The Australian Institute of Physics QLD BRANCH

Andrew White QA public lecture (International Year of Quantum Event) Monday 24th March @ 7:30 PM

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 03:00:00 GMT

The talk will be held in S05 Lecture Theatre and Gallery, and will commence promptly at 7:30PM.

Link to Register: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/quantum-schmuantum-tickets-1281885466939?aff=oddtdtcreator

Although it isn’t obvious day to day, the world is quantum. Humanity only began to realise this 125 years ago, as a result of efforts to improve street lighting in Germany [1]. A quarter of a century of confusion and discovery—involving amongst other things plum puddings and a single-page PhD thesis [2]—led to a famous equation [3] that suddenly let us understand atoms. This first quantum revolution led directly to the digital revolution that changed, well, everything. Right now we’re living through a second quantum revolution [4]. We will look at what it is, what it will let us do that we couldn’t do before, and why businesses and governments worldwide are investing billions. Questions from the audience are highly encouraged [5].

[1]. Yes, really.

[2]. Weird but true.

[3]. Not that famous equation. The other one.

[4]. A term coined by two scientists—one a Brisbane local—in a 2002 paper.

[5]. There are no dumb questions: if you’re wondering it so is half the audience, so ask away!

Professor White is a world leader in quantum technology, making significant contributions through his research in the fields of quantum information science and quantum optics. His contributions include both fundamental advances—quantum-logic gates, quantum simulation & emulation, quantum metrology—and methodological advances—entanglement engineering, quantum tomography, and optical vortices. In 1999, he established the world’s first quantum technology laboratory to explore and exploit the full range of quantum behaviours—notably entanglement—with an eye to engineering new technologies and scientific applications.

ARPS with RSUG Students Meet Industry Night

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 00:42:16 GMT

The Australasian Radiation Protection Society (ARPS) is hosting a Students Meet Industry event on the 17th of August at QUT.

If you are interested to come along and hear about possible career paths please use the information below to register.

RESCHEDULED! - A/PROF MILJKOVIC – WIP LECTURE TOUR – QLD 29-30 SEPTEMBER

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 07:00:13 GMT

We are pleased to confirm that A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic has rescheduled her previously postponed Women in Physics Tour and will be briefly visiting QLD for two seminars on 29 and 30 September! The seminars will be held at QUT and UQ and will be open to the public. All details below and in the following registration links.

QUT, 29 Sep, 4:30pm: eventbrite.com.au/e/391447107837

UQ, 30 Sep, 11:00am: eventbrite.com.au/e/392065758237

POSTPONED -WIP LECTURE TOUR – QLD 28-30 JULY

Mon, 23 May 2022 06:03:27 GMT

JULY DATES POSTPONED DUE TO ILLNESS

This year’s Women in Physics Lecturer, A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic will be traveling around the country, delivering a series of free talks entitled: "Impacts! Rocks from space colliding with planets".

In addition to visiting several schools in Cairns and Brisbane, Katarina will be holding an academic lecture at QUT Gardens Point campus on at 11AM on 20th July. The event is free and open to the public. Full details available at the following EventBrite registration site: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/336250362887

Further events may be announced here in coming weeks and all enquiries can be directed to Joel Alroe, at: aip_branchchair_qld@aip.org.au

QLD Excellence In Physics Teaching Award 2022 – NOMINATE NOW!

Fri, 20 May 2022 09:04:49 GMT

The AIP-QLD is looking for nominations of Physics teachers that have made a positive impact to Physics education at the high school level through one or more of the following criteria.

Promote student interest in physics by providing an environment that stimulates student curiosity and learning.
Use, develop or write innovative instructional materials and new technologies and approaches to the teaching of physics.
Be a positive role model or mentor for other teachers of physics.
Participate in professional development activities in science as a facilitator and continuous development as an effective science educator, with a focus on physics.

If you have a colleague, a former teacher of your own, or have heard of an inspiring teacher in your circle of friends, please consider nominating them for this years award by filling out the nomination form (available here) and sending this nomination (or any inquiries) by email to: aip_branchchair_qld@aip.org.au

The award consists of a cash prize, plaque and certificate.

Nominations close Friday 5 August 2022.

Nobel Prize in Physics Colloquium

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 03:00:00 GMT

Date: Thursday 4 November 2021 Time: 2-3pm (AEST) Link: https://uqz.zoom.us/j/81609230057

You're invited to join us the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics colloquium on Thursday 4 November 2-3pm presented by Emeritus Professor Ross McKenzie and Dr Henry Nourse.

This event is designed to be accessible to a general audience, so you won't need to be a subject matter expert to follow along and it will also be live-streamed via Zoom.

Complex systems are everywhere. The economy, brains, biology, climate, and the materials that surround us are all composed of many small interacting parts. The whole system often displays emergent phenomena that are surprising and hard to predict solely from a knowledge of the parts and their interactions.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 was awarded "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex systems". Half of the prize was awarded to Giorgio Parisi "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales." His theoretical work provided profound insights into a strange state of matter: the spin glass that can exist in metals containing a random array of magnetic atom impurities. The techniques and concepts developed by Parisi for this specific complex system have been used to understand complex systems studied in mathematics, computer science, neuroscience, and biology.

The second half of the prize was jointly awarded to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann "for the physical modelling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming". Manabe was the first to study a model that included the main relevant physical processes that reliably predict global warming from the greenhouse effect. Hasselmann’s work was "the first serious effort to provide a sound statistical framework for identifying a human-caused warming signal." In this colloquium we will describe the background needed to appreciate the significance of the contributions to science by this year’s Nobel Laureates in Physics.

Register now for QLD Branch AGM

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 05:00:00 GMT

The Queensland Branch is holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday 18 October, both in-person and online. You can register your attendance here: https://forms.gle/fR5wpMToB21Uzowv8

The in-person meeting will be catered and held at:

Owen J Wordsworth Room
S Block, Level 12
QUT Gardens Point Campus, Brisbane

Monday 18 October 2021 from 4pm

The Zoom meeting link has been emailed to branch members. If you require the meeting ID and password, please contact our branch secretary or chair.

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING PHYSICS PRIZE QLD 2021

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 03:51:46 GMT

The AIP QLD branch would like to congratulate Graeme George, from Villanova College, who was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Prize for 2021. Graeme was awarded the 2021 prize, due to the range and depth of work he has displayed across all the criteria for the award. These criteria include:

promoting student interest in physics by providing an environment that stimulates student curiosity and learning,
using, developing or writing innovative instructional materials and new technologies and approaches to the teaching of Physics,
be a positive role model or mentor for other teachers of physics
participate in professional development activities in science as a facilitator and continued development as an effective science educator, with a focus on physics.

Graeme George with his AIP QLD Excellence in Physics Teaching Prize for 2021

Congratulations Graeme!

Do you know a deserving Physics teacher in Queensland you would like to nominate for this award? The next call for nominations will be announced here, in early 2022.

Looking for new members for the Queensland Branch Committee

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 04:27:35 GMT

The Queensland Branch is preparing for their annual general meeting and we are calling for applications form interested members that would like to join the committee for the 2022 calendar year.

The committee is looking to diversify the professional base of its members, and is therefore especially encouraging applications from members not employed in the academic sector. Industry, secondary school educators, student members (PhD or undergraduates) or members working in the government sector are especially encourage to apply.

To apply, please send a short! (2 page max) CV and a short motivational statement to the secretary (aip_branchsecretary_qld@aip.org.au) or chair (aip_branchchair_qld@aip.org.au), by no later than the 28th of September 16:00h AEST.

Precision atomic physics in regional Qld in October

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 04:21:51 GMT

John Mainstone Youth Lecture Tour

Jacinda Ginges from the University of Queensland is making her way to Mt Isa, Weipa and Cairns for a series of school talks as part of the John Mainstone Youth Lecture Tour.

She will talk about how precision atomic physics is leading the search for new particles that extend our understanding of the universe. They may lead to explanations for mysterious dark matter and deliver new physics.

Jacinda will present at:

Cairns State High School, Wednesday 6 October 12pm
Western Cape College Weipa, Thursday 7 October 1.45pm
Spinifex CollegeMt Isa, Wednesday 13 October 11.30am.

Martin Stringer (Sustainable Mineral Institute, University of Queensland) presented to All Hallows in Brisbane. He has since stood aside to spend time with his family.

John Mainstone Youth Lecture Tour Returning for 2021

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:15:56 GMT

The John Mainstone Youth Lecture Tour takes a young and inspiring academic to tour the states far and wide! They will present their work to Queensland HighSchool students and engage them about what a career in science is all about, and how it all started! This tour is returning in 2021 after having to take the year off in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

This years Lecturer is Dr. Martin Stringer from the Sustainable Mineral Institute at the University of Queensland talking about his research on sustainability and energy usage. (More details below!)

If you would be interested in hosting Martin at your High School, please contact the branch chair Till Weinhold via aip_branchchair_qld@aip.org.au

Martin is available between the 9th of August and 20th of August to deliver his lecture. If a time slot outside of this window is required, please contact Till Weinhold to see if your request can be accommodated.

Converting hydrogen to humans

This year’s John Mainstone Youth Lecture is about the physics of our planet’s sustainability. It took over 10 billion years for the universe to create the resources that we, the Earth and the Sun are made of. But is it enough to power 10 billion people? For ever? To answer this question, we start at the very beginning, at the formation of the Universe, and end up right here and now in Queensland, to try to understand how our life here compares with the resources that our planet has left, and how our future could be powered.

Martin is a theoretical physicist whose research career originally focussed on cosmology and galaxy evolution, until his mounting concern for our own planet bought him back down to Earth to work on terrestrial problems. Since then, he has been applying the various mathematical modelling techniques developed over a ten-year career studying the formation of galaxies to a variety of other systems, from models of island reforestation and interacting wildlife populations, to future systems of power generation, resource supply chains, and energy markets.

PROF SUSANNA GUATELLI – WOMEN IN PHYSICS LECTURE TOUR – QLD 10-12 MAY

Fri, 07 May 2021 00:53:49 GMT

Radiation protection of astronauts in human missions to Mars: simulation and reality

**Please note: Venue details for the Public Colloquium at UQ have changed.

If you wish to attend in person, to comply with COVID-Safe plans we require you to register via Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/women-in-physics-public-colloquium-tickets-156452103453). Seating capacity is capped at 170 seats and we have already over 80 of those seats allocated to schools.

Live stream options are now available for the colloquium and the School seminar at Ipswich SHS. See the flyer below for details.**

This year A/Prof Susanna Guatelli will be presenting school seminars at 4 schools across Cairns, Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba, in addition to a public colloquium at the University of Queensland, St Lucia.

All events are free, although school events are open to school students and teaching staff only. Full details regarding times, venues and RSVP contacts are available in this flyer, or by contacting the QLD AIP branch at: aip_branchsecretary_qld@physics.org.au

A/Prof Guatelli trained as a nuclear physicist at the University of Genova, Italy, worked with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, and is now the academic director of the Medical Radiation Physics bachelor degree at the University of Wollongong.

In 2003, she undertook a PhD at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), investigating possible radiation protection solutions for human missions to Mars (a project led by the European Space Agency). Since there are no particle accelerator facilities capable of reproducing the complex cosmic radiation fields encountered in space, she has developed simulations to predict radiation interactions for astronauts and space mission habitats.

In these seminars, she will discuss the nature of these radiation hazards and the simulation tools used to address this challenge to space exploration.

QLD Excellence In Physics Teaching Award 2021 – NOMINATE NOW!

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 23:49:56 GMT

The AIP-QLD is looking for nominations of Physics teachers that have made a positive impact to teaching Physics to students at the high school level by anyone of the following criteria.

Promote student interest in physics by providing an environment that stimulates student curiosity and learning.

Use, develop or write innovative instructional materials and new technologies and approaches to the teaching of physics.

Be a positive role model or mentor for other teachers of physics.

Participate in professional development activities in science as a facilitator and continuous development as an effective science educator, with a focus on physics.

If you have a colleague, a former teacher of your own, or have heard of an inspiring teacher in your circle of friends, please consider nominating them for this years award by filling out the nomination form and sending this nomination (or any inquiries) by email to: aip_branchsecretary_qld@aip.org.au

The award consists of a cash prize, plaque and certificate.

Nominations close Friday 4 June 2021.

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING PHYSICS PRIZE QLD 2020

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 00:02:40 GMT

The AIP QLD branch would like to congratulate Shane MacDonald, from St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School who was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Prize for 2020 . Shane was awarded the 2020 prize, due to the range and depth of work he has displayed across all the criteria the award is assessed upon. This criteria includes:

promoting student interest in physics by providing an environment that stimulates student curiosity and learning,
using, developing or writing innovative instructional materials and new technologies and approaches to the teaching of Physics,
be a positive role model or mentor for other teachers of physics
participate in professional development activities in science as a facilitator and continued development as an effective science educator, with a focus on physics.

Shane MacDonald receives the Queensland Excellence in Teaching Prize for 2020

Congratulations Shane!

Do you know a deserving Physics teacher in Queensland you would like to nominate for this award in 2021?

In other news, the 2019 winner Richard Walding was acknowledged for receipt of his Excellence in Physics Teaching Award in a ceremony earlier in 2020. Moreton Bay College has kindly shared this ceremony and the presentation of the award. The ceremony can be viewed at the AIP YouTube channel or below.