Dear {Contact_First_Name},
Welcome to the first AIP newsletter of
2025. I hope you have had a relaxing break over the summer!
We ended last year with a highly
successful AIP Congress in Melbourne – the largest Congress yet, with over 1100
participants! I would like to thank Congress Chair, Associate Professor Kaye
Morgan, for her extraordinary work in delivering a fantastic event, ably
assisted by Program Chair Andy Martin and team.
For the year ahead, the 2025
International Year of Quantum Science and Technology will be a major focus for
the AIP. Quantum Year is a great opportunity to promote physics, so I encourage
you to get involved! Read more
below.
It has been nearly two years since I
took the helm as AIP President – the time has flown! It has been an honour to
serve the Australian Physics community.
The 2025 AIP AGM will be held online today
– all welcome. Register below. I will be handing over the reins to
incoming President Dr Stuart Midgley and incoming Vice President Professor Sue
Coppersmith. With expertise that spans industry and academia, they will make a very
capable team. I will remain on the AIP Executive for the next two years,
providing support in the role of Immediate Past President.
As I reflect on my time as President, I
am particularly proud of our efforts to raise the profile of the AIP, to
promote the value of fundamental research, and to work in partnership with
others in the STEM sector on issues of common concern. It is particularly
pleasing to see the AIP play a productive role in conversations on changes at the ARC, the
National Science Priorities,
the teaching of high
school maths, and principles
for international scientific collaboration. I’d like to thank all
members of the AIP Executive for the hard work they have put in to make this
happen.
Congratulations to the physicists
recognised in the 2025 Australia Day Honours, including Professor Keith Nugent
AO, Professor Andrew Blakers AO, and Professor Joe Wolfe AM.
Finally,
we want your feedback! Let us know what works well and what can be improved via
our (anonymous) member survey. It closes in two weeks. One randomly selected
participant will win free membership for a year. More below.
Best wishes, Nicole Bell
President, Australian Institute of Physics
president@aip.org.au
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TODAY: AIP Annual General Meeting 2025
The 62nd AGM of the AIP is today at 5:30pm AEDT on Zoom.
All members are welcome and encouraged to attend. We hope to see you all there!
Registration is required: https://aip.org.au/event-5941503
Any questions? Email aip@aip.org.au.
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Reinventing electronics and computing: the 2025 Women in Physics Lecturers
For Quantum Year, the AIP has selected two 2025 Women in Physics Lecturers: Dr Sol H. Jacobsen and Dr Danielle Holmes will tour Australia this year as the AIP’s joint 2025 Women in Physics Lecturers.
Dr Jacobsen, Group Leader at QuSpin Centre for Quantum Spintronics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), develops materials that are both superconductive and magnetic (two properties that are usually at odds with each other) to create computers with little energy loss.
Dr Holmes, Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at UNSW Sydney, manipulates individual atoms in silicon chips to build “qubits” (quantum computing’s version of binary digits) to create scalable quantum computers.
Keep an eye out for lectures happening in your city this year. Read more.
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Ripples in spacetime & harnessing the momentum of light: AIP Fellows recognised
A pioneer in gravitational wave theory and mathematical
physics, Distinguished Professor Susan Scott (ANU) has been awarded the
George Szekeres Medal of the Australian Mathematical Society.
Professor Halina
Rubinsztein-Dunlop (UQ)
is a leader in the exploitation of the mechanical action of light: radiation
pressure, photon momentum, and electrical and magnetic forces. She has been
awarded the SPIE Gold Medal. Read
more.
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Quantum explained: Cosmos challenge
The quantum bee’s wings and choose your own quantum
adventure are two of the winning entries in the CSIRO, Cosmos, and AIP
challenge to explain quantum physics to kids aged 12-14.
“Quantum mechanics is really just a different perspective on
the world around us and the strongest submissions captured this perspective
effectively,” the judges said.
AIP President Prof Nicole Bell commented, “The competition
highlighted how powerful it can be to present complex science in an
approachable and engaging manner.”
Read more about the
competition and its winning submissions here.
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AIP Summer Meeting: call for speakers, sponsors & focus sessions
The 2025 AIP Summer Meeting will be held 1-5 December at the
University of Wollongong.
Share your recommendations for plenary and invited speakers
with us by 15 February, submit a proposal for a focus session topic by 15
March, or explore sponsorship and exhibition opportunities.
More info.
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Tell us what you think: AIP Member survey. Win 1yr free membership
What do you know about the AIP and what do you think?
Your
feedback is essential to helping us improve and grow.
Once completed, you will have the chance to win a year of
free membership, with access to awards,
scholarships, the Australian Physics magazine, and more.
Entries
close 16 February 2025. Read
more and submit.
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Renew NOW for 2025
Thank you for being a member of the Australian Institute of
Physics and supporting your professional association.
Renew TODAY to get
the $10 EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT on your membership fee. Discount ends today.
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If paying by bank transfer, please note our bank details have recently changed. This information is included in full on your tax invoice.
Bank: Bendigo Bank
BSB: 633000
Account number: ******595
Account Name: Australian Institute of Physics
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News and opportunities
A heartfelt thank you goes out to the AIP Congress
organisers, sponsors, and participants of the week-long celebration of
Australian physics. You can view scanned Congress proceedings and an index of
Congress papers on the AIP Congress
website.
PHYSCON 2025: “Making a Quantum Leap” on 21 February
2025. A conference for secondary school physics teachers. Online and in-person
at Swinburne University of Technology. Two keynotes from Prof Manjula Sharma
and Prof Nicholas Menicucci. View the full program and register here. If you
would like to sponsor or exhibit, please email vincent.conserva@gmail.com.
AIP Award winner Andrea Morello and his team at UNSW
published a big result in nature
physics last month: significantly reducing quantum errors in a quantum
computer. The result is accompanied with a Wes-Anderson style video
describing Schrödinger’s cat. The UNSW
media release goes into further detail.
Contribute a
technical article for Australian Physics magazine: Contact
the editors: editors@aip.org.au.
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Australian physics in the news
2025 will see huge advances in quantum computing. So what is
a quantum chip and how does it work? (The
Conversation)
Australian schools
have the world's worst gender gap in maths and science (ABC
News)
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Physics World Careers is an annual guide aimed at helping
those with a physics background make informed decisions about their career
path. Download a copy of Physics World / APS Careers
2025.
If you have a physics-related job or
PhD opportunity, let us know and we can provide a free link. For a small fee,
we can advertise your job as a feature with more details and a picture. Email Michael Schmidt for more information.
Need help? Contact aip@aip.org.au.
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Thank you to our supporters
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Our
mailing address is:
Australian Institute of Physics
PO Box 73, Parkville 3052, VIC Australia |
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Thank
you for supporting the AIP.
If
you have retired, or require financial assistance please contact, aip@aip.org.au or 0478 260 533.
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