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Welcome to my bulletin covering physics news and events for December 2011 and beyond.

This month in Melbourne Geoff Taylor delves into the Large Hadron Collider, in WA the Gingin Observatory ramps up its stargazing over the holiday period, and the South Australian and Western Australian branches meets for their annual dinner and AGM tonight.

Looking ahead to 2012, the next AIP Congress will be held in Sydney from 9-13 December 2012. The venue is yet to be confirmed, and I’ll keep you informed of key dates as they approach.

An Australian has been elected as the next President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). Bruce McKellar will take up his position in 2014.

And Science & Technology Australia has a new President, Michael Holland, from the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland. I continue to represent the AIP on the Board, and now also on the Executive Committee

Congratulations to AIP member Michelle Simmons of the University of New South Wales, who was named NSW Scientist of the Year at a ceremony at Government House in Sydney on Wednesday 23 November. Michelle is the director of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology which is developing quantum computers to carry out calculations billions of times faster than computers today.

Also, congratulations to the pioneer of the bionic ear, Graeme Clark, who is the 2011 CSL Florey medallist, joining past winners including Ian Frazer, Barry Marshall and Robin Warren. While receiving the prize at Parliament House in Canberra, Graeme announced that he will be joining NICTA, National ICT Australia Ltd, to help close the gap between electronics and the brain – making better connections to enable a bionic ear that would provide true hi-fi hearing.

In this bulletin I also update you on advertising in Australian Physics, and the Tasmanian branch committee for 2012.

It has come to my attention that the IoP has made an error in its renewal notices for AIP members requesting full rather than discounted fees. We are following this up and will get back to members as soon as possible.

Read more details 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. And you can 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. They also handle corrections, updates and bounces. If you have news or other information for the bulletin, email Niall by the 23^rd of each month at niall@scienceinpublic.com.au.

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year,

 

Marc

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In this bulletin:

 

SA branch AGM and dinner

DATE: Thursday 1 December

PROGRAM: 6:00 pm Pre-meeting drinks

6:45 pm Annual General Meeting

7:30 pm Annual Dinner

SPEAKER: Roger Clay, School of Chemistry and Physics, The University of Adelaide

VENUE: Public Schools Club, Sandford House, 207 East Terrace, Adelaide

AIP Education Committee (Victoria) meeting

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.

WA branch AGM and dinner

DATE: Wednesday 14 December [NB This event was originally incorrectly listed as being 1 December]

PROGRAM: 6:30 pm Annual General Meeting

7:00 pm Annual Dinner

SPEAKER: Robert Street

TITLE: The attractions of magnetism

VENUE: The University Club of Western Australia

CONTACT: Professor Ian McArthur at ian.mcarthur@uwa.edu.au or (08) 6488 2737

CAS public lectures (Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University)

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
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.

Gingin Observatory, Gingin

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) 9575 7740 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
2,3,9,29 December 2011 2,3,6,7,8,10,11,28 January 2012	8-10pm	Marvellous Moon stargazing
10 December 2011	8.30-10.30pm	Lunar Eclipse special event
17, 27 December 2011 13,14,17,18,20,21,24,25,27 January 2012	8-10pm	Dark Night stargazing

I’m pleased to announce that AIP member Professor Bruce McKellar, an honorary professorial fellow at The University of Melbourne, has been elected as the next President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). He’ll be the first President from the southern hemisphere when he takes up his position in 2014.

In 2006, Bruce won the AIP’s Harrie Massey Medal and Prize for contributions to physics or its applications, and in 1992 he won the AIP’s Walter Boas medal for physics research.

IUPAP was formed in 1922 to represent physics internationally, and Australia became a member in 1925.

The Tasmanian Branch committee for 2012 is:

Chair	Dr Elizabeth Chelkowska	e.chelkowska@gmail.com
Vice-Chair	Dr Raymond Haynes	rhaynes.tas@gmail.com
Secretary	Dr Stephen Newbery	stephen.newbery@dhhs.tas.gov.au
Treasurer	Dr Andrew Klekociuk	andrew.klekociuk@aad.gov.au
Committee	Prof John Dickey	john.dickey@utas.edu.au
	Dr Simon Ellingsen	simon.ellingsen@utas.edu.au
	Dr John Macfarlane	jcmacfarlane@netspace.net.au
	Dr Stanislav Shabala	stas.shabala@utas.edu.au

Professor Michael Holland, from the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland, is the new President of Science & Technology Australia, taking over from AIP member, and former AIP President, Cathy Foley. Michael paid tribute to Cathy for “her extraordinary contribution to STA and the science sector more broadly”. I’d like to add my thanks to Cathy, who has worked tirelessly for physics and science generally in her past two years as president of STA.

And I can also announce that the AIP is still represented on the Executive Committee as I have been appointed for a one-year term on the committee as an Ordinary Member, in addition to being on the Board (a position I took over from Brian James, our Immediate Past President, in February this year). You can see the full committee at http://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/about-science-australia/governance-and-board/.

A group of passionate physicists is starting an in-depth physics podcast in early 2012 and is looking for panellists and subjects to be interviewed.

The idea is to make a range of physics accessible to a general audience, without skimping on the experimental design and details commonly omitted in general science podcasts. They’ll discuss papers and research from across the globe with a particular focus on biophysics, but with forays into additional areas as well, in a format similar to TWiV (This Week in Virology).

If you’re interested in participating and generating a longstanding, high-quality physics education and information resource, contact the project co-ordinator, James ‘Elf’ Eldridge, a PhD Student with the MacDiarmid Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials in Wellington, NZ, on kaiwhata@gmail.com. All that is needed to participate is a Skype account, a microphone and a healthy passion for physics. All audio-editing and hosting will be performed by the project coordinator.

Otherwise, look out for the first episode, which will be released in early 2012.

The bi-monthly AIP journal, Australian Physics, accepts advertisements, inserts and news for products and topics relevant to the physics community. The advertising rates for 2012 can be found on the AIP website at http://aip.org.au/news/248.

Contact Brian James, the Chair of the Editorial Board, on b.james@physics.usyd.edu.au.

John Macfarlane, the book review editor for Australian Physics, is seeking 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 for review:

• “The Mindfield: Reinventing Science” by Hans Goodman (Ibis Books 2009)
• “Extreme Cosmos” by Bryan Gaensler (New South Books 2011)

We’d like suggestions for other books that could be reviewed in the journal. If you’ve recently come across a book that you think more people should hear about, let John know. And if you like, you can volunteer to review it.

Contact John at jcmacfarlane@netspace.net.au.

Send a student to NASA – nominations close Monday 5 December

The VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize offers an Australian university student the opportunity to attend the NASA Academy programs at NASA Ames Research Center, and work with a lead scientist or engineer on a current NASA project. The NASA Academy is an intensive select entry program that provides recent graduates with access to advanced science and engineering R&D, and an awareness of the complex managerial, political, financial, social, and human issues faced by the current and future aerospace programs.

Please visit the VSSEC website http://www.vssec.vic.edu.au/tertiary/vssec-nasa-australian-space-prize/ for more information including competition guidelines and submission instructions.

2013 (29th) Japan Prize

The Japan Prize Foundation awards the Japan Prize to people throughout the world who have produced creative breakthroughs in science and technology, substantially contributing to the progress of science and technology and significantly advancing the cause of world peace and prosperity.

The laureate in each field receives a certificate of merit, a prize medal, and a cash award of 50 million yen (currently approx. A$645,000). The prize announcement is made in January each year (the 2012 Prize will be announced in January 2012) and the presentation ceremony is held in April of the same year in Tokyo in the presence of their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

The fields eligible for the prize vary from year to year, and the Foundation has recently announced that the fields for the 2013 prize are:

• Areas of physics, chemistry and engineering: “Materials and production”
• Areas of life science, agriculture and medicine: “Biological production and biological environment”

The 2013 Japan Prize in the fields of “Materials and Production” will be awarded to an individual who has made significant contributions to society by achieving momentous scientific and technological breakthroughs that improve the quality and safety of people’s lives by designing and developing materials with new functions, or advanced production technologies that will create new products and industries.

More information at http://www.japanprize.jp/en/prize_fields.html.

Please check the departmental websites for any updates.

The Director’s Colloquium – Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University

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
8 December	Tanya Monro, University of Adelaide	TBA

Australia Telescope National Facility

The Australia 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 Ryan Shannon on ryan.shannon@csiro.au or 02 9372 4326.

Date	Speaker	Title
15 December (nb Thursday)	Nick Seymour, CASS	Projet HeRGÉ: coeval bulge and black hole growth in powerful high redshift radio galaxies
18 January 2012 (nb 3pm)	Kazuhito Motogi, Hokkaido University	TBA

School of Physics, University of Sydney

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.

No seminars are currently timetabled for December or January. Check the website for details.

School of Physics, University of NSW

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
8 December	Antonio H. Castro Neto, National University of Singapore & Boston University, USA	New directions in materials science and technology: two-dimensional crystals

Physics Department, University of Queensland

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.

No seminars are currently timetabled for December or January. Check the website for details.

Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University

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
1 December	Amanda Bauer, AAO	Linking star formation histories with the growth of stellar mass
6 December (Tuesday)	Bililign Dullo, Swinburne	18-month review
8 December	Nick Kaiser, IfA, Hawaii	TBA
15 December	Nicola Napolitano, Napoles	TBA
20 December (Tuesday)	Caroline Foster, ESO	TBA

 

School of Physics, University of 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

NCTA 2011

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

ANU, Canberra, ACT

5 – 7 Dec 2011

NEW IEEE 2011 International Conference on Applied Superconductivity and Electromagnetic Devices (ASEMD2011)

University of Technology, Sydney

14 – 16 Dec 2011

ISSET Mission Discovery Summer School

University of Adelaide, South Australia

16 – 20 Jan 2012

36th Annual Condensed Matter & Materials Meeting

Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW

31 Jan – 03 Feb 2012

ACMM22/APMC10/ICONN2012

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

NEW Radiation 2012

AINSE, Lucas Heights, Sydney

15 – 17 Feb 2012

2012 Physics Teachers’ Conference

Monash University, Melbourne

17 -18 Feb 2012

2012 Queensland Astronomy Education Conference (QAEC)

Brisbane, Queensland

25 Feb 2012

5th Chaotic Modeling and Simulation International Conference (CHAOS2012)

Athens, Greece

12 – 15 Jun 2012

ICHEP2012 – 36th International Conference on High Energy Physics

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Victoria

4 – 11 Jul 2012

ANU Nuclei in the Cosmos Winter School, 2012

ANU, Canberra

30 Jul – 3 Aug 2012

XII International Symposium on Nuclei in the Cosmos

Cairns Convention Centre, Qld

5 – 10 Aug 2012

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

75th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society

Cairns Convention Centre, Qld

12 – 17 Aug 2012

IRMMW-THz 2012 – 37th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves

Wollongong, NSW

23 – 28 Sep 2012

XV International Conference on Small-Angle Scattering SAS 2012

Sydney, NSW

18 – 23 Nov 2012

My next bulletin will come out in mid-January, after the holiday period. We welcome contributions about activities, conferences and announcements by Monday 9 January. Please send your submissions to Niall Byrne (by replying to this email) 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.

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

If you know of anyone who would like to receive these updates, please feel free to forward this to them.

Kind regards,

Marc

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Dr Marc Duldig

President of the Australian Institute of Physics

Phone: + 61 (0) 421 757 285

Email: aip_president@aip.org.au