SCHOOL OF PHYSICS PHYSICS News

WINTER 2012 Tiny crystal 50th Anniversary of revolutionises the Professor computing Harry Messel Excerpt from a news story by KATYNNA GILL International Science School (ISS)

A tiny crystal that enables a computer to to the power of 80. That is 1 followed by The School of perform calculations that currently stump 80 zeros, in other words 80 orders of Physics and the the world’s most powerful supercomputers magnitude, a truly mind-boggling scale.” has been developed by an international The work smashes previous records in Physics Foundation team including the School of Physics’ Dr terms of the number of elements working are delighted to Michael Biercuk. together in a quantum simulator, and announce that The ion-crystal used is poised to create therefore the complexity of the problems 2012 is the 50th one of the most powerful computers ever that can be addressed. Anniversary of the developed, with the results published in the Professor Harry The team Dr Biercuk worked with, journal Nature on 26 April 2012. Messel International including scientists from the US National Science School “Computing technology has taken a huge Institute of Standards and Technology, (ISS). leap forward using a crystal with just Georgetown University in Washington, 300 atoms suspended in space,” said Dr North Carolina State University and A reception Biercuk, from the University’s School of the Council for Scientific and Industrial celebrating this Physics and ARC Centre of Excellence for Research in South Africa, has produced anniversary will be Engineered Quantum Systems. a specialised kind of quantum computer held in the University of Sydney’s Great Hall on Tuesday, 27th November. “The system we have developed has the known as a ‘quantum simulator’. potential to perform calculations that The research team’s revolutionary The reception will provide an opportunity would require a supercomputer larger crystal exceeds all previous experimental for ISS alumni, University representatives, than the size of the known universe - and attempts in providing ‘programmability’ supporters, friends and benefactors to come it does it all in a diameter of less than a and the critical threshold of qubits (a unit together to celebrate 50 years of the ISS – a millimetre,” said Dr Biercuk. measuring quantum information) needed truly remarkable milestone. “The projected performance of this new for the simulator to exceed the capability Invitations for this event will be sent out experimental quantum simulator eclipses of most supercomputers. later in the year and for any queries related the current maximum capacity of any CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 to this event please contact Alex Green at: known computer by an astonishing 10 [email protected] continued from cover... HEADLINE Tiny crystal Revolutionises PROFESSOR CLIVE BALDOCK computing

“Many properties of natural materials Welcome to the Winter governed by the laws of quantum mechanics 2012 edition of Physics are very difficult to model using conventional News, previously known as computers. The key concept in quantum Alumni News. simulation is building a quantum system to I write this as my time in provide insights into the behaviour of other the School of Physics and naturally occurring physical systems.” the University of Sydney is coming to an end. In August “By engineering precisely controlled 2012 I will be joining as Executive interactions and then studying the output Dean of Science. As I think about my future role I of the system, we are effectively running a reflect on my 9 years in the School and the past 2.5 ‘program’ for the simulation,” said Dr Biercuk. years as Head during which time much has happened. “In our case, we are studying the interactions Many in the University see the School as “the crown of spins in the field of quantum magnetism - jewel of the university” and long may that continue. a key problem that underlies new discoveries Over the years the School has continued to experience in materials science for energy, biology, and Quantum computing revolution: The significant growth in staff and students. Whether it new quantum crystal is made of a medicine,” said Dr Biercuk. two dimensional layer of beryllium is the establishment of new facilities or the recent ions hovering in space within a introduction of new Centres of Excellence and “For instance, we hope to study the spin Penning trap. significant advanced planning undertaken towards interactions predicted by models for high- the new Physics building, the Australian Institute of temperature superconductivity - a physical phenomenon that has yet to be Nanoscience, the best years for the School are perhaps explained, but has the potential to revolutionise power distribution and high- yet to come. I certainly look forward to hearing about speed transport.” the many future successes that will inevitably come to The experimental device provides exceptional new capabilities which allow the School. the researchers to engineer interactions which mimic those found in natural I hope you enjoy this issue of Physics News. materials. Clive Baldock Remarkably they can even realise interactions that are not known to be found Head, School of Physics in nature, engineering totally new forms of quantum matter.

Farewell to Clive Physics and ISS from the School of Physics Alumni – let us know what you By Martijn De Sterke, Deputy Head of School think The Head of School Clive Baldock recently some things which came to fruition on There have been many changes in the School announced that he has taken up the his watch, include funding for five ARC- of Physics over the past six months and position of Executive Dean of Science funded Centres of Excellence, two of one of those changes is looking at how the at Macquarie University and is leaving which are headquartered in the School, School can best serve its alumni. We would the School in late June. Clive joined the funding of a chaired professorship in like to know what you think and what kind of School in 2003 to work in the area of nanoscience, and funding for a new communication (ie. Emails, newletters, etc), medical physics. He set out energetically, building, the Australian Institute of content and frequency of communication you establishing and directing the Institute Nanoscience. Subsequently he put in place expect and want from us. for Medical Physics and forging strong the oversight for the planning, design links with local hospitals and with NSW and construction of the new building. As this is the case, the School of Physics Health. An outcome of this activity was The concrete first step, the decanting of invites you to participate in an online the founding of the Medical Physics staff from the Physics Annex building is survey which will hopefully provide us program, a very successful higher degree proceeding, in anticipation of its demolition with suggestions on how to improve our course-work program, which consistently in coming months. He formalized decision alumni relations to best suit your needs. attracts close to 20 students per year. making processes in the School, changed The survey is available at the following url: In 2006 he was appointed to a Chair in the School’s administrative structure, and www.surveymonkey.com/s/FGBV8RN and Medical Physics with NSW Health funding. he represented the School superbly to will close on 16th September 2012. He started as Head of the School of external parties both within and outside Alternatively, you can also provide Physics 2010. His activities in this position the University. We wish him all the best in feedback directly to Alex Green at: are too numerous to describe here, but his new position. [email protected]

2 Physics News Winter 2012 The SKA site decision gives our Square Kilometre landmark facilities a secure future and additional funding, meaning Array Announcement: that CAASTRO can expect many implications for the exciting discoveries and many new opportunities as the SKA School of Physics platform begins to take shape. There is substantial CAASTRO The decision to share the world’s largest radio telescope (the leadership in the signature Square Kilometre Array) between two sites, Africa and / science programs planned for , has significant and exciting implications for the SKA phase 1 and beyond. School of Physics due largely to our leadership of the Australian According to Professor Bryan Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics Gaensler, Director of CAASTRO, (CAASTRO). Australia’s pivotal role in the SKA The site decision on the SKA endorses and affirms Australian ‘will attract brilliant young researchers from around the world to leadership on key components of the facility that will give the help solve the daunting technological challenges ahead of us.’ SKA its unique, spectacular, wide field of view. The main goal of Further information about CAASTRO is available through: http:// CAASTRO is to be the world-leader in wide-field astronomy. The caastro.org/about-caastro/vision-and-mission. Centre aims to realise this vision through high-impact discoveries using SKA pathfinder telescopes, thus positioning the School of Professor Bryan Gaensler’s following opinion piece appeared in Physics to lead the science programmes planned for the SKA. COSMOS Online and is an edited version of an article originally from the Australian Science Media Centre.

that can tune into radio waves ranging from their Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) Splitting 70 MHz up to more than 10,000 MHz. It’s in Western Australia. These will be further impossible for any single technology to developed and expanded in Australia and the SKA: cover this vast range, so the plan has always NZ, and then possibly later installed on been to build two or even three different dishes in Africa. Aus/NZ technology on an Why it’s good types of antennas, which together can span African telescope is truly a win-win scenario. to share the full range needed. Going forward, what this all means is that What the SKA project has decided is to put the money committed to construction by different technologies in different places, all the SKA’s international partners can now By Bryan Gaensler playing to the strengths of each site. begin to flow. The hard-working engineers The lowest frequency component, and scientists in Aus/NZ and in Africa The decision can go back to collaborating rather than to share the consisting of antennas that do not move or steer and that can collect signals from the competing. And the SKA will attract brilliant SKA between young researchers from around the world South Africa and whole sky at once, will be built in Australia and New Zealand. This capitalises on the to help solve the daunting technological Australia/NZ is challenges ahead of us. a positive sign superb radio quietness of the SKA core of our nations’ planned for Murchison in outback Western Few people will appreciate the small teams priorities, says Australia – one of the few places on the at the heart of the two site bids who have Bryan Gaensler planet that isn’t polluted by FM radio and sunk years of their lives into this project. other artificial signals in this low-frequency For Australia and NZ, special mention must The Square band. The Murchison Widefield Array go to the extraordinary CSIRO team lead by Kilometre Array (MWA) is an innovative low-frequency array Brian Boyle, Michelle Storey, Phil Diamond (SKA) is a that is already making superb wide-field and Lisa Harvey-Smith, who made a superb concept that’s images of the sky from the Murchison site. case for Aus/NZ to host the SKA. Africa, led been slowly growing and evolving since Construction of the low-frequency SKA in by Justin Jonas and Bernie Fanaroff, must 1991. Last week, this ambitious project took Western Australia is a logical extension of also be congratulated, for creating a thriving a sudden giant leap towards reality with the the successes already demonstrated by the African radio astronomy community and a announcement of the SKA site decision. The MWA. stellar SKA site bid from scratch in barely decision is a complex one, which recognises The higher frequency technology, consisting 10 years. The governments involved have the enormous amount of international also all been extremely supportive: a positive investment that will be needed to make the of more traditional steerable dishes like the one at Parkes, will be built in Africa. This sign that amidst all the other pressures SKA happen: the array will be split between and challenges, basic research and cosmic Africa and Australia/New Zealand. naturally builds on the MeerKAT array of dishes already under construction at the discovery still have a place in our nations’ What this does not mean is that half the SKA core site in the Karoo desert region of priorities. telescope will be built in each continent. South Africa. I am excited that the SKA now looks like it’s Each site gets a full square kilometre of really going to happen. I can’t wait to point collecting area, with the full scientific The remaining piece of the puzzle are “phased array feeds”, the fish-eye lens it at my favourite stars and galaxies, and to functionality originally envisaged. However, get the data in my hands! the SKA’s science goals require a facility technology being developed by CSIRO for

Physics News Winter 2012 3 this work to the development of practical devices and disruptive Professor Ben technologies in optical communication, data storage and information Eggleton wins Walter processing. The judging panel organised by the Australian Institute of Physics Boas Medal was particularly impressed with Professor Eggleton’s development of chalcogenide devices for nonlinear optics applications and the ability By Katynna Gill to precisely control the flow of light via innovative photonic-crystal structures. Professor Ben Eggleton, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence Dr Marc Duldig, President of the Australian Institute of Physics, for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), in said, “It is testament to the calibre of his original research and his the School of Physics, has won the 2011 Walter Boas Medal from the scientific output that the selection committee was able to come Australian Institute of Physics. Professor Eggleton received his medal to a unanimous decision, despite an extraordinarily strong field of at an awards ceremony in March in Melbourne. nominations, to award the 2011 Australian Institute of Physics Walter The Medal was established in 1984 to promote excellence in physics Boas Medal to Professor Ben Eggleton.” research and is awarded annually to a physicist working in Australia “Ben’s establishment and leadership of the ARC Centre for Ultrahigh whose original research has made an important contribution to bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS) and the Institute physics. The award is for physics research carried out in the five of Photonics and Optical Science at the University of Sydney augurs years prior to the date of the award, as demonstrated by both well for the future of this exciting work,” said Dr Duldig.

At the awards ceremony in March, Professor Eggleton delivered published papers and unpublished papers prepared for publication. a seminar on his research, detailing his groundbreaking work on “Winning the Walter Boas Medal is certainly a tribute to the excellent nonlinear optical signal processing in photonic chips, which is research being done in my group in the School of Physics and the now opening up new areas of opportunity for energy efficient CUDOS ARC Centre of Excellence program,” said Professor Ben optical signal processing and quantum processors. The photonic Eggleton. chip technology is the basis of the current CUDOS program and “The award recognises our recent research achievements in Professor Eggleton’s team publishes in top journals such as Nature nonlinear optics, the physics of slow light and optical signal Photonics, with their papers highly cited by other scientists around processing - work done in my group by outstanding postdocs and the world. students in collaboration with other top groups in Australia and The Walter Boas Medal is named in memory of Walter Boas (1904- overseas,” explained Professor Eggleton. 1982) - an eminent scientist who worked on the physics of metals “It is wonderful that our research at the interface of physics and and was a pioneering Australian materials scientist and metallurgist. engineering is recognised with this medal.” Born in Germany, Walter came to Australia in 1938 and spent a decade working at the and then 23 years Professor Eggleton won the medal for his world-leading fundamental working at the CSIRO - for 20 of those 23 years as Chief of the research in the physics of nonlinear optics and the application of Division of Tribophysics.

4 Physics News Winter 2012 In remembrance, Jak Kelly

Professor JC (“Jak”) Kelly, a well-known and respected physics professor from the University of Sydney and from the University of NSW passed away in February this year after a brief illness. He is fondly remembered not only for his academic achievements but also for his enthusiasm and great sense of fun, which was particularly evident to his students and to those who remember his contributions to the Science Show aired on Radio National. He died with his family around him and is survived by his wife Irene and their children Michael, Julian and Karina. Here he is remembered by his colleague Professor David McKenzie: Jak had a long and influential career in Physics and was well known first time I had seriously worked with him as a collaborator. internationally for his pioneering work on the interactions of ion beams with matter. It was at UNSW where Jak built his reputation in Australia as a gifted public speaker. Jak was a supporter and true believer in Jak had many “firsts”. Jak’s ancestors were some of the first renewable energy: after retirement Jak took up an Honorary settlers in the Orange district of NSW; Jak worked at the AERE appointment at the University of Sydney in Applied and Plasma Harwell when the first UK reactors were being built; Jak took Physics to promote this cause and served as editor of the Physicist a position at UNSW where he enthused all with a passion for for the AIP. research and was popular with staff and students alike; Jak built one of the first multidisciplinary efforts in Physics in Australia with Jak will be remembered for these and many other things and above his colleagues in the life sciences in the applications of ion beam all for being a good bloke. modifications of materials for prosthetics, which incidentally was the Vale Jak Kelly. News in brief: Laser lights Transit of up future Venus An international The University of team of Sydney Physics scientists, Society (Physoc) including Dr held a public David Moss, viewing of the Stellar from the University of Sydney’s School of Transit of Venus on 6th of June, for the performance Physics, has created a new form of ultra- entirety of the transit’s duration. The Centre for Excellence for All-sky small laser that will revolutionise many In conjunction with the School of Astrophysics (CAASTRO) was recently fields. involved in an exciting collaboration with Physics, Faculty of Science and Australia Musica Viva and the Canadian chamber The innovation, published in the prestigious Telescopes, there were several solar orchestra, Tafelmusik. journal Nature Communications on 3 April telescopes for observing, transit eye 2012, is the first laser to be mode-locked glasses and an internet stream of the The event was the March 10th concert held using a micro-cavity resonator. This makes transit as seen from other locations. in the Recital Hall in Angel Place, Sydney. the laser highly precise, ultra fast and ultra Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and four researchers The special concert included the musicians small. of the Canadian chamber orchestra from the School of Physics, Professors Tim Tafelmusik playing astronomy-themed “Our new laser opens up a whole field of Bedding, Iver Cairns and Mike Wheatland, songs interspersed with actor Shaun possibilities in terms of high precision, ultra- and Dr Paul Hancock, gave short talks Smyth explaining connections between small, integrated lasers,” said Dr Moss, who throughout the day on the science of the the music and Galileo and astronomy. The is based in CUDOS. transit, exoplanets and sunspots. music included songs such as Entrée de The new laser will have applications in The event also showcased a collaboration Jupiter from Hyppolyte et Aricie composed computing, measuring and diagnosing with a group at Hong Kong Polytechnic to by Jean-Phillipe Rameau and music from diseases, and processing materials - all replicate James Cook’s experiment, to find Galileo’s time. areas where lasers are already used. the distance from the Earth to the Sun The concert is part of a series of nine It will also open up entirely new areas using measurements of the transit. concerts to be held around Australia such as precision optical clocks for This was the last time Venus will transit the and CAASTRO’s national network of applications in metrology, ultra-high speed Sun until 2117. Photo: Terry Cuttle astronomers will be closely involved with telecommunications, microchip-computing this project with astronomers speaking at and many other areas. each of the concerts. Photo: Jayne Ion

Physics News Winter 2012 5 Professor Bland-Hawthorn Professor Joss Bland- has made revolutionary contributions to astronomical Hawthorn elected instrumentation. One of his as a Fellow of the current interests is exploring the use of photonics in Australian Academy of astronomical instruments, a field now known as Science astrophotonics. “Astrophotonics is important By Katynna Gill because it provides us with a new way to manipulate Professor Joss Bland-Hawthorn, from the School of Physics, has light from the deep universe been elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and new ways to extract announced on 26 March 2012. information from that light,” The Australian Academy of Science annually honours a small number said Professor Bland-Hawthorn. of Australian scientists for their outstanding contributions to In February 2009, he co- science by electing them as Fellows of the Academy. The Academy edited a special issue of represents Australia’s leading research scientists and is made up of Optics Express devoted to this just under 450 Fellows, who are distinguished in the physical and burgeoning new field. In May biological sciences. 2012, he had a focus article on Professor Bland-Hawthorn was made a Fellow in recognition of astrophotonics in the prestigious Physics Today review journal. his work in pioneering the science of astrophotonics and making As part of his election as a Fellow, Professor Bland-Hawthorn significant contributions to experimental physics and astrophysics. presented a summary of his work at the Australian Academy of “I feel greatly humbled by my selection as a Fellow. The Australian Science’s ‘Science at the Shine Dome’ event on 2 May in Canberra. Academy of Science is made up of people whose work I have long Professor Bland-Hawthorn is an ARC Australian Federation Fellow, admired,” said Professor Bland-Hawthorn. and co-founder and Associate Director of the Institute of Photonics “My work is both in astrophysics and experimental astronomy, with and Optical Science in the School of Physics at the University of most of my research career devoted to the study of accretion and Sydney. feedback in galaxies over cosmic time,” explained Professor Bland- In November 2011, Professor Bland-Hawthorn was elected Fellow Hawthorn. of the Optical Society of America - one of only a handful of “My colleague, Ken Freeman, and I established near-field cosmology astronomers to have received this honour. He is also a recipient of to recognise that a great deal of information about the early universe the 120-year old Jackson-Gwilt medal from the Royal Astronomical is all around the galaxy today, and does not require us to look into Society. the far universe.” Science Challenge a success

Congratulations to Dr Tara Murphy, lecturer at both the School of Physics and at the School of Information Technologies, who was recently awarded an Unlocking Australia’s Potential grant. The grant was awarded for the development of a project to be called the National Science Challenge and is from the Inspiring Australia Program set up by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR). Dr Murphy’s project builds on the e’learning infrastructure developed for the renowned National Computer Science School Challenge which Dr Murphy and her colleagues were instrumental in setting up. The National Science Challenge will consist of a nationwide online science competition aimed at encouraging people to complete ‘mini- experiments’, which will require them to use analytical and computational thinking. The level of the problems will be targeted at Year 9 science, allowing a majority of high school students, and anyone who has completed mid-high school to participate. The problems will be automatically marked and participants will receive instant feedback on their progress. The program is expected to bring together thousands of Australians who are interested in science, who will not only be able to solve problems but who will also be given an opportunity to engage in general discussions with other people with similar interests. This exciting new program is in development stage and it will be very interesting to see how it evolves. Watch this space.

6 Physics News Winter 2012 Uncovering a secret weight- loss trick from the galaxy’s biggest stars

By Verity Leatherdale

Putting all dieters to shame, the red giant stars of our galaxy lose the wind,” added Professor Peter Tuthill, director of the Sydney many times the entire mass of the Earth, every year. Institute for Astronomy at the School of Physics and co-author of Unlike Hollywood starlets, they have not previously revealed their the research. weight-loss secrets, posing an enigma for scientists, until this “Even more remarkable, the grains themselves are transparent like breakthrough study by the University of Sydney, published in Nature powdered glass, but so incredibly fine so as to appear like smoke. on 12 April. It is hard to imagine such a glittering halo doing the heavy lifting of The solution of the mass loss problem has profound implications more than an entire earth each year.” across astronomy and beyond. The majority of the chemical elements critical to the formation of “The winds that stream from the upper atmosphere of the red giant earth-like planets and life come from the winds driven from dying stars are responsible for removing massive amounts of matter,” red giant stars. said lead author Barnaby Norris, a PhD student from the School of “That means the Earth and everybody living on it are quite literally Physics. made of the stardust we are studying with our new techniques,” said Using a state-of-the-art telescope at one of the world’s leading Barnaby. observatories in Northern Chile, the research team created images “Hopefully our findings will help to illuminate a key step in the grand of the faint starlight glinting off an unexpected halo of dust grains cycle as matter is expelled from stars into the galaxy only to seed around the red stars. new generations of stellar and planetary birth.” “The grains that we have discovered here will come as a real shock The ultimate fate of the star itself can hinge upon the efficiency to the accepted wisdom in the field. They are both much larger and of the wind. The mass removed by the wind can bring a somewhat much closer to the stellar surface than anyone expected.” heavier star below the critical threshold required to fuel a This could be a critical new piece in the puzzle of how these old, cataclysmic supernova explosion, defusing the bomb and allowing it dying stars manage to drive such powerful winds, Norris explained. to fade away as a white dwarf star. “These myriad specks of dust seem entirely unimportant individually, Astronomers from the Australian Astronomical Observatory, Paris but each one can act as a minute solar sail catching the rays of light Observatory and the University of Manchester also contributed to from the star and adding its infinitesimal push to the gas, creating the research.

Physics News Winter 2012 7 The School of Physics Scholarship Winners

On Friday, 25th May, The School of Physics and The University of The University of Sydney Physics Foundation Scholarship No. 2 Sydney Physics Foundation hosted the annual student prizes and Fiona Naughton scholarship awards ceremony. Eromanga Adermann Professor Clive Baldock, Head of the School of Physics welcomed guests including Professor Trevor Hambley, Dean of the Faculty Justin Donnelly of Science, Mr Albert Wong, Vice President of The University of Joanna Lyon Sydney Physics Foundation, Jan King who presented the Malcolm Samuel Baran Turki Memorial Scholarship, Dr Scott Martin who presented the Australian Institute of Physics Prize, and Dr Maryanne Large who The Slade Prize for Practical Physics presented the CISRA Postgraduate Physics Prize. Christopher Herron Congratulations to all prize and scholarship recipients. The Geoffrey Builder-AWA Prize Junior Physics Shyeh Tjing Cleo Loi

The Levey Scholarship No. 1 for Physics Senior Physics Ishraq Uddin Deas-Thomson Scholarship School of Physics – Julius Sumner Miller Scholarship No. 1 Dominic Williamson Edward Burrowes The Walter Burfitt Scholarship No. 2 for Physics Harrison Steel Benjamin Pope The University of Sydney Physics Foundation Scholarship No. 1 School of Physics – Julius Sumner Miller Scholarship No. 3 Hakop Pashayan Benjamin Pope Nikhil Vasan Yang Qi John Wormell The University of Sydney Physics Foundation Scholarship No. 3 Christopher Ryba Joseph Callingham Nicholas Funai Ayna Musaeva Smith Prize in Experimental Physics (shared) Jacob Bridgeman Harrison Steel Nicholas Marks Ishraq Uddin Andrew Watts Australian Sky & Telescope Prize Hakop Pashayan The School of Physics Honours Scholarship Rachael Fulcher Intermediate Physics Harrison Ball School of Physics – Julius Sumner Miller Scholarship No. 2 Christopher Herron Jason Yue Shyeh Tjing Cleo Loi Rhys Anderson Rory Townsend

8 Physics News Winter 2012 Adam Schaefer Zhangkai Jason Cheng Leon Smith Kickstart’s on Richard Neo Natasha Gabay the Road again Rafael Alexander by Tom Gordon Thomas Vu Alexander Soare The W.I.B. Smith Prize Christian Marciniak The Malcolm Turki Memorial Scholarship Natasha Gabay

Physics Honours Shiroki Prize for Best Honours Project in Physics Dominic Else Project title, Quantum computation in an ordered phase of a quantum many-body system Australian Institute of Physics (NSW Branch) Prize Dominic Else For best performance in Physics Honours The outreach team from the School of Physics at the University of Sydney is taking their physics program for high school students to Henry Chamberlain Russell Prize in Astronomy Broken Hill, Dubbo and Port Macquarie in June and July. Kickstart on Alison Hammond the Road has been a regular event for the last five years, but it has Project title, Cosmic Magnetism: Faraday Rotation as a Probe of never been to Broken Hill before. This is an exciting development for Extragalactic Magnetic Fields the program and there are already around 32 high school students booked into the workshops in Broken Hill as part of Education week. Postgraduate Physics CISRA Postgraduate Physics Prize Students attending Kickstart Physics on the Road will attend interactive workshops on their HSC Modules of Motors and Courtney Brell Generators, Space, and Ideas to Implementations as well as hosting For best refereed publication, Toric codes and quantum doubles a public exhibition. The public exhibition is a chance for the School from two-body Hamiltonians, published in The New Journal of of Physics team to share some of the research we do with the Physics 13 (2011), 053039 (47pp). community, not just the year 12 students. The exhibition will include The School of Physics Postgraduate Alumni Prize demonstrations and explanations of physics concepts, as well as talks Duc Trung Vo about physics and careers from our researchers, and a poster session where the community can interact with the researchers and their For best PhD thesis, Photonic-chip-based All-optical Signal work. Processing. The enthusiastic team of undergraduate and PhD demonstrators from the School of Physics at the University of Sydney make ideal role models for the high school students. The workshops and talks are always immensely popular, with feedback from students and teachers very positive, and the influence that peer tutors and interactivity can have in breaking down the lab-coated stereotype of scientists must not be underestimated. The Kickstart program runs regularly in Sydney, with nearly 4,000 high school students having participated in the workshops in 2011. However, not everyone can afford to get to Sydney. Most high schools don’t get to see equipment from a university lab – equipment that not only works, but is used by university students and researchers. A University of Sydney grant of $20,000 has helped the School of Physics Kickstart on the Road program to reach these physics students further afield. The Widening Participation Grant, which is generated from the University’s Social Inclusion Unit, will keep the Kickstart on the Road program running for another year - a Left: Mr Albert Wong, Vice-President of The University of Sydney Physics Foundation presents intermediate physics student Eromanga Adermann good outcome not only for the School of Physics but also for regional with her scholarship. students in NSW. Right: Head of Physics, Professor Clive Baldock, presents physics student Adam Schaefer with his honours scholarship.

Physics News Winter 2012 9 The University of Sydney Physics Foundation news The University of Sydney Physics Foundation council members are Mr Martin Rogers currently actively involved in supporting the organisation of the ISS Mr Rogers is the 50th Anniversary Celebration to be held on Tuesday, 27th November Managing Director and (notice on front cover of the Physics News). Work is also well Chief Executive Officer underway on planning for the next ISS, which is scheduled for July of Prima BioMed. He 2013. has a strong science The Foundation held its 2012 AGM on March 29th and voted in two background, which new members to the Council and a number of long-standing council includes degrees in members sadly retired. science and chemical We are delighted to introduce our new members, Dr David Mills and engineering and is Mr Martin Rogers. currently a member of the management Dr David Mills committee of the David Mills has worked in National Breast Cancer non-imaging optics, solar Foundation. thermal energy, and solar Mr Rogers also has strong expertise in the corporate sector, with a concentrating systems focus on the incubation and development of new business ideas. He since 1976. has previously been involved in the origination of a number of new Born in Canada, he business concepts and the establishment of internal ventures and attended the University external partnerships, including finance concept origination in the of New South corporate banking sector for institutions such as Macquarie Bank. in Australia during his The long-standing council members who retired from the council at doctoral programme the March AGM are Associate Professor Robert Hewitt, Mr John in Physics, and ran the Hooke, Mr Paul Slade and Mrs Louise Davis – all of whom have research project at the made significant contributions to the Physics Foundation and the University of Sydney that School of Physics. in 1991, with colleague Dr. Q-C. Zhang, developed the Mrs Davis has been on the Council for 15 years, representing IBM, double cermet sputtered and served as both Deputy President and President. She has also selective absorber been instrumental in coordinating donations, of both funds and coating now used widely equipment, from IBM to the School of Physics over the years. on evacuated tubes throughout China for the production of solar Prof. Hewitt has been tireless in his support to the Foundation as hot water. Himin, the licensee in China, now sells 3 million SDHW both a council member and as Director of the Foundation and heating systems annually using 20 million tubes. continues his ongoing roles in supporting the ISS program and Dr Mills developed the CLFR solar thermal electricity concept in archiving. the early 1990’s at the University of Sydney. He co-founded both Mr Hooke’s time on the Council has seen him take on the roles SHP in Australia with Graham Morrison and Peter Lelievre in 2002, Deputy President and Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee and Ausra Inc. in Palo Alto, California in 2006, which received $130 and his recent generous contribution of $5 million to the School of million in international VC finance to commercialise the CLFR. Ausra Physics. was sold to Areva in 2010, and 2011, Areva Solar has participated Mr Slade joined the council in 1965, and has served as President in successful tenders in Australia totalling 294 MW of solar thermal and on the Finance Committee. Ms Slade is part of the Slade family plants, including the $1.2 Billion 250 MW Solar Flagship project ‘Solar that has had three generations serving on the Council – the Slade Dawn’, plus 250 MW in India and 8 MW in the USA. lecture theatre in the School of Physics was named as such in 1999 Dr Mills is a former president of ISES (1997-99) and was inaugural in recognition of the decades of support the Slade family has given Chairman of the International Solar Cities Initiative (ISCI), SHP and to the School. The Slade Foundation also provides ongoing financial Ausra. support to the Messel Endowment. In 2009, he became the first VESKI Entrepreneur in Residence for The Physics Foundation warmly thanks the retiring council members the State of Victoria, and gave the Deakin Lecture in September of for their support of the Physics Foundation, and of the School of that year. He retired from his position as Areva Solar CSO in June Physics and its activities. 2010 and lives in Sydney with his wife, former ABC science reporter Karina Kelly and their two sons, Adam and Max.

10 Physics News Winter 2012 School of Physics student wins Prime Minister Endeavour OFFICIAL NAME Australia Award

CHANGE By Tom Gordon

I am pleased to inform our alumni and friends of the recent PhD student Patrick “Paddy” Neumann from the School of Physics will name change of the Science Foundation for Physics. At continue his research overseas after being awarded the Prime Minister’s the end of 2011 the Foundation’s Council recommended the Australia Asia Outgoing Postgraduate award in the 2012 round of the Foundation’s name be changed to the University of Sydney Endeavour Australia Awards. Physics Foundation, and this was recently approved by the Paddy received his award from Prime Minister at the Briefing Chancellor. Program and Presentation Dinner held at the end of last year. This name change was also supported by the Head of the Paddy was amongst 13000 applicants in the Endeavour awards, and over School of Physics and by Emeritus Professor Harry Messel. 1000 applicants in his division. When receiving the award Mr Neumann The background to this decision is that the previous name of was asked by Prime Minister Gillard what it was he did. Prime Minister the Foundation was viewed as not having a sufficient physics Gillard’s response to his “I’m a rocket scientist” was “That’s pretty connection considering the Foundation was established awesome”. to support the activities of the School of Physics. The Paddy will head to the City University of Hong Kong to continue his PhD new name now reflects a suitable physics emphasis and in Physics. He plans to test pulsed plasma spacecraft propulsion systems signifies the strong relationship the Foundation has with in the large vacuum chamber in Hong Kong. the educational and research environment of the School of “At the University of Sydney, I focus on spacecraft propulsion, but in Physics. Hong Kong I’ll be looking at industrial applications of plasma physics” said I also want to reassure you that the Foundation is continuing Paddy. in it’s remit of honouring excellence by supporting the School While in Hong Kong at the City University, Paddy will be continuing his of Physics and its activities, and will continue to do so research from a different perspective. “What I’ll bring to Hong Kong is regardless of its title. my perspective based on my studies from the University of Sydney and We are currently updating the Foundation’s also my strong engineering background.” public face, such as the Foundation’s website and “The equipment that I’ll be using is world class, just like the equipment documentation, to reflect the name change and we have at the University of Sydney, I was pretty chuffed to receive the appreciate your patience while the transition takes place. award and will benefit from this opportunity”. The Endeavour Australia Awards aim to promote knowledge, education links and enduring ties Jim O’Connor, President, between Australia and our neighbours through Australia’s extensive The University of Sydney Physics Foundation scholarship programs.

Physics News Winter 2012 11 Can solar storms unleash communications chaos? Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Julius Sumner Miller Fellow

Today, we humans are a very long way from our pre-electronic Banks rely on the super-accurate time signals from the GPS ancestors. We are attached to the electronic toys that we enjoy and satellites, so then you couldn’t get your money. use: the GPS unit that finds a street in an unfamiliar city, the smart Now the electrical grids around the world are mostly old, fragile phone that is a camera as well as a dictionary as well as giving access and overloaded. In the USA alone, minor solar storms already cause to the internet, and even the accurate watch you wear on your wrist. breakdowns to the grid that increase the cost of electricity by $500 But what if they were all to suddenly die? million every 18 months. Welcome to the superstorm, when the Sun decides to have a hissy But a Carrington Event, when the Sun had a major hissy fit, would kill fit! Welcome to the Carrington Event! the entire electrical grid of North America. About one-and-a-half centuries ago, an independently wealthy Any astronauts in orbit would not die from radiation poisoning, but English astronomer, Richard C. Carrington, was following his normal they would get a 70-year lifetime radiation dose in just a few hours. daily habit of observing the Sun. He had already discovered that the And computers and similar sensitive electronic equipment all over Sun rotated faster at the equator than at the poles. the planet would die from electrical spikes inside their delicate low- On August 26, 1859, the Sun had thrown a few billion tonnes of voltage circuits. super-hot gas directly at the Earth. The impact with the Earth’s Something as huge as the Carrington Event is expected every 500 magnetic field and the upper atmosphere was so huge, that over the years or so. Recent solar storms have killed satellites in space and next few days people saw auroras, not just near the poles, but as power transformers in North America. close as 25° to the equator. The solar storm of Bastille Day in 2000 AD, expanded the Earth’s In addition, there were major hiccups in the Earth’s magnetic field atmosphere so much that the International Space Station, instead and huge amounts of noise in the telegraph system, so much noise of losing 40–90 metres of altitude each day, suddenly lost 15,000 that it took 14 hours to send a mere 400 words. However, as is the metres. nature of such things, it all began to wind down. What can we do? The first thing is to know what’s happening. In But, on 1 September, 1859, Richard Carrington saw enormous the USA, the Space Weather Prediction Center gives daily space sunspots on the Sun, so huge that they were easily visible without a weather reports. But its budget is about 1/1000th of one per cent of telescope. the revenues generated by the industries it supports. Suddenly, at 11:18am, they flared into an unexpected and white-hot At the moment, we have one single satellite, the Advance fury. He didn’t know it, but another super-hurricane of super-hot — Composition Explorer, giving us 10–20 minutes’ warning of a Solar and super-fast — gas had just been thrown at the Earth. hissy fit. It floats at just one per cent of the distance between us and About 17 hours later, travelling at 2380 kilometres per second, it hit. the Sun. But it’s 15 years old (incredibly ancient for a satellite) and it’s also the only one of its kind. Nobody had ever described auroras like these. They were so bright that people awoke at 1:00am thinking that the dawn was coming. Any future satellites that we send up may need to slip, slop and slap. The auroras threw shadows, and you could read tiny print by their © 2012 Karl S. Kruszelnicki Pty Ltd light. They got to within 18° of the Equator, being easily visible in www.drkarl.com Hawai’i and Panama. Charged particles almost instantly destroyed five per cent of the ozone in the atmosphere, and the ozone took four years to recover. The magnetic storm set off huge currents in the ground, which invaded the long telegraph lines. Telegraph operators were nearly electrocuted dead by the long, violent sparks erupting from the handsets. And several telegraph stations burnt down. If the Carrington Event happened today, nearly 10 per cent of the 1000-or-so working satellites in orbit would stop working. That’s an immediate $100 billion cost right there.

SCHOOL OF Alumni News Postal address: School of Physics A28, PHYSICS Contributors: Clive Baldock, Martijn de Sterke, Bryan Gaensler. The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Katynna Gill, Tom Gordon, Alex Green, Karl Kruszelnicki, Verity Leatherdale, David McKenzie. © The School of Physics June 2012

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