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For Your Diary 2014 NEWSLETTER No 18 February 2014 Welcome notes from the WIPG Chair Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Women in Physics Group newsletter. After several years of working as secretary to the group committee, I was honoured to be voted in as chair at the last AGM. I wish Dr Dawn Leslie, the previous chair, all the best in her future beyond the role – I know she has plenty at Brunel University to keep her busy! I am ably assisted by Miss Karla Herpoldt (Secretary) and Dr Joanne Cole (Treasurer), as well as the many other able and enthusiastic members of the group. A warm welcome is also due to Prof Eithne McCabe (Trinity College Dublin) who recently joined the committee, and warm congratulations to Dr Josephine Coltman who whose attendance at group meetings has been interrupted - somewhat wonderfully - by the arrival of her baby girl. It is great that the group has so much positive news to report, which I hope you will be encouraged in reading. Good news can sometimes be in scarce supply. The recent House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee report on ‘Women in Scientific Careers’ followed on from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee’s report on ‘Women in the Workplace’ last year, which highlighted the continuing under-representation of women in careers related to science, technology, engineering and maths. The ‘Women in Scientific Careers’ report reiterated that there is still much to be done in undermining cultural perceptions that science is not ‘for girls’ and supporting women who pursue science at every stage of their careers. The lack of progress over recent decades in both regards is somewhat depressing, but I am heartened by the efforts of both committees to highlight the issues that persist and bring them once more to attention of policy makers. In its concluding remarks, the report also stated that more action is required to understand and counter the factors which hamper women in entering and succeeding in science, and I wholeheartedly concur. The Women in Physics Group, alongside other organisations with similar aims, will continue to be part of this movement for change. It’s long overdue. Dr Heather Williams MIPEM MInstP IOP Carers Fund WIPG Contacts: For your Diary Chair As an IOP member you Dr Heather Williams MInstP can apply for a grant of up 2014 Tel: 01612764820 to £250 to help you attend Showcasing women's Hon.Secretary physics-related meetings, careers in physics - for Miss Kara-Luise Herpoldt AMInstP events or conferences Tel: 07814383763 that you might not undergraduate students. otherwise be able to go to Niels Bohr Common room, Treasurer Dr Joanne Cole MInstP because you care for Schuster Laboratory, Tel: 01895 267749 someone else. University of Manchester. March 5th 2 - 5 p.m Visit the web page for WIPG Website: more information: For further information http://wip.iop.org https://www.iop.org/about/grants/ contact: [email protected] 1 Women in Physics Group Getting to know our group members... The EBN group hosts weekly seminars given by members of the I am Silvia Peruch, PhD student at King’s group or external speakers in order to College London in the Experimental keep each other updated on the Biophysics and Nanotechnology group developments made. Moreover, (EBN). together with the computational modeling group of the Physics I joined King’s two years ago after department, external speakers are completing my BcS and Masters in Physics invited to weekly 'Physics at the at the University of Padova, Italy. I first Nanoscale' seminars, which span approached plasmonics during my Erasmus material modeling, characterization year abroad, when I had the chance to work and fabrication. Many very fruitful in the Centre for Plasmonics and Metamaterials at Imperial collaborations, in my case for College. The term 'plasmonics' refers to the science and example with Lille’s University (info technology dealing with manipulation of electromagnetic signals conference 2012, San Sebastian, ‘Si- by coherent coupling of photons to free electron oscillations at the nanorod-based plasmonic interface between a conductor and a dielectric. metamaterials modeling and experiment’), started in this context. My PhD is part of a collaboration between King’s College, Imperial This is why we are always looking College and Queen’s University Belfast, a project called Active forward to hosting the contribution of Plasmonics (http://www.activeplasmonics.org/index.php), that other researchers in the field of aims to realise active circuitry components based on plasmonic nanophotonics and material systems. The research programme is funded by the Engineering modeling. and Physical Sciences Research Council and also supported by INTEL, Seagate, Ericsson, Oxonica, IMEC and the National Silvia Peruch Physics Laboratory. The striking advantage of all optical information processing is the substantially higher bandwith and lower losses compared to current electronic circuitry. Driving light with plasmons not only gives the possibility to reduce the size of WIPG Committee optical waveguides, modulators and switch to subwavelength scales, but also to obtain ultrafast behaviors. 2013 Chair The research of the EBN group, which now counts 40 members, is Dr Heather Williams MInstP centered around three overarching themes: functional nanoparticles, nano and bio imaging and nanophotonics and Secretary plasmonics. The group combines expertise in nanofabrication, Miss Karla-Luise Herpoldt AMInstP advanced imaging techniques and numerical modeling. My area of expertise is the numerical modeling and characterization of Treasurer plasmonic nanostructures, in particular metamaterials. Dr Joanne Cole MInstP I have also taken part in a European project, PLAISIR Ordinary Members (PLASmonic Innovative Sensing in the IR, Dr Philippa Browning FInstP http://www.plaisir-project.eu/) which ended in January 2013. In this Dr Josephine Coltman CPhys MInstP case, the focus was on the use of plasmonic nanostructures for Professor Helen Gleeson OBE fast, compact, highly sensitive chemical detection in the infrared, a CPhys FInstP key spectral region for biological molecules. Dr Dawn Leslie CPhys MInstP Professor Averil Macdonald CPhys My experience as a student in the UK could not have been more FInstP rewarding. I have the chance to work in an interdisciplinary and Professor Eithne McCabe CPhys collaborative environment at the cutting-edge of photonics and FInstP materials modelling research which offers an opportunity to build Miss Amy Preece MInstP networks of contacts which can help with the research and finding Dr Francisca Wheeler MBE CPhys a job after my PhD. The constant feedback from the advisory FInstP board of the projects is also extremely useful in order to maintain a solid connection with the commercial potential of our research. Co-Opted Mrs Ann Marks MBE CPhys FInstP 2 Women in Physics Group EPS Emily Noether Distinction for Women in Physics Key to our Universe: Henrietta Leavitt's 1908 The Emily Noether Distinction was established by the European Physical Society (EPS), in February Discovery 2013, to enhance the recognition of noteworthy women physicists with a strong connection to Prof. Pangratios Papacosta Europe through nationality or work. The distinction Science and Mathematics Dept is awarded twice a year for excellence in research Columbia College Chicago and mentoring in order to: - bring noteworthy women physicists to the wider Here is an extract from Professor Papacosta's attention of the scientific community, policy makers article on Henrietta Leavit, which will be and the general public; available from the History of Physics Group's website: - identify role models that will help to attract women http://www.iop.org/activity/groups/subject/hp/ to a career in physics. "Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1869 - 1921), The scope includes personal achievements in was a member of the photographic photometry areas such as research, education, outreach and department at the Harvard College industry. Observatory and she made her discovery from photographs of the Small Magellanic Clouds. The Distinction consists of a diploma, accompanied The director of HCO was Edward Pickering by an interview to be published in an EPS under whose name Henrietta's discovery was publication. published in 1912. She proposed that the longer the period of brightness Nomination Process oscillation of a Cepheid the larger its intrinsic Nominations may be submitted to the EPS luminosity was. Therefore a Cepheid star Secretariat at any time: whose periodicity is known could be used as a [email protected] standard candle and measure astronomical distances - even distances To submit an eligible nomination, the nominator beyond our galaxy." provides the following information: • Nominator's name, institution, and email • Nominee's name, institution, and email • Nominee's CV • 1-3 paragraphs about nominee and why the to the 2012 Very nominee is worthy of the Award. Congratulations Early Career Award runner up, Chiara Mingarelli. Receipt of a nomination will simply be She has won a Marie Curie International Outgoing acknowledged and there will be no further Fellowship. communication with the nominator, whose identity will not be revealed. The charter can be During the two year outgoing phase Chiara will downloaded at: hold a joint appointment at Caltech and NASA's http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.eps.org/resource/res Jet Propulsion Laboratory (where she will be carrying out supermassive black hole simulations, mgr/distinctions/EPS_NoetherAward_Charter.pdf and searching for gravitational waves with pulsar Nominations may be submitted by any full member timing arrays). Upon her return to Europe, she will of the EPS although nominees do not need to be be hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Radio EPS members. Astronomy in Bonn. Amalie Emily Noether (1882 to 1935) was an Chiara has expressed her thanks to the IoP, and influential German mathematician known for her specifically the Women in Physics Group, for their groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra continued support in these, the very early stages of her career.
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