Dear {Contact_First_Name},

We had two major physics announcements late last week. First, we had the discovery of a low frequency stochastic gravitational wave background, which is likely due to inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries. This detection was made using pulsar timing array experiments, including NanoGrav and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array.

Second, on the same day, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory revealed they had made the long-awaited detection of high-energy neutrino emission from our own galaxy. With neutrino astronomy and gravitational waves each providing a new window to the Universe, these are exciting times!

We are thrilled to welcome Dr Stuart Midgley to the AIP National Executive this year as our new Vice President. With experience in industry and defence, Stuart brings valuable expertise and insight into physics beyond academia, further strengthening our mission to promote physics in Australia. You can read more below.

Our Women in Physics Lecturer, Dr Karen Livesey, has embarked on her national tour to discuss the remarkable potential of nano-magnets. Stay tuned as her tour continues; more events are to be announced.

The AIP Executive is searching for an enthusiastic Awards Officer to oversee our awards. The AIP awards play an important role in recognising excellence in Australian physics, and the role is a great opportunity to expand your networks within the Australian physics community. I thank Dr Joanna Turner, who has served in this position for the past four years and is now passing the torch.

Best wishes,

Nicole Bell
President, Australian Institute of Physics
president@aip.org.au

Join the AIP Executive

The AIP Executive is looking for an enthusiastic Awards Officer to administer the AIP’s awards, which are among our highest-profile activities.

“It’s a great way to grow your network across the Australian physics community, and make connections with those working in many physics subdisciplines,” says outgoing Awards Officer Dr Joanna Turner, who is stepping down after four years of service in the role.

Magnetise to a lecture near you

Dr Karen Livesey has hit the road on her National Tour to talk nano-magnets and their potential for treating cancer, storing data, and more.

Kicking off in Perth, where her physics training began, Karen gave lectures at Curtin University and The University of Western Australia, and visited high schools. She also dropped into ABC Perth.

Her next stop is Victoria.

Find an event near you on the Women in Physics Tour.

“An exciting time to be a physicist!” – AIP’s Vice President

This year the AIP welcomed Dr Stuart Midgley as Vice President on the AIP National Executive.

With over 25 years’ experience in the high-performance computing (HPC) sector, Stuart has been using, programming, administering, designing, building and now ‘evangelising’ some of the largest HPC systems in the world.

“I see the next couple of decades as an exciting time to be a physicist!”

News and opportunities

AIP Fellow Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop is standing for election as Vice President of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics; representing an important step in Australian engagement with this major international physics organisation.

Professor Joss Bland-Hawthorn, from the University of Sydney School of Physics and Director of the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, has been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Congratulations on this prestigious honour. Read more.

Submit your abstracts and focus sessions to be part of the 2023 ANZCOP-AIP Summer meeting. Focus sessions showcase emerging physics research topics of significant interest to the Australian physics community. Contact anzcop.aip@gmail.com for more info about focus sessions. Read more.

Australian Physics Magazine is seeking exceptional physics research articles or essays written by Year 12 students. In the final issue of 2023, we will publish one engaging article that demonstrates excellent critical thinking and research skills. Please contact the editors at editors@aip.org.au for further information. Submissions close Friday 15 September.

Calling Victorian women physicists and engineers: help inspire young women into STEM careers at the Girls in Physics Breakfast program, organised by Vicphysics Teachers’ Network and AIP. Share your career journey and tips with girls in Years 10 to 12 over breakfast and hear from a speaker – including Women in Physics Lecturer Karen Livesey. Breakfasts are happening across the state. Find one near you.

Thank you to all who attended the inaugural Physics Jobs Fair 2023 hosted by AIP SA and IPAS. This event gave over 50 university students the opportunity to engage with companies who are seeking to locally employ physicists. Thanks to the companies who attended: DST Group, CSIRO, Ellex, Ziltek, Babcosck, Shoal Group, QuantX Labs, Fleet Space Technologies, QinetiQ and Norseld. Read more and see pics from the event.

‘Dark Matters’, a new exhibition presenting art and science projects that interrogate the undefinable, unmeasurable and unsettling phenomenon that is dark matter is coming to the Science Gallery Melbourne in August. It has been developed by Science Gallery Melbourne, the University of Melbourne, Arts at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics. Read more.

Early-career researchers can now nominate for the 2024 IUPAP Early Career Scientist Prize in Mathematical Physics. The prize recognises exceptional achievements in mathematical physics up to eight years post PhD (excluding career interruptions). Nominate by 30 September. Read more.

NSW Community Outreach to Physics Award 2023: awarded to individuals that conduct activities that engage our community and contribute to public engagement within physics. Apply by 7 October. Read more.

Congratulations to members of our community recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours including: Emeritus Professor Robyn Owens (University of Western Australia) awarded AM for pioneering computer vision and facial recognition; and Professor Marcela Bilek (University of Sydney) awarded AM for applying physics to sustainable energy and biomedical engineering.

'What are we willing to risk to save the planet?'

#PhysicsGotMeHere: physics and philosophy collide.

Dr Ann Thresher is an environmental ethicist and philosopher of science at Stanford University, helping scientists unpick big questions like, 'What are we willing to risk to save the planet?'

'There are a lot of career paths that flow out of a physics degree, and I never would have expected to end up where I am today. The trick, I’ve always found, was being open to opportunity, and willing to take risks on things that excite you,' says Ann.

Upcoming events

Nano-magnets Women In Physics Public Lecture | Melbourne | 20 Jul

Girls in Physics Breakfast featuring Karen Livesey | Clayton | 21 Jul

Public Lecture - Marine Geophysicist Dr Chris Yule | Hobart and Online | 25 Jul

Girls in Physics Breakfasts | Multiple locations in Vic | 21 Jul to 1 Sep

RACI/AIP Annual Presidents’ Dinner | Concord | 4 Aug

NSW AIP Physics in the Pub | Sydney | 25 Aug

26th Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography | Melbourne | 22-29 Aug

International Conference of Physics Students 2023 | Philippines | 7-13 Sep

9th Symposium on Frequency Standards and Metrology | Kingscliff, NSW | 16-20 Oct

Australasian Radiation Protection Society Conference | Gold Coast | 29 Oct to 2 Nov

6th International Conference on Quantum Error Correction | Sydney | 30 Oct to 3 Nov

International Conference on Quantum Energy | Melbourne | 4-6 Dec

ANZCOP–AIP Summer meeting | Canberra | 4-8 Dec

Are you running an event? Email the details to your branch chair or events@aip.org.au so it can be posted on the AIP website. Some of the events are profiled in our monthly newsletter and shared through the AIP social media accounts.

Australian physics in the news

Australian Astronomers find possible ‘fingerprints’ of gravitational waves (OzGrav)

A major neutrino announcement is happening today (Science Alert)

Our galaxy seen through a new lens: neutrinos detected by IceCube (IceCube Neutrino Observatory)

Aussie startup HB11 Energy’s research celebrated in global laser fusion journal, after establishing world-leading consortium (AAP)

AIP Women in Physics Lecturer Dr Karen Livesey chats with ABC Perth about nanomagnets (skip to 1hr 15min) (ABC Perth)

Nerf guns, marbles and Einstein: schools taking quantum leap to halt Australia’s Stem crisis (The Guardian)

Searching for the neutrino floor: Why matter matters (Cosmos)

Big dreams of very tiny things (ANU News)

Future scientists give physics gear a new life (University of Notre Dame Australia)

Jobs corner

Professor / Director – ANU Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics (CGA). The ANU Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics is seeking an inspirational scientific leader in Gravitational Wave Astrophysics, who can grow ANU’s leadership in gravitational wave astronomy. As Director, you’ll play a significant part in shaping the future of the Centre. Apply by 15 August. Details at: aip.org.au/Jobs

Are you looking for a new career opportunity? See our Jobs Links section (best viewed on desktop) for a list of selected physics-related jobs now open including: Research Associate – ice sheet modelling and data science; Reactor Engineer; Vice-Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow for Women in STEMM; Head of Science –Pulteney Grammar School; Junior Data Engineer; and many more.

Each year, Physics World publishes Physics World Careers, a guide aimed at helping those with a physics background make informed decisions about their career path. Download a copy of Physics World Careers 2022.

We can provide a free link to your physics-related job or PhD opportunity. If you would like to advertise your job, we can feature more details and a picture for a small cost. Email Michael Schmidt for more information.

Need help? Contact aip@aip.org.au.

Contact us

AIP President Nicole Bell president@aip.org.au
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