The Merton Physics School

The modern Merton Physics School was established with the appointment of Michael Baker in 1957. Since then, it has grown into a thriving academic institution, which has educated more than 500 students, served as a centre for scientific progress in many important areas, and contributed to informing the general public and school pupils about the importance of Physics. Given the achievements of our academics, alumni and students, it is no exaggeration to say that Merton is one of the premier colleges for teaching and research in Physics, within the best university in the world.

Professor Simon Hooker Professor Alan Barr Professor Alex Schekochihin

Our Academics

Our academic team is led by our Tutorial Fellows: Professors Simon Hooker, Alan Barr and Alex Schekochihin. Merton is one of the few colleges that has three full-time Tutorial Fellows in Physics, and this makes a marked difference to their ability to devote time, energy and resources to both teaching and research. Our academics provide considerable individual attention to each student through the Tutorial System, while making discoveries that will impact the discipline of Physics and society as a whole.

Professor Hooker’s research focuses on the interaction of very high intensity laser pulses with plasma. Among a number of accolades, he was awarded the American Physical Society’s John Dawson Award for excellence in plasma physics in 2010. He is currently Head of Atomic & Laser Physics at Oxford. Professor Barr works with the Large Hadron Collider to probe the nature of the Higgs boson and to search for dark matter particles. His latest honour was receiving the 2019 Oxford Vice-Chancellor’s Public Engagement with Research Award. Professor Schekochihin was the most recent addition to the Fellowship (in 2008), and his research aims to understand the dynamics of multi-scale turbulent plasma systems. Last year, he received the Institute of Physics’ Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Medal and Prize, which is given for distinguished contributions to plasma, solar or space Physics. He also received the 2019 John Dawson Award, which was won by Professor Hooker nearly a decade ago.

Additionally, Merton has a team of specialist Fellows, Lecturers and affiliated academic staff, who undertake world-leading research and assist the Tutorial Fellows with teaching. Professor Artur Ekert FRS played a key role in the creation of the field of quantum cryptography during his time as a Junior Research Fellow at Merton in the 1990s. He returned to Merton in 2006 and now teaches second-year students, while continuing to lead quantum cryptographic research. Emeritus Fellow Professor James Binney FRS, an expert on the structure and formation of galaxies, now serves as a College Lecturer, while students reading Physics & Philosophy are taught by Professor Simon Saunders, a leading philosopher of science. Professor Christopher Ramsay, Director of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, tutors first-year students in Mathematics. Students with a strong interest in this area can take

further courses under the supervision of our Fellow in Mathematics, Professor Minhyong Kim. PHYSICS

Our Students

The strength of teaching and research at Merton enables us to attract the very best and brightest students, from a range of backgrounds and on an international scale. Admission for undergraduate study in Physics is highly competitive, and in recent years, there have been ten times as many applicants as places on the course at Merton. We have approximately 30 undergraduates reading Physics or Physics & Philosophy at any one time, and typically, more than one-third are from overseas. Means-tested bursaries are available for Home/EU undergraduates, while international students can access the Merton Reach Scholarship and apply for support from the University.

Our community of around 25 postgraduates makes an important contribution to the Merton Physics School. Graduates conduct their own original research, bringing even more specialisms within our walls. In some cases, they also provide essential support to our Fellows’ research programmes. Many of our postgraduates will go on to become part of the next generation of professional Physicists and experts in a range of other fields. Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, and particularly the long-standing support of Dr Jim (1968) and Mrs Susan Buckee, we have been able to offer a number of Graduate Scholarships over the years, which have helped us to bring the most exceptional young scholars to Merton from all walks of life. Merton’s undergraduates and postgraduates form an increasingly integrated community. Through our Mentoring Scheme, graduates can help undergraduates with any aspect of the course, supplementing the work of our academics and providing extra support with areas of particular difficulty. This scheme is useful for graduates too, as it gives them teaching experience and solidifies their own knowledge. It is worth noting that Merton Physics was one of the two subjects in the University that piloted the Mentoring Scheme nearly a decade ago.

The Course

Physics and Physics & Philosophy are four year undergraduate courses, leading to Masters degrees. Physics involves substantial amounts of practical laboratory work. The first and second years cover fundamental areas of Physics. The third and fourth years build on the knowledge and techniques learned and explore a wide variety of more specialised areas.

If they wish, students may leave at the end of the third year and receive a BA qualification. The majority of our students stay for the fourth year, which is devoted to advanced study and research, or transfer to the Masters course in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics. The DPhil course requires the independent development and execution of an innovative research project, which typically lasts three or four years. Further information about the structure and content of the Physics course at Merton and Oxford is available on our website: www.merton.ox.ac.uk/course/physics.

Our Community

Our Fellows work hard to foster a sense of community and cohesion among all of the members of the Merton Physics School, with the aim of facilitating the free exchange of ideas, encouraging intellectual curiosity, and sharpening critical thinking skills.

A prime example of this is the termly Ockham Lecture, which attracts renowned speakers to the College and to which all Merton Physics students, academics and alumni are invited. Past speakers have included Nobel Prize winner Sir Anthony Leggett (1959), the former Chief Executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority Sir Steven Cowley, Savillian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford Steven Balbus, and CEO of Good Energy Juliet Davenport (1986). The lecture is followed by stimulating discussion over dinner.

On a more informal level, the student-led Roger Bacon Society provides all Physics students at Merton with the opportunity to socialise together. It gives those in upper years the chance to pass on wisdom and advice about the course and the subject.

Outreach

Along with their academic work, Fellows and students at the Merton Physics School have sought to communicate their knowledge to the general public and endeavoured to widen participation in Physics. Examples include Dr Charlotte Mason’s (2009) website whystringtheory.com which was developed during her time at Merton, James Binney’s book on Astrophysics as part of Oxford University Press’ Very Short Introductions series, and Dr Jena Meinecke’s (2011) work in founding the first UK Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics.

Our Physics Fellows and students have taken part in access activities, including the UNIQ summer school for state school pupils. Most recently, Alan Barr’s ‘Higgs Hunters’ project involved over 37,000 ‘citizen scientists’, including UK school students, in searching for signs of even smaller derivatives of the Higgs boson particle in data produced by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The pupils had the unique opportunity to perform their own independent research, present their findings at a conference alongside researchers from the University, and officially submit results to CERN. This is the first time that school students’ research has contributed to a CERN experiment.

For further information, please contact the Merton College Development Office.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44(0)1865 276 316

Photographs overleaf courtesy of Ander McIntyre and Merton College (Hooker), Merton College (Barr) and John Cairns (Schekochihin). Photographs above courtesy of Ian Wallman (top) and John Cairns (bottom).