Physics and Astronomy Newsletter: Autumn 2015

The Department Of Physics And Astronomy.

Newsletter Autumn 2015.

Thanks for coming along to one of our open days.

We hope it helps you with making your decision.

Over the next few pages you can find out what’s new in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and see what some of our staff and students have been up to. There’s also information, below, about our UCAS days.

We hope to see you again soon.

Best wishes, Nigel Clarke Head of Department

DEPARTMENTAL OPEN DAYS If you apply for a place in this department, and you’re expected to meet our entry requirements, you’re invited to a Departmental Open Day and interview.

On these visits, you get to spend more time with staff and students, who will tell you more about their courses and the research they do. There are also opportunities to explore the University campus and to visit our student accommodation.

Physics open days are held between November and March – we get in touch with a choice of dates as quickly as we can once we receive your application. They’re a great opportunity for you to ask any questions you might have.

There is also another University Open Day on Saturday 24 October. For more details and to book a visit, go to: WWW.SHEFFIELD.AC.UK/OPENDAYS

Physics and Astronomy Newsletter

Particle physics SHEFFIELD PROFESSOR TAKES ON SENIOR ROLE AT CERN Professor Dan Tovey was one of the Sheffield scientists involved in the ground-breaking search for the Higgs Boson particle. Now he’s taking up a new senior role on the ATLAS experiment at CERN, where the scientific discovery of the decade was made.

Dan has been appointed ATLAS Physics Coordinator from October next year, and will act as Deputy Physics Coordinator before then. He will divide his time between Sheffield and CERN in Switzerland, where the Large Hadron Collider started running again in April after being switched off for two years of upgrading.

“Such is the power of the new, improved LHC that just one day’s worth of data in 2015 could be equivalent to all the data taken previously by the LHC since 2010 in terms of production of new particles,” said Dan, pictured above on the CERN campus with some of our undergraduates. “It’s a tremendously exciting time to be a particle physicist!”

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Physics and Astronomy Newsletter

Quantum light RESEARCHERS CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LIGHT AT ROYAL SOCIETY SHOW The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition is one of the biggest public science events in the UK. More than 14,000 people attended this year’s edition, and a team from our Low Dimensional Structures and Devices research group was invited to show them all the exciting future of quantum computing.

Our Quantum Light on a Chip exhibit explained how properties of quantum light can be exploited in miniaturised circuits to form the quantum logic gate ‘building blocks’ of a quantum computer. The team developed a Quantum Speed Test app to show how quantum computers have the potential to massively outperform standard computers.

Semiconductor physics lecturer Dr Luke Wilson, the Sheffield team’s lead exhibitor, said: “We are at the start of a technological revolution, where the fundamental properties of quantum systems are being exploited to provide new computational capabilities far beyond those of the present day.”

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Physics and Astronomy Newsletter

Latitude Festival FESTIVAL CROWD WOWED BY STARGAZING SPECTACULAR Last year Professor Paul Crowther worked with Sheffield design agency Human and Sheffield Rep Orchestra to create a spectacular new live show called Sounds of the Cosmos. This summer, they were invited to perform it at Latitude Festival on the same bill as Alt-J and Noel Gallagher.

In the show, the orchestra performs Gustav Holst’s iconic seven-part suite ‘The Planets’, as Human transform the venue into a planetarium with intergalactic visuals and Paul narrates the audience’s journey around the universe.

The performance on the Film and Music stage at Latitude Festival in Suffolk followed acclaimed performances at the University of Sheffield’s Festival of the Mind (pictured right) and international documentary showcase Doc/Fest.

WATCH SOUNDS OF THE COSMOS AT WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/UNIOFSHEFFIELD

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Physics and Astronomy Newsletter

Laboratories INVESTMENT IN TEACHING FACILITIES TO TRAIN TOP QUALITY GRADUATES

This year we have invested more than ÂŁ100k to set up a state-of the-art Quantum Information Laboratory. This is the first lab of its type in the UK and it will be used to to train undergraduate students so that they get the skills to work in quantum technology research and development.

By completing a series of mini-projects, students will learn how to use single photons for quantum information processing. They will work with research quality lasers, detectors and photon counting modules.

This investment is part of the White Rose Industrial Physics Academy that Sheffield has formed with other northern universities. WRIPA has been part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to connect employers with top quality physics graduates.

Overall, the UK government is investing ÂŁ270 million in novel quantum technologies, with the aim of bringing their potentially transformative benefits to business, government and society.

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Contact us The Department of Physics and Astronomy Hicks Building Hounsfield Road Sheffield S3 7RH United Kingdom T: 0114 222 4362 E: physics.ucas@sheffield.ac.uk W: www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics @UoSPHY