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Physics and Astronomy ANNUAL REVIEW 2013–14 UCL DEPARTMENT of PHYSICS and ASTRONOMY

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Physics and Astronomy ANNUAL REVIEW 2013–14 UCL DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY ANNUAL REVIEW 2017–18 WELCOME Contents 1 Welcome 2 COMMUNITY FOCUS 3 Teaching Lowdown 4 Student Accolades 5 Equality and Diversity Committee 6 Science in Action 7 Students in Action 7 Womens Lunch 8 Event Horizon 10 Phys FilmMakers 12 Physics Postgraduate Committee 13 Teaching Fellows 14 Outreach 18 Career Profiles 23 Connected Curriculum 24 Alumni Matters 26 Observatory News 28 ACADEMIC SHOWCASE 29 Staff News 30 Portrait of… 32 Staff Accolades 34 Reserch Degrees 35 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT 36 Astrophysics (Astro) 38 Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Positron Physics (AMOPP) 40 High Energy Physics (HEP) 42 Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (CMMP) 44 Biological Physics (BioP) 46 RESEARCH STATISTICS 51 STAFF SNAPSHOT Cover image: Laser refrigeration of levitated nanocrystals. Image page 2: Magnetic nanoparticles with biocompatible coating. Image page 28: Schematic illustration of perforin in action in an immunological synapse between a white blood cell and a virus-infected of cancerous cell. Credit: Adrian Hodel. Image page 35: Water droplet translucent graphene. Credit: ICE group Image page 46: Artist’s illustration of two merging neutron stars. Credit: National Science Foundation/LIGO/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet Image inside backcover: Representation of engineering with nanometer precision to build bio-inspired nanopores from strands of DNA and disordered proteins. Credit Bernice Akpinar Image backcover: UCL Portico. Credit: UCL Digital Media Review edited by Bonita Carboo, [email protected] Design © UCL Digital Media Physics and Astronomy ANNUAL REVIEW 2017–18 Welcome Welcome to another annual review of UCL’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Over the past year we have seen members It has been an honour and a privilege, and most of the department extend our knowledge of of the time it has also been a pleasure, to lead physics at the energy frontier, probe early the department for the past seven years. I am galaxies, distant planets and exotic materials, proud of what we have achieved over that time, devise new tests of quantum gravity, investigate and I believe I am handing over a department the nature of dark matter and dark energy and that is academically and educationally stronger fundamentals of quantum mechanics, develop and more confident than ever before, as well as new detectors for cancer therapy, and study being on a financially sound footing, continuing the physics of life. We have seen the approval a long upward trend begun by my predecessors. of ARIEL, a new ESA mission under UCL That success comes from the hard work and leadership to study planetary atmospheres ability of staff and students, and supporting and beyond our solar system. We have inaugurated encouraging that, as head of department, has a new doctoral training centre in “Data been rewarding and exciting. It also requires Intensive Science”, have grown our Biophysics trust and support from staff across the board: group with three new appointments, and have from professional services, technical staff, continued to attract other outstanding staff educators and researchers. I am immensely including a number of European Research grateful for the support I have received over the Council, UKRI and Royal Society research past years, and I am very confident that Raman fellows. We have a new fellow of the Royal will receive the same. He, and all of us, will need Society, who is also the first female particle it. While the department is indeed strong, there physics FRS anywhere, ever. is always room for improvement and there are These are just a selection of the highlights. always new challenges around the corner to More details of some of these (with names!) and meet, as well as new physics to teach and learn. of still other achievements await your attention I wish Raman, and all of us, continued success! inside, and I will not detain you much longer. However, please bear with me a few more Professor Jonathan Butterworth minutes. Head of Department This is the last review I will introduce as Head of Department before handing the role over to Prof Raman Prinja in September. 1 COMMUNITY FOCUS Community Focus 2 Physics and Astronomy ANNUAL REVIEW 2017–18 Teaching Lowdown Headline Research Intake Certificate in Astronomy: 28 Study Sheds Light on What Triggers Bacterial Replication MSc/PgDip: 78 What causes a rapidly growing bacterium to divide into two cells is a longstanding BSc/MSci: 186 question. Studying bacteria in large numbers, researchers have learned that a growing population of bacteria doubles in mass at regular intervals. However, in PhD/MRes: 84 a recent study published in the journal Nature Microbiology, Dr. Shiladitya Banerjee Awards (BioP) working with collaborators at the Bachelor of Science (BSc) Master in Science (MSci) University of Chicago found that single 25 55 25 bacterial cells don’t double in mass before 50 53 dividing. Using a novel combination of 45 20 imaging, microfluidics and mathematical 40 18 modelling, Banerjee and coworkers 15 35 30 discovered that bacterial cell division is a 13 25 two-step process in which cells elongate 10 20 for a fixed period of time, followed by a 19 15 constant mass increment regardless of 5 10 the cell’s initial mass. Following this rule, a 5 1 0 0 0 0 bacterial population quickly converges to a 1 2i 2ii 3 1 2i 2ii 3 narrow size distribution. This new paradigm suggests unique targets for inhibiting Master of Science (MSc) Certificate in Astronomy bacterial growth and replication, raising 20 12 hopes for new antibacterial drugs that can 12 19 fight antibiotic resistant infections. 16 10 17 https://www.nature.com/articles/ 8 12 nmicrobiol2017116 6 8 7 4 4 4 2 0 0 Distinction Merit Pass Def/fail/resit Distinction Teaching in the Physics and Astronomy Department Among the teaching highlights this year, six students from the Department (Anusha Gupta, Lukas Kikuchi, Jakub Mrozek, Xiaoxi Song, Cameron Voisey and Kai Yip) were placed on the Dean’s list, which commends outstanding academic performance by graduating students, equivalent to the top 5% of student achievement. Congratulations also to our recipients of UCL Education Awards, Daven Armoogum (whose “infectious enthusiasm, innovation & dedication to the student experience exemplifies the Connected Curriculum and makes Physics fun!”) and Raman Prinja (for his “outstanding lifetime achievement and career contributions to student learning and education leadership”). The Department welcomed the first cohort to our Biological Physics MSc, and we are very pleased to note that our undergraduate degree programmes have been granted continued accreditation by the Institute of Physics. Professor Neal Skipper Illustration of bacterial growth and cell division. 3 COMMUNITY FOCUS Student Accolades Undergraduate Awards Postgraduate Awards Departmental Awards Best Performance Prize Harrie Massey Prize Third year Astrophysics Best overall MSc student Oliver Lodge Prize Ms Xiaoxi Song Ahmed Al-Jawahiry Best performance 1st year Physics Additional Sessional Prize for Merit HEP Prize Mr James Puleston Best 4th year Physics project achieving Outstanding postgraduate Halley Prize a balance between theoretical and physics research in HEP Best performance 1st year Astrophysics practical Physics Sally Shaw Ms Sicen Guo Mr William Franks Carey Foster Prize C.A.R. Tayler Prize Burhop Prize Outstanding postgraduate physics Best performance in Comm. Skills, Best performance 4th year Physics research in AMOPP based on 1st+2nd year Mr Joe Read Alec Owens Mr Alexander Nico-Katz Herschel Prize Marshall Stoneham Prize Wood Prize Best performance 4th year Astrophysics Outstanding postgraduate physics research Best performance 2nd year Physics Mr Kai Hou Yip in CMMP (Jointly awarded) Mr Guillermo Herrera Sanchez Brian Duff Memorial Prize Yasmine Al-Hamdani and Huggins Prize Best 4th year project James Vale Best performance 2nd year Astrophysics Mr Liam Eloie Jon Darius Memorial Prize Mr Roman Gerasimov William Bragg Prize Outstanding postgraduate David Ponter Prize Best overall undergraduate physics research in Astrophysics Most improved performance 1st to 2nd year Ms Xiaoxi Song Daniela Saadeh Ms Khadeejah Jalil Bepari Tessella Prize for Software BioP Prize Dr Sydney Corrigan Prize Best use of software in final year (Astro) Outstanding postgraduate physics Best performance in experimental 2nd year Physics project – Jointly awarded research in Biological Physics work – PHAS2440 Ms Dina Traykova and Roger Moltó Pallarés Mr Guillermo Herrera Sanchez Mr Samuel Wright Best Performance Prize Third year Physics Mr Amir Shamsubarov Physics and Astronomy prize winners 2016 4 Equality and Diversity Headline Research Committee This has been a particularly busy year The Higgs Boson and Its Favourite Decay for the Equality and Diversity committee. In November 2017 we were visited by The Higgs boson has been observed at the LHC via its decays to photons, a panel from the Institute of Physics tau-leptons, Z- and W-bosons. However, they only represent around 30% of the Juno team to assess and advise on Higgs boson’s decays and its favoured decay to a pair of b-quarks (H->bb), which our progress towards renewal of Juno happens around 58% of the time, has remained elusive. Observing this decay will Champion award, for which we will fill in one of the big missing pieces of our knowledge of the Higgs boson. be submitting in November 2018. The The background processes that mimic this signal are large, complex and difficult to panel were particularly impressed by the model. Ultimately what we are hoping to see is an excess of collision events over department’s commitment to Equality our background prediction (a bump) which appears at the mass of the Higgs and Diversity at all levels, and have boson. Dr Scanlon from the UCL HEP group has led the search for H->bb with made a number of suggestions and the ATLAS detector.
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