CavMag July 2011 Issue 6 News from the Cavendish Laboratory

Inside... The Opening of the Winton Programme

What is the Physics of for the Physics of Sustainability 2 Sustainability? Peter Littlewood’s Parting 3 Shot Passing the Torch: James Stirling takes over as Head 4 of the Cavendish Ben Simons elected Herchel Smith Professor of 5 the Physics of Medicine Flavour Physics at the 6 Large Hadron Collider The Changing Roles of the 8 Assistant Staff Athene Donald engages with the Howthelightgetsin 9 DavidDaD viid Harding,HHarddiing PPeteretter LLittlewoodittlewood anandd DDaDavidviid WiWillettslletttts iinn ththee CCaCavendishvenddiish MMuMuseumseum vviewingiiewiing ppostersostters Philosophy and Music illustrating the diversity of the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability. Festival Outreach to Students, Young People and School 10 he formal opening of the Winton (c) he believed in the sincerity of the Cavendish Teachers Programme for the Physics of staff in their desire to use physics for the TSustainability took place on 24th betterment of society. Calling all Alumni 11 March 2011. It was a day of celebration Cavendish News 12 starting in the morning with the award to David Harding of the Chancellor’s 800th Anniversary Medal for Outstanding Philanthropy, presented by the Chancellor, the Duke of Edinburgh.

There followed a special visit to the Cavendish Laboratory by David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science in the company of David Harding, Peter Littlewood and Richard Friend during which the scope of the programme was explained to the Minister.

In the afternoon, the formal opening of The Duke of Edinburgh and David Harding with the Winton Programme for the Physics of the University Registrary Jonathan Nicholls at Sustainability took place, chaired by Peter the award ceremony. Littlewood as almost his last duty as Head of the Cavendish Laboratory. After the Vice- The urgency of dealing with energy and Chancellor had expressed the University’s deep environmental problems was emphasised in gratitude for his extraordinary generosity, David an impassioned speech by David MacKay, the Harding explained in a light-hearted speech his chief scientifi c adviser to the Department of reasons for the gift. Those which struck your Energy and Climate Change and on leave from editor were the facts that (a) he had made a his professorship at the Cavendish. David was great deal of money by employing some of the followed by Richard Friend, the Director of the Cavendish’s best physics graduates to work Programme, who described the challenges as researchers, (b) he felt a desire to repay to and steps being taken to deliver the Winton society some of the remarkable gains he had Programme over the next ten years. Already made by introducing innovative approaches the fi rst appointments are being made to the to hedge-fund management, in the process studentship and fellowship programme which www.phy.cam.ac.uk hoping to improve the image of the profession, will underpin the research activities. What is the Physics of Sustainability?

t is simplest to quote the words of Peter Light and matter and new industries needed to meet the Littlewood ‘In 2100, the sources of energy demands of a growing population on our Ion this planet will be either solar or fusion, The primary source of energy on the planet already strained natural resources. The and the preferred means to transport is sunlight. Converting incident light to programme will provide studentships, and use that energy will be electrical. The useful electrochemical stored energy needs research fellowships, and support for new “magic” technologies needed to deliver heterogeneous materials with controlled academic staff as well as investment in quantum chemistry, delivered at scale in this new age and make them available to research infrastructure of the highest level, cheap and robust devices. Patterns of societies world-wide are: photovoltaics, pump-priming for novel research projects, metals and dielectrics on the nanoscale electrical storage, refrigeration and lighting. may be used to enhance the sensitivity of support for collaborations within the molecular detection, and are also a method University and outside, and sponsorship for These technologies are particularly to manipulate quantum coherence which meetings and outreach activities. There will important for use in the tropical developing will be the ultimate effi cient computing be a strong emphasis upon fundamental world. There are no basic physical principles technology. Photovoltaics require both research, which will have importance for the preventing breakthroughs in all these areas. strong optical absorption and good sustainability agenda in the long-term. Today, solid state lighting is the closest electrical transport, best arranged in a to the appropriate performance. New three-dimensional structure that is largely The ‘bottom-up’ parts of the programme materials discoveries and the development interface. Future efforts will involve active are already advertised - studentships and of new physics concepts are needed to bring tuning of structures as well as fully three- fi ve-year fellowships. The intention is to dimensional patterns. this vision to fruition and make resulting fund very bright younger physicists. For technologies available to the worldwide Fellowships, the emphasis will be on bright Self-assembly community.’ and novel ideas that bring new activities to Energy applications will require nanoscale the Cavendish. This vision is very strongly linked to active engineering to be delivered by the tonne research programmes in the Laboratory, and by the hectare, which will require the ‘Top-down’ activities will involve introducing but the concept is to go beyond these. invention of new manufacturing methods. new areas of research to the Cavendish Some examples do, however, illustrate Biology currently holds the only examples research programme. In the ‘materials’ area, the enormous potential for imaginative of functional and interacting structures programmes may be generated in which the exploitation of basic physical principles. at the nanoscale, using nanomachines physics is supported by the complementary for everything from photosynthesis to the materials science and materials chemistry Designer Materials transfer of energy through cells. We will that allows us to take new directions. strive to replace top-down fabrication by bottom-up self-assembly of structures, Atom by atom manipulation and growth In carrying out the programme, we will build using natural systems for inspiration and may allow the creation of new chemical exploiting a mixture of physical processes on our strong existing interactions with environments with desirable properties. and programmed methods. various departments in the University. These Molecular engineering using materials include: chemistry can be used to grow molecular Multiscale modelling solids containing functional units. We • the Department of Chemistry, including can further tune properties of materials by Developing novel sustainable materials and the Melville Laboratory for Polymer applying extreme conditions of temperature, technologies will require an understanding Chemistry; pressure and magnetic and electric fi elds of how quantum mechanical models on • the Department of Materials Science to search for emergent properties such atomic scales can be melded with classical and Metallurgy; as superconductivity or magnetism. We modelling on large scales, and to model • the Department of Engineering, physical processes on time scales from are searching for the ultimate limits: a particularly through the Centre for picoseconds to seconds. Work will strive to room temperature superconductor for Nanoscience. integrate modelling with experiment, and dissipationless electrical wires; a material eventually use it for the design of complex with a large tuneable entropy change as an devices. Collaborations will also be developed with ideal refrigerator material; electrical storage cognate departments in other universities densities to rival gasoline; new mechanisms The Winton donation will support where there is complementary expertise. for thermoelectrics to scavenge heat from programmes that explore basic science, the environment. which can generate the new technologies Peter Littlewood and Malcolm Longair

2 Peter Littlewood’s Parting Shot

PeterP Littlewood the world. We are just embarking on a new Running a modern science department is stoods down as Head programme – the Physics of Sustainability - expensive; the Cavendish has an annual ofo Department at with the bold goal of providing the physical research spend exceeding £20M and, thet end of the Lent means to ‘solve’ major problems of energy although the University does not engage in TermT 2011 to take up and the environment. Particle physics is this kind of accounting, our "turnover" from thet post of Associate on the cusp of grand discoveries, or even all activities is about twice that. Setting up LaboratoryL Director greater puzzles, as we await the fruits of a new research activity laboratory can run to forf Physical Sciences our labour over two decades of participation £1-2M or more and we are in a competitive anda Engineering in the construction of the Large Hadron global competition for talent and research at Argonne National Laboratory in Collider. My astrophysicist colleagues are funding, in a discipline where achievement the USA. In characteristic exuberant coming to grips with evidence that we have is readily measured. While I'm distrustful of style, he refl ects on his tenure of misplaced most of the energy and mass of publication metrics, our citation rates are on this demanding position. We wish the Universe - and respond by designing a par with Harvard and Stanford, and ahead him every success in making the new telescopes that are the size of a of all our UK competitors and so we have transatlantic transition from the frying continent. reason to be proud of where we are. pan into the fi re. My colleagues are infl uential – they are Our fi nancial indicators are sound - we ife in the Cavendish proceeds with awarded not only the expected academic have excelled in research and teaching unstoppable momentum. There is the accolades, for example, at least one election assessments and our grant funding Lannual cycle of students - inquisitive, to the Royal Society every year, but also: grew in good times and is holding up stimulating, and demanding; the frenzy in diffi cult times. We have been able to of passing business and politics; and the • the single active PhD scientist in make investments in new buildings, new inexorable fl ow of science, a continually parliament, programmes and new staff, frequently advancing discipline that runs on its own • the chief science advisor to the helped by the generosity of alumni and time and to which Cavendish physicists Department of Energy and Climate donors. Our students remain spectacular, have contributed so much. I have been Change, inspiring and - heart-warmingly from a Head privileged to chair just half a dozen of • one of the Guardian's top hundred of Department's perspective - numerous. these annual cycles and so only a small most inspiring women, as well as one And not least, we have an extraordinary portion of the Cavendish’s history, but in of the Telegraph's top hundred most administrative support team - we are seen in that short time I have had the excitement powerful women, the University as a model department - our of hiring a total of 15 lecturers, readers • the UK's most cited researcher in senior administrators deserve wings for the and professors - a turnover of almost a ‘chemistry’, number of initiatives they have piloted. quarter of the academic staff. In the same • a feature article in FHM magazine, period we almost completely revamped our • a feature article on Oprah's website. James Stirling, my successor as Head of undergraduate teaching programme. I am Department, is a brilliant scientist but also surprised to discover just how much the Our students are absolutely everywhere - a very able manager, having been Vice- Department has changed. they are leaders in all walks of life, from President for Research at Durham before hedge funds, to Covent Garden and the Physics is a discipline that continues High Court. being lured back to Cambridge, where he to address and challenge the ultimate was a student, with the promise of being mysteries of science, driving activities from As well as the expected teaching and allowed to get on with his own science. the deeply philosophical to the profoundly research, there are all kinds of things that Unfortunately for him, he has so many practical. The Cavendish remains busy on add delight or bemusement to the offi ce of talents that we can't resist exploiting all all fronts. We have thriving research in Head of Department - examples include: of them, simultaneously. There are many new areas that barely existed fi ve years challenges, in the short term arising ago. Some of my colleagues are literally • regular delegations of dignitaries from from the experiments the government is braiding quantum mechanical trajectories around the world, with more than once conducting in funding mechanisms both by creating environments where a few the deadpan request for advice on how for student and research support. We are particles can be isolated from the rest of to organise a laboratory to win Nobel barely started on our plans to rebuild the the Universe - controlling the quantum prizes; whole laboratory. But I am sure that what behaviour of matter is coming within our • more benign requests for information, persuaded him to take on the role are reach. Others - in an entirely new endeavour for example, Essex trading standards the rewarding scientifi c and educational conceived by my predecessor - are applying requesting advice on a "perpetual challenges, and the opportunities we still the methods and tools of the physicist to motion machine"; have to change the world. bring new perspectives to medicine and • a visit from the BBC requesting to biology. Ordinary matter turns out not to be "borrow" something from the historical I have remarked about my own students so ordinary, and the Schrödinger equation collection; that they often fail to recognise that a surprises us with its complex adaptations; all • massive and popular outreach events – problem is insoluble, and thus have the you see around you is that simple equation the "Physics at Work" programme is, enthusiasm and uncluttered minds, as well made manifest. we believe, now the longest running as the skills, to crack it. The wonderful schools outreach programme from a thing is that as scientifi c challenges emerge, We can claim not only new technologies physics department in the UK; brilliant people seem to turn up at the but also new businesses as we learn to • a summer school for year 11 students Cavendish to solve them. harness and design materials to build described by its participants as devices to solve the pressing problems of "inspirational". Peter Littlewood

3 Passing on the Torch James Stirling takes over as Head of the Cavendish

t is a pleasure to welcome you as the new rather steep, and I have spent much of the times for UK universities. We will need Head of Department to this latest edition time in these fi rst few months visiting the to work even harder, in partnership with Iof CavMag. In the accompanying article, Department’s various research groups and the Colleges, to ensure that the much my predecessor Peter Littlewood refl ects administrative and support sections, not publicised rise in tuition fees does not on the state of the Cavendish Laboratory just gathering information but also trying deter the brightest students from applying in its 137th year. He comments on some to tease out views on what works well to Cambridge. Some 70% of our annual of our recent achievements and successes, and areas where we could do better. The turnover is won through research grants but is too modest to acknowledge his own overall impression is of a Department in from external sponsors, funding that is contributions to these. Peter was a superb very good shape – we have an incredibly particularly vulnerable to the effects of the Head of Department, and a very hard act to talented workforce, and a very collegial fi nancial down-turn. Research Council follow. I would like to take this opportunity work environment. Comparisons with other funding provides our core support, and of thanking him, not just for all he did for departments are diffi cult, and probably although there was some good news in unfair, but I believe last year’s government Spending Review, that our policy of with recurrent support for science research recruiting the very maintained at around fl at cash, reductions in best people, and capital funding for projects and equipment giving them the will place extra pressure on departments time, space and like the Cavendish in which experimental support to work to research fi gures so prominently. We need their full potential, to continue to seek funding from other is the key reason sources. why we are one of the best physics The Cavendish Laboratory has come a long departments in the way since it was established by James Clerk world. Maxwell in 1874. A few years earlier, a University syndicate had reported ‘in favour What of the future? of founding a Special Professorship, and The Department has of supplying the Professor with the means recently embarked of making his (sic) teaching practical; in on a number of other words of giving him a demonstrator, major research a lecture-room, a laboratory, and several initiatives. The class-rooms, with a suffi cient stock of Winton Programme apparatus.’ Nowadays we have some 30 for the Physics Professors among a workforce of more of Sustainability, than 850 with an annual turnover of almost launched earlier this year and celebrated £40M. We continue with our endeavours in this issue, will to rebuild the Laboratory in a phased soon see the arrival programme of construction, details of which of the fi rst cohort are included in the list of projects approved of research students by the School of Physical Sciences in our and fellows. We Development Portfolio*. have also just the Department in his almost six years as received the ‘green light’ from the University It is a challenge to keep everyone fully Head, but also for the way he helped and to proceed with plans for construction of informed of all that is going on in such chaperoned me into the job over the last a building that will house our new Centre a large enterprise, and I will be giving few months. It is a great comfort to me to for Experimental Astrophysics. This is the particular priority over the coming months know that I can tap into his wise advice at fi nal stage of the process that will see to fi nding ways of enhancing our internal any time. And since he will be maintaining a Cambridge’s world-leading astronomers, communications. CavMag is our primary link with the Department, we will of course cosmologists and astrophysicists co-located means of communicating with our not be losing him altogether. on a single site at Madingley Rise. With alumni and friends around the world, and the appointment of Ben Simons of the your support is invaluable and strongly When I arrived in Cambridge in 2008 to Theory of Condensed Matter research group encouraging. As noted later in this edition take up the Jacksonian Professorship, I had to the Herchel Smith Professorship, the of CavMag, we are always delighted to hear no idea that in less than three years I would Physics of Medicine project will enter a new from you - we are continually amazed by the be sitting in the Head of Department’s phase. And right across the Department we achievements of some of our Alumni. We offi ce. I was deeply honoured that continue to recruit outstanding research hope to see you during Alumni weekend – colleagues considered that I was a suitably students and research associates. These in addition, special visits can be arranged if qualifi ed to lead the Department. Coming major developments will greatly enhance you happen to be passing through. from outside has, of course, advantages our submission to HEFCE’s next Research and disadvantages. On one hand, I hope Excellence Framework (REF) assessment in James Stirling to be able to bring a fresh perspective 2014. and perhaps even some examples of good * see: www.phy.cam.ac.uk/ practice learned elsewhere. On the other We cannot, however, ignore the fact development/Development_Portfolio_ hand, my learning curve has inevitably been that these are turbulent and challenging Final.pdf

4 Ben Simons elected Herchel Smith Professor of the Physics of Medicine

WeW congratulate Ben acquisition has far outstripped the rate of the coherent vibrational motion of large SimonsS on his election its assimilation, and biologists are starting numbers of constituent atoms. But, tot the Herchel Smith to reassess the directions and challenges of despite the complexity of the underlying ProfessorshipP of the the subject (Nurse, 2008). Soon after the microscopic interactions, these collective PhysicsP of Medicine. discovery of the double-helical structure of excitations often behave as elementary, TheT endowment the DNA molecule by James D Watson and particle-like entities governed by simple – ofo a professorship Francis Crick at the Cavendish in 1953, the universal – physical laws. The generality of ofo physics was molecular mechanisms of gene replication this hierarchy was emphasised famously bequeathedb to the and transcription were resolved, and the by Phil Anderson in his commentary, Cavendish in the will of Herchel Smith gene became widely accepted as the More is different (Anderson, 1972). By who pioneered the development of the fundamental unit of biological information. placing emphasis on phenomenology, contraceptive pill. With the founding of With the advent of cloning and sequencing physicists have cleverly by-passed the the Centre for the Physics of Medicine, technologies in the 1970s, geneticists curse of complexity and the impossible the professorship was dedicated to the began to gain access to gene sequences of challenges of bottom-up reasoning. At the Physics of Medicine. In this article, Ben increasingly complex organisms, culminating same time, they have devised theoretical describes the remarkable opportunities in the complete sequencing of the human and conceptual methodologies – kinetic for physicists to contribute to this key genome just 50 years after Watson and theory, fi eld theory, renormalisation group, research endeavour for the benefi t of Crick’s famous discovery. However, the hydrodynamics, and so on – to bridge society. diversity of genes cannot approximate the the microscopic and macroscopic world. Inspired by the challenges now facing cell biology, many of us believe that physical scientists have the opportunity to contribute signifi cantly to the conceptual development of the subject, as well as continuing to provide important technological advances.

Recent research in the fi eld of stem cell biology provides a concrete example. Stem cells contribute to both the development and maintenance of multi-cellular organisms. Embryonic stem cells (known as ES cells) form the inner cell mass of Inducible genetic labelling of the small intestine. Following induction, stem cells the early embryo, and have the ability to express one of four fl uorescent proteins. The fi gure shows ribbons of differentiating differentiate into cell types from any of cells migrating from monoclonal crypts (bottom) onto villi (top) at 4 months post- the three germ layers. The therapeutic induction. Image reproduced from Simons and Clevers (2011). potential of these extraordinary pluripotent cells has created interest from both inside n the late 1940s and 50s the Cavendish diversity of functions within an organism, and outside the academic community. played host to the Unit for Research on and the search for mechanism in biological During development these undifferentiated Ithe Molecular Structure of Biological processes has focussed predominantly on cells become increasingly restricted in Systems, established by Max Perutz and the elucidation of complex gene regulatory their lineage potential. In adults, many John Kendrew. Alongside the structure of networks. Unfortunately, such complex, organs such as skin and gut continue to DNA, this unit was responsible for several and often incomplete, interpenetrating undergo rapid and constant turnover. Their major discoveries from the structure of networks, rarely provide insight into maintenance and repair relies upon adult proteins, such as haemoglobin, and viruses, functionality. As Sydney Brenner put it so stem cells. These cells are also defi ned by to the elucidation of the mechanism of mischievously, “Sequencing the human their ability to differentiate into multiple cell muscle contraction. This pioneering group genome was once likened to sending a man types and self-replicate. However, unlike formed the basis of the Laboratory of to the moon. The comparison turns out to ES cells, adult stem cells must achieve Molecular Biology, considered by many as be literally correct because sending a man to something remarkable: to avoid aberrant the birthplace of modern molecular biology. the moon is easy; it’s getting him back that growth or loss, these cells must maintain Half a century later, Malcolm Longair (then is diffi cult...” (Brenner, 2010). a perfect balance between proliferation Head of the Department of Physics) and Sir and differentiation. Resolving the factors Keith Peters (then Regius Professor of Physic) Although cell biologists tend to address that control this balance represents one of established a new initiative to promote questions of a much higher intrinsic the defi ning challenges of adult stem cell collaboration between the physical and complexity, the dilemma they face is research. medical sciences. Since then, researchers one that is familiar to physical scientists. at the Cavendish and across the University The identifi cation of the basic elements To address this problem, efforts have have been engaged in the development of of a system, and the resolution of their focused on the identifi cation of stem novel imaging and manipulation strategies fundamental interactions, rarely disclose cell-specifi c biomolecular markers, with to probe and perturb living cells, down to their collective behaviour. Yet, from such the aim of resolving the transcriptional the molecular scale. complex assemblies, simple, robust, regulatory pathways that promote stem cell and elementary phenomena frequently competence and control differentiation. Although modern technology provides emerge. As physicists we know that, when However, the development of transgenic access to data at a resolution and density a liquid condenses into a crystalline solid, mouse models allows a different approach, unimaginable fi fty years ago, the pace of its collective excitations appear involving which places emphasis on functional

5 (phenotypic) characteristics. The method involves the development of a transgenic mouse model in which the transient expression of a Cre recombinase can lead to the irreversible genetic marking of a cell and its offspring (see Figure). As a result, it has become possible to resolve the fate of individual labelled stem cells and their progeny (termed clones) over the lifetime of an organism.

In cycling tissues, the long-term self- renewal of a stem cell population can be achieved in one of two ways: either each and every cell division results in asymmetric fate with one cell remaining in the stem cell compartment and another committing to differentiation. Or the balance between proliferation and differentiation is achieved on a population basis, with some cell divisions resulting in symmetric multiplication, and others leading to differentiation and loss so that the overall stem cell population remains constant. Intriguingly, lineage-tracing studies combined with insight from Fig 1: Val next to the LHCb experiment. non-equilibrium statistical mechanics To her right are the magnet coils and to provides the means to discriminate her left is one of the RICH detectors. between these different patterns of stem cell fate. However complex the underlying mechanism of stem cell regulation, in tissues that conform to Flavour Physics at the Large Hadron Collider a pattern of population asymmetric self-renewal, the long-term clonal fate characteristics converge onto a limited set Val Gibson was promoted to Professor providing the fi rst evidence for new physics of “universality classes”, discriminated of High Energy Physics in 2009 but that may hold the key to open scientifi c by the dimensionality of tissue and the delayed giving her inaugural lecture questions such as: pattern of regulation (cell-autonomous or to the Cavendish Physical Society until • Why are there three generations of environmental), and signalled by scaling May 2011 when the fi rst results of quarks and leptons? behaviour of the clone size distribution. her major involvement in the LHCb • What determines the hierarchy of quark Applied to numerous tissue types from experiment at the Large Hadron Collider masses? testes to epidermis and gut, and across were obtained. a range of organisms from mice to fl ies, • What is the origin of CP violation? such studies are beginning to resolve lavour physics plays a crucial role in Furthermore, two of the very few the pattern of stem cell maintenance, the search for new phenomena at the observations that cannot be accommodated raising questions about the biomolecular FLarge Hadron Collider (LHC). The two by the Standard Model of particle physics, pathways that promote stochastic fate, groups of basic building blocks of matter namely the baryon-antibaryon asymmetry and providing a quantitative platform to are the quarks and the leptons. Within each of the Universe and the non-zero neutrino address factors leading to dysregulation in group there are six fl avours of subatomic mass, are intimately related to fl avour disease, cancer, and aging. particle. There are six leptons: the electron, physics. the muon, the tau, the electron-neutrino, In modern cell biology, the acquisition the muon-neutrino, and the tau-neutrino. of data is too often confused with the LHCb is the fl avour physics experiment There are also six quarks known as up, accumulation of knowledge. With the at the LHC. It is designed specifi cally to down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. challenges now facing cell biology, physical search for new phenomena in quantum Flavour physics has made numerous key scientists have an unparalleled opportunity loop processes and to provide a deeper contributions to the understanding of to infl uence the conceptual development understanding of matter-antimatter of the subject. their particle properties: the fi rst evidence asymmetries at the most fundamental for the existence of the charm quark, the level. It does this by studying the decays Further reading: third generation of quarks and leptons, of hadrons containing bottom or charm (b Anderson, P.W. (1972). More Is Different. the high mass scale of the top quark and or c) quarks. The experiment is confi gured Science 177, 393-396. matter-antimatter asymmetries through as a forward single-arm spectrometer Brenner, S. (2010). Sequences and the discovery of CP violation, meaning the with excellent tracking provided by a high consequences. Philosophical Transactions violation of the combination of discrete precision silicon detector, excellent particle of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences symmetries, charge-conjugation (C) and identifi cation provided by two Ring-Imaging 365, 207-212. parity (P). Cherenkov (RICH) detectors, a calorimeter Nurse, P. (2008). Life, logic and information. Nature 454, 424-426. system, a muon system and a highly effi cient Simons, B.D., and Clevers, H. (2011). The nature of fl avour physics is such that trigger system. The Cambridge contributions Strategies for Homeostatic Stem Cell Self- it provides access to an energy regime to the experiment have involved providing Renewal in Adult Tissues. Cell 145, 851- well beyond the LHC energy frontier and all the RICH off-detector electronics, the 862. therefore offers enormous potential for RICH data-quality monitoring and the

6 It is only natural that some of the early Although it is not yet possible to extract physics measurements at the LHCb a value of the CP-phase, the results show experiment are studies of the production of that by the end of 2011, LHCb will have the b and c-quarks, the fractions of the different sensitivity to measure the CP-phase with B species and the search for new B decays, suffi cient accuracy to shed light on any new especially in the little chartered territory of physics contributions. B 0 0 the s ( B ) system. Already with the little data accumulated in 2010, it has been Finally, the search for very rare possible to make precision measurements in decay modes is of paramount importance all these topics and to discover new decay in fl avour physics. In particular, the channels, which will be very important for branching ratio for the decay mode B 0    the future study of CP violation. s is predicted with good precision in the Standard Model, but large LHCb expects to provide a solid benchmark enhancements are possible in many variants for the Standard Model picture of quark of SuperSymmetry and alternative new fl avor interactions against which new physics models. As such, the search for this physics can be judged by the end of 2012. decay mode represents one of the most Indeed, a measurement of CP violation promising ways of discovering new physics at the LHC. LHCb has recently published the in the B 0 system using 0  KB  decays results of the search for this decay based on has already been made (Fig. 3). The the data collected in 2010. No signal is yet measurement of CP-violation in the observed, and an upper limit is placed on system is extremely important, as any the branching ratio of at the 95% signifi cant enhancement in the CP-violating confi dence level. With the data foreseen phase above the small value predicted by in 2011-2012 it will be possible to improve the Standard Model would be a clear sign the sensitivity such that LHCb will have the of new physics. Critical to the measurement potential to discover new physics beyond is the ability to resolve the very fast  BB 00 ss the Standard Model or to severely constrain quantum-mechanical oscillations; LHCb viable physics scenarios. has demonstrated this spectacularly by producing a world’s best measurement of LHCb is now at the forefront of a new era the B 0 s oscillation parameter. LHCb has also of discoveries and precision measurements put together all the elements of the non- in fl avor physics. It is a privilege to be part of 0  JB  trivial extraction of the CP-phase in s the exciting times ahead! RICH software, all of which are operating decays in order to produce a preliminary extremely well (Fig. 1). B 0 study of CP-violation in the s system. Val Gibson The LHC has been running smoothly since March 2010 with a rapidly increasing integrated luminosity, which is directly related to the number of potentially interesting events. The fi rst physics publications from the LHCb experiment are based on the proton-proton collision data taken in 2010 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 38 inverse pico-barns, corresponding to 1010 pairs (Fig. 2.); the experiment expects to collect more than 30 times these numbers by the end of 2011. In such a short time, the physics results now pouring out of LHCb have already surpassed many of those published by the Tevatron experiments at Fermilab. Fig 2: One of the fi rst proton-proton collisions recorded by the LHCb experiment.

What has LHCb achieved so far? With the pp collision run in 2010, the LHCb collaboration only expected to understand the operation and calibration of the detector. These expectations have however been far exceeded. The experiment and all its detector components are performing beautifully; the momentum scale is known to 1 part in 104, providing mass resolutions of 6-10 MeV/c2 and the world’s best B hadron mass measurements, and the resolution of the tracking system provides a proper-time resolution of ~50 fs Fig 3: events selected in the 2010 data (left and right ). The fi tted signal resulting in some high precision B lifetime component is the dominant red curve. The difference in yields between and is measurements. driven by CP-violation.

7 Nowadays everyone uses a computer and so there is very little need for the secretary to act as a ‘private secretary’, typing up documents for others. The secretary now has very signifi cant administrative responsibilities, often having to make decisions in the absence of senior members of staff.

As in all walks of life, one of the major differences is in the use of computers and e-mail, which nowadays occupy a very major part of the Group Administrators’ role. These were intended to make life easier and use less paper, but in practice the opposite has proved to be the case. Secretaries’ The Changing Roles of the Assistant Staff desks are now covered with more and more paper and the pressure for instant replies and the dubious benefi ts of working right to ne of the more curious features of It is suggested that the fi rst Cavendish up to deadlines, with e-mails fl ying to and the recent history of the Cavendish is Financial Accounts were held personally by J fro, have made life much more stressful for that, whilst the number of research J Thomson in the form of a bank book. He O the group administrators. What is worse is staff has grown dramatically over the past also held the cheque book, which was used that they can no longer leave their work at few decades, the number of assistant to pay some of the staff. Regulation and work, as many have computers at home and support staff has remained relatively due process apart, no Head of Department access e-mail from wherever they are in the constant at just over 100. But, if numbers today would appreciate this hands-on world. have stayed constant, the roles certainly approach. The Head of Department is now have not. able to delegate the fi nancial operation to The monitoring of fi nances is a big an effi cient Accounts section, a Stores team responsibility for the Group Administrators, In a recent edition of CavMag, the and the Research Group Secretaries and keeping track of expenditure on grants refurbishment of the mechanical Administrators, under the supervision of the and other delegated departmental funds. workshops was described. The role of the Academic Secretary. Again, these roles have Decisions need to be made about where technicians has evolved considerably as been transformed as one computer system to allocate expenditure. All fi nancial work existing, and still very valuable, skill sets after another has been introduced, requiring will undoubtedly become more and more have been expanded to embrace the new a much more professional approach to vital as fi nances tighten. The pressure of management accounts and matched technologies of computer aided design and space in the Department is an ever present inevitably by further regulation. Purchasing computer numerical control. Currently, the problem and it is often down to the Group large equipment is now a very considerable Department is investing considerable time Administrator to sort out who has which enterprise, involving the central University and effort into developing a relationship offi ce and to ensure the appropriate Finance team, among others. with the software manufacturer Autodesk, academic hierarchy is maintained. to train the next generation of technicians and scientists in industry-standard design In addition to these changes, the roles In the area of Human Resources, it was tools. Today’s mechanical workshop the secretaries play in the running of the once a simple task of placing an advert technicians are as likely to be found at a Laboratory have changed dramatically. and making an appointment, but there computer screen as at a manual lathe. Originally secretaries worked almost entirely are now many hoops to jump through and for the head of group, typing up papers tightened regulations. The Department, The Research Group structure in the and all letters and documents produced in through its Group Administrators, has to Laboratory was introduced by Bragg longhand. attempt to ensure that academics follow shortly after the Second World War, with the regulations, but given the nature of the the intention of keeping research teams academic mind this is a highly non-trivial small and communication lines short. The task. vision was to have each group with its own assistants acting quasi-autonomously. Whilst recognising the changing roles of Whilst in some respects this is still the case, the assistant staff, it has to be recorded the groups have grown considerably, the that they have responded magnifi cently to types of support required have changed these new challenges. They are absolutely and consequently the roles of assistants indispensible for the success of the research have changed also. The individual group and teaching programme of the Laboratory. workshops have been drawn together, As the research context develops, the roles to allow much better use of modern of support staff will undoubtedly evolve equipment and skill sets. Whilst some further. The goal remains remarkably similar support roles have reduced in demand, for to Bragg’s ideal of expert support as close as example our last glassblower Dick Smith possible to the frontline of research. retired several years ago, others have increased. As with many organisations, David Peet and Tracey Ingham health and safety consumes signifi cant resources and we now employ a fl eet of Top: Photograph of members of the computer offi cers. Accountability to the Assistant Staff in 2010. central University bodies and beyond has Bottom: J.J. Thomson’s hand-written draft increased and so inspection and audit are of the paper on the discovery of the electron far more regular occurrences. written in 1897.

8 Athene Donald engages with the Howthelightgetsin Philosophy and Music Festival

hour’s debate, rather irritated. I had survived the experience, but I wasn’t sure I had managed to achieve the goals I set myself. Of course I cannot tell how the audience themselves reacted, and whether they were pleased or impressed that an academic physicist had come out of her ‘ivory tower’ to meet them on their own ground.

The second debate I’m afraid was worse. I was lured into a debate on Western versus alternative medicine on the strict understanding this would not be a debate about homeopathy. During my period as Director of our Physics of Medicine initiative I attended a meeting about Chinese traditional medicine and explored a little of the Korean literature on acupuncture. These might have been interesting topics for debate. Unfortunately, we barely got off the topic of homeopathy and the placebo effect, which has been carefully researched by my fellow panel member Dylan Evans, the author of a book on the topic. Again, I made an attempt to introduce science into the debate. For example, I made the rather obvious point that, if you dilute solutions to the point where there are none of the active molecules still present in the vial you give a patient, their activity is necessarily zero because there’s nothing there. These arguments were simply ignored as the two homeopathic supporters/practitioners just his year I attended the Hay Festival not merely geeks who cannot string a reiterated their mantra that homeopathy for the fi rst time, not the famous sentence together. makes patients feel better – which is why Tliterary one but the more recent the placebo effect is so relevant. Howthelightgetsin Philosophy and What did I learn from the experience? My Music Festival running simultaneously. debating panel consisted of bioethicist and I was at least in full control over my invited I was invited to take part in a debate philosopher John Harris from Manchester, talk. This was on the subject of unconscious on ‘human enhancement’ and, having who has written a provocative book called bias - why are girls often subtly deterred agreed to that the organisers threw in a Enhancing Evolution with which, after I from doing science at every step from second debate and an invited talk for good had done my homework of reading it in birth, why is the pipeline in a subject like measure. Why, you may ask, did I as a advance, I profoundly disagreed; Aubrey physics so particularly leaky once girls physicist get invited to such a meeting and de Grey, ex-Cambridge biologist but now enter university and attempt to progress to such a debate? And why did I accept? working for a private enterprise exploring through the academic ranks? These are The answer to the fi rst question to some increasing longevity of life; and Mary subjects close to my heart in my role as the extent lies in a press release from 2009. In Warnock, one-time Mistress of Girton and Director of Women in Science, Engineering this my work on cell-substrate interactions an extremely eminent philosopher – whose and Technology Initiative (WiSETI) in the was ‘spun’ as relevant to hip replacements: ‘side’, I am pleased to say, I was on. What I University. I felt that the message was true, but there is a huge gulf between learnt is that it is actually extremely diffi cult heard and well received by the men and women alike in my audience. The video of what we do and actual improvements in to put any serious science into a debate like my lecture can be viewed at www.iai.tv/ technology or protocols. Furthermore, our this. Attempts to discuss the Singularity, video/saving-science. work on protein aggregation, which is the limits of Moore’s Law or even brain relevant to the pathology of Alzheimer’s plasticity and the developments of synapses Would I go again? I’m not sure, is the disease, was translated by the Guardian into at different stages of what might, if my honest answer. I’d certainly want to be ‘revolutionary treatments of Alzheimer’s’, opponents had their way, be a very long life, more convinced that the topic of any debate a statement which is simply quite wrong. really provoked little reaction. I felt as if the gave me a better opportunity to speak as a Nevertheless, despite these inaccuracies, other side simply felt enhancement equates scientist. On the other hand, I am sure that when issued with what might be seen as to better, so we don’t need to discuss what scientists should turn up more regularly at the challenge of participating, I decided to ‘better’ means or how it might be achieved. generalist activities and demonstrate what accept on the grounds that as a professional I found this a very frustrating position. I we have to offer. So perhaps it would scientist I have a duty to engage with non- might have believed that I was missing some be self-defeating to turn down a similar scientists. I believe it is important both to fundamental philosophical point if Mary invitation should I be asked again. talk about my work and to demonstrate that Warnock hadn’t been so much in agreement scientists are articulate, thoughtful people, with me. I ended up, at the end of the Athene Donald

9 Outreach to Students, Young People and School Teachers

y the time you are reading this report, concepts with teachers to understand a number of our Outreach events better students' conceptual diffi culties Bwill have taken place, but we also and to bridge the gap between A-level include upcoming events that will be of and university physics. wide interest and for which early booking is • We aim to provide access to an recommended. inspirational environment in which physics and physics education can School Workshops – Physics of the 3D be discussed with like-minded Illusion teachers with time out from school to refresh, think in alternative ways and On the 30th and 31st March, 120 students, experiment. aged 14 to 16, visited the Cavendish for an • The teachers will also observe the afternoon of talks and practical workshops Senior Physics Challenge students in that featured the physics behind 3D movies action and to see how they respond to and current research here at the Cavendish the material and environment. Laboratory. The practical element of the workshop was developed by Dr Eileen This residential course is a pilot in 2011 and Nugent of the Biological and Soft Systems we hope that, if successful, we will be able Group at the Cavendish and sponsored by to increase the number of places available in the Institute of Physics. The resources from future years. this and all other workshops are available on our website. Senior Physics Challenge

A second workshop on this topic is This annual event ran from the 3rd July until scheduled on the 8th and 9th December the 7th July 2011 during which the students 2011 for 11 to 13 year olds. The practical attended lectures on kinematics and special workshop of Dr Nugent will still form relativity, and practical laboratory classes on the central element but the introduction dynamics and optics. Time was also given and additional sessions will be changed for students to attend admissions talks and appropriately for younger students. Places generally discuss physics and socialise with are still available for the 9th December and like minded students of a similar age. From bookings can be made online from the over 300 applications of the highest calibre school workshop section of our outreach Y12 (AS-level) students, co-director Anson page. Cheung and I selected 66 students, from all over the United Kingdom. Cavendish Physics Teachers Residential Workshop - Pilot Programme Each year participants are kindly hosted to dinner and accommodated by a number From the 2nd to 4th July 2011, 20 A-level of Cambridge colleges - in 2011 these physics teachers from across the United include Churchill, Corpus Christi, Fitzwilliam, Kingdom will visit Cambridge for a Newnham, Pembroke, Queens’, and Trinity. residential workshop kindly hosted by Churchill College and sponsored by the Student application is initiated by teacher Ogden Trust. This course is being piloted for recommendation and, whilst selection for the following reasons: 2011 is complete, any interested teacher may register online to receive updates • We are aware that there are many and notifi cation of the next application talented students who are unable to round. To fi nd out more please see our attend the Senior Physics Challenge website. (SPC) as we just do not have the spaces to host them (see below). This is an Undergraduate Open Days opportunity to enable teachers to take the SPC back to school and into From 2:30pm on the 7th and 8th July the classroom by providing attending 2011 the Cavendish Laboratory opened teachers with all the necessary its doors to the next wave of potential resources and background materials. undergraduates. These open afternoons are • The teachers will gain fi rst-hand designed to coincide with the Cambridge experience of the Cambridge University central admissions open days but collegiate system and the home of are stand alone activities to which any year physics research in Cambridge. The twelve (AS-level or equivalent) students and programme will include a session on their families are invited to attend. Cambridge admissions from directors of studies in physics and admissions One of the aims is to introduce potential interviewers. students to the variety of experiments that • We are keen to discuss ideas and they will undertake as physics

10 Calling all Alumni undergraduates, and to provide them with ne of the pleasures of editing The other case is that of John Fulljames an opportunity to speak with graduate CavMag is that every so often I (bottom) who has just been appointed demonstrators and supervisors. To provide Oreceive messages from alumni Associate Director of Opera at Covent insight into the undergraduate experience, bringing us up to date about their career Garden working with the Director of Opera Julia Riley will give an example fi rst year progression, as well as the honours and Kasper Holten and Music Director of the lecture on special relativity and as an awards they have received. Either that or I Royal Opera, Antonio Pappano. John read experienced admissions tutor will follow this receive information from colleagues about physics in the Cavendish and was at the lecture with an opportunity for parents and the achievements of alumni. Let me give same time a Choral Scholar at St. John’s. students to ask any admissions questions two recent examples. John was desperate to carry out a fi nal year that they might have regarding entry to project related to acoustics and the best study Natural Sciences here in Cambridge. that Alan Walton could do was to develop One further session will be on offer to any a project about the physics of the sounds interested visitors in the form of a museum water makes when it is heated in a kettle tour and talk about the history of the from room temperature to its boiling point. ground breaking physics performed at the John’s dissertation was an outstanding piece Cavendish Laboratory. There is no need to of work and he won the Part III Prize for an register or book for these open afternoons Experimental project. We offer John our but further information can be found on our heartiest congratulations on this wonderful website. appointment at the Royal Opera. Physics at Work 2011 – Bookings now These are wonderful achievements, and I open am certain there are many more among Bookings for the 27th annual Physics at the careers of our alumni, which we will Work exhibition are now open to schools be delighted to hear about. We cannot – and spaces are fi lling fast! This unique guarantee that all respondents can be exhibition runs for three days, this year included and of course your editor’s decision from 20th until 22nd September, with two I was delighted to learn from Nigel is fi nal. In the last edition we reported sessions each day (morning sessions begin Goldenfeld (above), at the University on the wide diversity of occupations that at 9am and afternoon sessions at 1pm). of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that he Cavendish physicists take up and this is During each half day session school groups was elected to the US National Academy very important in supporting our case will see six different exhibits selected by of Sciences, and also to the American that a degree in Physics from Cambridge the organisers to include 25 internal and Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010. is excellent preparation for a very widely industrial exhibitors and to show the many He writes, `I was in the (fi rst, I think) class range of subsequent careers. So, this is an varied ways in which physics is used in the you taught that became the basis for your open invitation – let us know about your real world. book Theoretical Concepts in Physics. It achievements and distinctions whether was wonderful!’ Your editor is not wishing they are in science or all the other disciplines The exhibition is targeted at 14–16 year olds to use this column to advertise his books, in which you have made your mark. with some schools bringing their gifted and but he greatly appreciates the memory talented year 9 students and others bringing of the exciting days when the course Malcolm Longair year 12 students who are considering was developed and which continues to potential careers in physics. Schools are thrive under different proprietors. Many Below: Claire Booth and John Fulljames welcome to bring as many students as they congratulations to Nigel on this very rehearse Into the Little Hill (2009) are able, provided the student to teacher signifi cant distinction. © Gemma Mount ratio is about 15 to 1.

Approximately 400 FREE places are available for each half day session and schools travel from all over London and the South East to attend this event. Any teachers interested in attending the 2011 exhibition should book online on our website as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. More details are on the Cavendish Outreach Website: www- outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk

More general residential and outreach initiatives are coordinated by the Cambridge Admissions Offi ce in conjunction with the University departments and further information can be found on their website: www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/ undergraduate/events

Lisa Jardine-Wright

11 Cavendish News

Warmest congratulations to Michael Hobson (top left) and Michael Köhl (top right) on their promotions to Personal Chairs.

Likewise, we are delighted that Crispin Barnes (middle left) and Mete Atature (middle right) have been promoted to Readerships.

Many congratulations to Jeremy Baumberg (bottom left) on his election to the Royal Society.

We welcome the following new appointments to the Assistant Staff:

Emily Heavens, Group Administrator in Microelectronics

Rob Smith, Central Departmental Administration

Celia Jones , Group Administrator, Nanotechnology Doctoral Training Centre

Anthony Barnett Technician in the area of Optoelectronics/Nanophotonics.

Many congratulations to Athene Donald for her recognition by the Sunday Telegraph as one of the hundred most powerful women in Britain and by the Guardian as one of the world’s 100 most inspiring women. She was also winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, among seven women at the forefront of science, engineering and technology who were honoured by the the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Nalin Patel has been appointed Manager of the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability. Nalin, who obtained his doctorate in Semiconductor Physics Group, previously worked with CDT and Toshiba Europe. He will take up his post on 1 August 2011.

Congratulations of David Ward (bottom right) on being awarded a Pilkington Teaching Prize for excellence in Teaching.

If you would like to discuss how you might contribute to the Cavendish’s Development Programme, please contact either Professor Malcolm Longair ([email protected]) or Professor James Stirling ([email protected]), who will be very pleased to talk to you confi dentially. Further information about how donations may be made to the Cavendish’s Development Programme can be found at: www.phy.cam.ac.uk/development

Contacts

The Cavendish Laboratory Head of Department JJ Thomson Avenue Professor James Stirling Cambridge Tel: 01223 337429 CB3 0HE E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +44(0) 1223 337200 Director of Development Fax: +44(0) 1223 363263 Professor Malcolm Longair E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 01223 765953 www.phy.cam.ac.uk Email: [email protected]

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