astrophysicist from the University of Queensland, continues her 2011 AIP Women in Physics lecture tour in October with school talks.

TITLE: The dark side of the Universe

Observations of the universe over the last few decades have thrown us some curve balls. We thought we had the basic picture—the universe is expanding, and all the structure we now see formed thanks to gravity out of little over-dense clumps in the hot, dense, early universe. Well that was all true, but we've realised that that's not the end of the story. There's a dark side to the universe that we don't usually see, and it seems that everything we thought we knew makes up only 5 per cent of the universe! Dark matter and dark energy make up the rest.

In her talk Tamara will explain why we are so certain of such a seemingly ludicrous proposition, and what we can hope to learn by studying these wild and wonderful phenomena.

Public talks

Dates	Details
Wednesday 12 October	10am, VSSEC (The Victorian Space Science Education Centre), Strathmore, Vic
Wednesday 19 October	6:30pm, Building 7, Room 234, The University of Queensland

In addition to the lecture in Queensland, Tamara will be talking Western Australia later in the year.

School talks

Dates	Details
Tuesday 11 October	9.30am, Matthew Flinders Girls High, Geelong
Tuesday 11 October	1:30pm, Ballarat University
Wednesday 12 October	10am, VSSEC (The Victorian Space Science Education Centre), Strathmore, Vic
Wednesday 19 October	4pm, All Hallows School, Brisbane

For more information on QLD lecture tour events contact: Kristy Vernon k.vernon@qut.edu.au

For more information on VIC lecture tour events contact: Dan O'Keeffe danok@bigpond.com

TITLE: Thinking INSIDE the box: innovation in packaging

VENUE: CSIRO Materials Science & Engineering, Bradfield Road, West Lindfield, NSW 2070

The AIP and RACI are joining forces in celebration of the International Year of Chemistry. Our annual event is more like “Materials Science in Industry” this year. One of the most important areas where physics, chemistry and industry strongly intersect is packaging

More info: Scott Martin, scott@physics-industry.com, (02) 9413 7746.

PROGRAM:

• 2 – 6pm: Student presentations (Slade Lecture Theatre, University of Sydney)
• 6 – 6.30pm: AGM (Slade Lecture Theatre, University of Sydney)
• 6.35pm: Guest speaker Professor Ross McPhedran: Some useful physics (Slade Lecture Theatre, University of Sydney)
• 8 – 10pm: Annual dinner at the Buon Gusto – booking and pre-payment required by Friday 11 November

Each New South Wales University is invited to nominate one student to compete for the $500 prize and Postgraduate medal. The Royal Society of NSW will also award a Scholarship prize of $500 as a separate award category for this event.

Students are asked to make a 20- minute presentation on their postgraduate research in Physics, and the presentation will be judged on the criteria: (1) content and scientific quality, (2) clarity and (3) presentation skills.

Students nominated for the awards will also be invited as guests for the NSW AIP Branch annual dinner that follows the presentations.

These awards have been created to encourage excellence in postgraduate work, and all nominees who participate in the Postgraduate Awards Day will receive a special certificate recognising the nominee’s high standing.

The nomination form the Postgraduate awards, including title and abstract of the presentation, must be submitted by Friday 14 October.

Meetings are usually held in the Parnell Building, in lecture room 222 on the St. Lucia campus of The University of Queensland, from 6 pm -7.00 pm.

The lecture, usually illustrated by items from the Physics Museum collection, will be followed by a discussion period where participants will be encouraged to show the intriguing objects they have brought along. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of the School of Mathematics and Physics. The Physics Museum will be open from 5.30 pm on the meeting days.

Date	Speaker	Title
18 October	Manley	Opt interferometers and relativity
15 November	Roberts/NRH	Murday's clocks and instruments

More info from Norman Heckenberg on heckenberg@physics.uq.edu.au and on the website closer to the date of the talk.

TITLE: Neutron stars and the race for gravitational wave detection

SPEAKER: Duncan Galloway, Monash University

VENUE: Physics Lecture Theatre1, Sandy Bay Campus, University of Tasmania

A massive worldwide effort is currently underway to build detectors sensitive enough to detect gravitational waves. These waves are produced whenever massive objects are in motion, and neutron stars in binary systems are but one of the candidates for detection. Neutron stars possess extreme densities, temperatures, and spin rates, and despite much observational and theoretical effort there remains substantial uncertainty about just what goes on inside these objects. Duncan will describe the properties and physics behind these exotic objects, and explain how X-ray and optical observations are used to probe their interiors as well as preparing for future gravitational wave searches.

Kew High School, Kew

The AIP Education Committee normally meets on the second Tuesday of the month from 5pm – 7pm. All teachers are welcome to attend. If you would like to attend, please contact the chair, Sue Grant, at susanmgrant1@bigpond.com to confirm the details.

Australian schools are invited to join a series of videoconferences bring students into contact with Australians who work in the space industry at NASA, the European Space Agency and in Australia. Meet an engineer designing the next Optus satellite and a scientist exploring Mars.

Follow the link to book a free session through the Victorian Space Science Education Centre.

The CSIRO's Parkes Observatory is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Commissioning on 31 October 1961.

Members of the public will be given the rare opportunity to tour the Dish. On the weekend of 8-9 October 2011, the Parkes Observatory will host an Open Weekend, offering guided tours up and through the famous radio telescope. The open days showcase the achievements of the Observatory as a world-leading astronomical telescope as well as its role in supporting some of the most significant space missions in history.

The Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing holds regular free public lectures on the Hawthorn campus at 6.30pm. For more info go to the Swinburne public astronomy lecture website.

VENUE: Swinburne University, Hawthorn campus

Free, but booking required

Date	Speaker	Title	Room
19 October	Sarah Maddison, Swinburne University	TBA	BA210
2 December	Geoff Taylor	Explorations using the Large Hadron Collider	ATC101

Contact: Elizabeth Thackray on ethackray@swin.edu.au or (03) 9214 5569, or book online.

Swinburne will be running a 3D AstroTour for the general public (ages 6 and up). The 50 minute show features the 3D movies “Bigger Than Big” and “Extreme Places”

DATES:

• 11am, Tuesday 4 October
• 2pm, Wednesday 5 October
• 7pm, Wednesday 5 October
• 2pm, Thursday 6 October

VENUE: AstroTours are held in the Swinburne University Virtual Reality Theatre, ground floor of the AR building (AR104).

Cost is $10 and bookings are required.

The Australian Synchrotron Open Day is your chance to visit one of Australia’s most exciting scientific facilities and see how synchrotron science can make life better for everyone. Keep an eye on their website for when bookings open.

SPEAKER: Hans Schlegel, European Space Agency Astronaut and NASA Mission Specialist

VENUE: VSSEC, 400 Pascoe Vale Rd, Strathmore

Bookings essential.

SPEAKER: Hans Schlegel, European Space Agency Astronaut and NASA Mission Specialist

Limit of three classes per school. Bookings essential

Western Australia

Gingin Observatory runs a variety of public events, many suitable for families, as well as regular stargazing tours. More info is available at the Observatory website or by contacting Carol Redford or Donna Vanzetti on (08)95757740 or stars@ginginobservatory.com. Contact Carol or Donna to book into events.

The Gravity Discovery Centre is open every day of the school holidays, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Special events include:

Date	Time	Event
1,5,7,12 October	7-9.30pm	Marvellous Moon stargazing
8 October	7-9.30pm	International observe the Moon night
14,15,22,28,29 October	7-9.30pm	Dark night stargazing

Naomi Mathers, program developer at VSSEC, outlines the centre’s activities for schools and the general public:

The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) is one of six Specialist Maths and Science Centres established by the Victorian State Government. VSSEC uses the context of space to engage students and teachers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It offers unique learning experiences like the Mission to Mars and Mission to the Orbiting Space Laboratory for Year 9 & 10; the Primary Expedition to the M.A.R.S. Base for Year 5 & 6; and the new Robotic Mission to Mars which allows any school in the world to establish a Mission Control in their classroom and control a real rover on the VSSEC Mars surface. VSSEC offers specialist VCE programs, Video Conference programs and Teacher Professional Learning.

Thanks to its university and industry partnerships, VSSEC can offer unique experiences and access to experts. Coming up:

• meet ESA Astronaut Hans Schlegel at VSSEC on 6October;
• Dr Tamara Davis will discuss the “Dark Side of Astronomy” on the 12October;
• the Australians in Space Video Conference program will run from 17– 21October. Talk to Australians working at NASA, the European Space Agency and in Australia. Meet an engineer designing the next Optus satellite, a scientist exploring Mars, and the Manager of the Australian Space Policy Unit who is working on Australia’s new space policy.

VSSEC is currently supporting the Cassini Scientist for a Day competition and looking for a team to represent Australia in the APRSAF International Water Rocket Competition in Singapore this December.

Visit the VSSEC website for more information join the join the VSSEC mailing list to hear about future events at VSSEC

John Macfarlane, the book review editor for Australian Physics, is seeking book reviewers for the journal, to write a short review (300-500 words). If your review is accepted for publication you may keep the book for your own use. This month John has the following books awaiting review:

• “Einstein Before Israel – Zionist Icon or Iconoclast?” by Ze’ev Rosenkranz (Princeton University Press 2011)
• “Free Radicals: The secret anarchy of science” by Michael Brooks (Profile Books 2011).
• “The 4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the race to discover the rest of reality” by Richard Panek (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2011)
• “The Mindfield: Reinventing Science”, by Hans Goodman (Ibis Books 2009)

Contact John at jcmacfarlane@netspace.net.au if you are interested in reviewing a book or have a suggestion of another book to review.

The SkyNet project, a community computing science initiative to help discover the hidden Universe, was launched in early September. By joining, people can contribute their spare computing power to process radio astronomy data. In effect, it is community-based cloud computing which complements existing supercomputers to help analyse the volumes of data generated by radio telescopes, searching for sources of radiation at radio wavelengths that could be coming from stars, galaxies and other objects throughout the Universe.

To find out more, and sign up, go to http://www.theskynet.org/index.php.

The SkyNet is sponsored by the Government of Western Australia’s Department of Commerce and developed by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy (ICRAR), in conjunction with UK based computing company, eMedia Track.

Please consider if you know people who would be appropriate candidates for the following science prizes.

Nominations for the $70,000 The Australian Innovation Challenge awards – aimed at finding Australia’s next big breakthroughs in fields ranging from clean energy technology through agriculture to astronomy – have been extended.

The seven professional categories are: agriculture and food; minerals and energy; health; environment; ICT; education and manufacturing and hi-tech design (designs either taken up in Australia or exported). Many of the categories also cover enabling technology, such as nanotechnology, advanced materials and biotechnology.

The awards are open to individuals and teams, and you can enter more than one project. International collaborative projects are eligible as long as the work was driven from Australia. The awards recognise innovation purely for the public good as well as breakthroughs with direct commercial potential. For example, a new land management system that locked up more carbon dioxide in the soil or vegetation could be eligible for entry in the environment or the agriculture and food category.

Nominations now close on October 12.

More information: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/innovationchallenge

The NSW Scientist of the Year Awards were established in 2008 to recognise and reward the state's leading researchers for cutting edge work that generates economic, health, environmental or technological benefits for NSW.

In 2011, the awards have been extended to acknowledge the importance of engineering in science and have been renamed the NSW Science and Engineering Awards 2011. The awards aim to engage and involve the general public as well as the NSW research community to promote the value of science and engineering and to encourage careers in both fields.

There are nine categories with a prize purse of $100,000 including $55,000 for NSW Scientist of the Year

Nominations close Monday 17 October

More information at http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/networking-and-events/awards/nsw-science-engineering-awards

Do you know an early-career scientist or engineer whose efforts to engage the public with science and technology are worthy of recognition? Nominations are invited now for the 2011 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. The award specifically focuses on recognising individual scientists for their public engagement activities that promote interactive dialogue with a non-scientific, public audience, and is open to people from all countries.

The award includes a $5,000 prize and support to attend the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada. Nominations may be made by AAAS affiliate organisations, universities, government agencies, media, research organisations, and individuals. The award is open to individual early-career scientists and engineers who have been working in their current field for less than seven years at a pre-tenure or equivalent level.

More information: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2011/0816pe_early_career.shtml

Award eligibility and nomination procedures: http://www.aaas.org/go/PESaward

Nominations close 15 October.

Zonta International, a global organisation working to advance the status of women worldwide, invites applications for the 2012 academic year from qualified women of any nationality enrolled in a PhD in aerospace-related sciences or aerospace-related engineering for fellowships of $US10,000 each. The Fellowship may be used for tuition, books and fees, or living expenses (room, board or travel).

Applications, preferably by email, must be received by 15 November 2011.

More information at www.zonta.org (click here to go straight to the fellowship details) or from Ana Reyes at programs@zonta.org.

The Group of Eight (Go8) universities are seeking applications for their 2012 European Fellowships, which award up to $20,000 for researchers to travel to Australia in 2012 and work at a Go8 university for up to six months. The Fellowships are open to early career researchers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Croatia.

Applications close on 21 October 2011.

More information at http://www.go8.edu.au/university-staff/programs-_and_-fellowships-1/go8-european-fellowships

The Cassini Scientist for a Day Essay Contest is offered by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It’s an opportunity for students to learn about the Cassini mission to Saturn and earn the chance to ask the scientists working on the mission about their work.

More information at http://www.vssec.vic.edu.au/events/competitions/cassini-scientist-for-a-day-2011/

All applications must be emailed to bookings@vssec.vic.edu.au no later than Wednesday 26th October, 2011.

Two students (12-16 yrs old) and one teacher will be selected to represent Australia in the APRSAF-18 Water Rocket Competition in Singapore, 3 - 4 December, 2011. More info at http://www.vssec.vic.edu.au/events/competitions/aprsaf-18-water-rocket-competition/

Applications close Monday 17 October 2011.

Please check the departmental websites for any updates.

The Director’s Colloquium at the Research School of Physics and Engineering is the leading physics forum in the ACT and is focused on presentations by high profile scientists who are also outstanding communicators. The colloquia are held monthly on Thursdays at 12.30pm in the Leonard Huxley Theatre (Building 56) of the ANU.

More info can be obtained here or from the Colloquium Chair Dr Dragomir Neshev (dragomir.neshev@anu.edu.au).

Date	Speaker	Title
20 October	Marvin Cohen, University of California	Einstein, nanoscience, and superconductivity
10 November	Mike Charlton, University of Wales, Swansea	TBA
8 December	Tanya Monro, University of Adelaide	TBA

The Australian Telescope National Facility holds regular colloquia on Wednesdays at 3.30pm (coffee at 3.15pm) in the ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre. More info here or contact Patrick Weltevrede on patrick.weltevrede@atnf.csiro.au.

Date	Speaker	Title
7 October (Note: Friday 12.30pm, ATNF Basement Meeting Room)	Luke Hindson, University of Hertfordshire/CASS	TBA
19 October	Xiaopeng You	TBA
26 October	Yiannis Gonidakis, CASS	TBA
16 November	Evelyne Alecian, Observatoire de Paris - Meudon	TBA
23 November	Tom Jarret, California Institute of Technology	TBA
30 November	Melanie Gendre, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics	TBA

The School of Physics holds regular colloquia on Mondays at 3.15pm (refreshments from 3pm) in the Slade Lecture Theatre, School of Physics A28, University of Sydney. More info here or contact Bruce Yabsley (02) 9351 5970 or colloquium_chair@physics.usyd.edu.au.

Date	Speaker	Title
17 October	Mahananda Dasgupta, Australian National University	TBA
24 October	Steven Flammia, California Institute of Technology	TBA
31 October	Geraint Lewis, University of Sydney	TBA
7 November	Christopher Power, ICRAR, UWA	TBA
14 November	Phil Diamond, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science	TBA
28 November	Nicholas Kaiser, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii	TBA
12 December	Trevor Vickey, University of the Witwatersrand	TBA

The School of Physics holds regular colloquia on Tuesdays at 3-4pm in the School of Physics Common Room, Room 64, Old Main Building, University of NSW. More info here or contact Julian Berengut on jcb@phys.unsw.edu.au or (02) 9385 7637.

Date	Speaker	Title
27 October	Marvin L. Cohen from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, University of California	Einstein, nanoscience and superconductivity

The Physics Department holds regular colloquia on Fridays at 4pm (refreshments from 3.30pm) in Room 222, Parnell Building, University of Queensland. More info here or contact Chao Feng on uqcfeng1@uq.edu.au or (07) 3346 7719.

Check their website for details.

The Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing holds regular colloquia, usually on Thursdays at 11.30am, in the Swinburne Virtual Reality Theatre (Room 104, AR Building). More info here or contact Felipe Marin on colloquium@astro.swin.edu.au.

Date	Speaker	Title
4 October (Tuesday), 2pm	Vincenzo Pota, CAS, FICT, SUT	A survey of GC kinematics in early-type galaxies (18 month PhD talk)
6 October	David Silva, NOAO	TBA
7 October (Friday)	Peter Barnes, Florida	TBA
11 October	Georgios Vernados, Swinburne	6-month PhD review
13 October	Peter Jensen, SUT	Dynamically-driven galaxy evolution in cold front clusters (30 month PhD talk)
18 October (Tuesday)	Amr Hassan, Swinburne	30 month PhD review
20 October	Tyler Bourke, Harvard University	TBA
25 October (Tuesday)	Guido Loloya, Swinburne	6-month PhD review
27 October	Heath Jones, Monash University	TBA
3 November	Max Bernyk, Swinburne	18-month review
8 November (Tuesday)	Syed Uddin, Swinburne	6-month PhD review
17 November	Jill Rathborne, CSIRO	TBA
25 November (Friday)	Christina Blom, Swinburne	30-month PhD review
1 December	Amanda Bauer, AAO	TBA
8 December	Nick Kaiser, IfA, Hawaii	TBA
20 December (Tuesday)	Caroline Foster, ESO	TBA

Western Australia

The School of Physics, UWA holds regular seminars on Tuesdays at 3.45-4.45pm in Room 2.15 (and also other times and locations, where noted). More info here or contact Gay Hollister on ghollis@cyllene.uwa.edu.au or (08) 6488 2738.

Date	Speaker	Title
6 December	Adekunle Adeyeye, National University of Singapore	Complex Periodic Magnetic Nanostructures: An Experimental Platform for Magnonics

NEW STAVCON - Science Teachers’ Association of Victoria annual conference

La Trobe University, Melbourne

28 - 29 Nov 2011

Solomonoff 85th Memorial Conference

Melbourne, Victoria

30 Nov – 02 Dec 2011

17th AINSE Conference on Nuclear and Complementary Techniques of Analysis & 12th Vacuum Society of Australia Congress

ANU, Canberra, ACT

5 – 7 Dec 2011

Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW

31 Jan – 03 Feb 2012

The 22nd Australian Conference on Microscopy and Microanalysis (ACMM 22), the10th Asia-Pacific Microscopy Conference (APMC 10) and the 2012 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN 2012)

Perth, Western Australia

05 – 09 Feb 2012

Monash University, Melbourne

17 -18 Feb 2012

Brisbane, Queensland

25 Feb 2012

Athens, Greece

12 – 15 Jun 2012

Abstracts due by 30 October 2011

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Victoria

04 – 11 Jul 2012

ANU, Canberra

30 Jul – 03 Aug 2012

Cairns Convention Centre, Qld

05 – 10 Aug 2012

Registration and abstracts open in November. Abstract submission closes 5 Apr 2012. Early bird registration closes 4 June 2012.

Cairns Convention Centre, Qld

12 – 17 Aug 2012

Wollongong, NSW

23 – 28 Sep 2012

Sydney, NSW

18 – 23 Nov 2012

My next bulletin will include events for November and beyond. We welcome contributions about activities, conferences and announcements by Tuesday 25 October 2011. Please send your submissions to Niall Byrne or Margie Beilharz from Science in Public on margie@scienceinpublic.com.au or call (03) 9398 1416.

You can also submit your physics events directly to the AIP Events Calendar—they will be approved and publicly accessible in just a couple of days, and will also be included in the next month’s bulletin.

If you have an article you would like to submit to 'Australian Physics', please send it to the Editor, Peter Robertson on prob@unimelb.edu.au or to the Chair, Editorial Board, Brian James on b.james@physics.usyd.edu.au.

_________________________

For more information on physics events go to the AIP Events Calendar.