ARTICLES
REPORTS
Australian Institute of Physics NSW Annual Chair's Report and
AGM Election Office Bearers for 2019
By by Dr Fred Osman, FAIP; Chair – NSW Branch; Australian Institute of Physics New South Wales Branch
We had a wonderful scientific program this year that featured
prolific presenters from a variety of areas in physics and education
that engaged our wider general community. The public lectures
were centred on joint events co-sponsored by the AIP and other
scientific organisations as well as unique AIP events.
Throughout 2018 the NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of
Physics has continued to increase the profile of physics within
industry, academia and the wider general community by becoming
more professional, unique and creative in its advertising/market
initiatives in attracting awareness of the physics community in
attending activities in 2018.
We commenced the year by hosting a presentation by Dr Cathy
Foley on Tuesday 13 th March. Dr Foley’s presented a lecture
entitled Is superconductivity just a laboratory curiosity? Why all
the hype?
This outstandingly successful year has only been possible
through the efforts of the hard working and dedicated members
of the NSWAIP Branch committee. A number of years ago, this
committee made the strategic decision to focus on organising
major public presentations, rather than to continue with the usual
public talks and events that have been attracting ever decreasing
audiences and interest.
On Friday 15 th of June, the AIPNSW held a joint Physics Forum
with the Science Teachers' Association to support the teaching
of Physics from years 7 to 12, with a range of workshops for early
career to experienced teachers to navigate the new and improved
curriculum. Congratulations to Matthew Arnold who helped co-
host the STANSW Physics Teachers' Conference at UTS.
This growth has been based upon major public presentations
that consisted of the Women in Physics Lecture, Physics
Teachers' Conference, Einstein Lecture, Industry Day and
the Postgraduate Awards Day and various events, sponsored
academic prizes and awards to outstanding young students and
scientists.
A joint event with RACI, RSNSW and ANSTO was held on
Tuesday 26 June at ANSTO on Big Science for Big Advances
which was presented by Dr Richard Garrett. Richard discussed
some examples of current “Big Science” projects, including
CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research) which
is investigating the fundamental laws of nature and the first
moments after the Big Bang; ITER, the world’s largest fusion
experiment which aims to demonstrate fusion as a low emission
sustainable energy source for the world; and the LIGO and Virgo
Scientific Collaboration, which first observed gravitational waves
in 2016. Some recent developments were highlighted including
the observation of colliding neutron stars; the search for dark
matter (which is thought to make up 80% of the mass of the
universe); and progress in accelerator science at facilities such
as ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron. The Australian Institute of
Physics sincerely thanks Professor Richard Garrett for exploring
the future of the world’s most exciting STEM challenges and
developments at this year’s combined AIP, RACI, Royal Society
and ANSTO meeting.
As the NSW Chair, I would personally like to express my sincere
gratitude to all members of the NSW AIP Branch Executive who
helped make 2018 such a successful period. The success has
only been possible through the hard work and professional
dedication of the Committee members.
I would also like to make special thanks to the whole wonderful
team:
Dr Graeme Melville – Deputy Chair
Associate Professor Matthew Arnold – Branch Secretary
Dr Phillip Burns – Treasurer
Dr Graeme Melville – Committee Member
Professor Michael Lerch – Committee Member
The NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) was
very excited when the 2018 Women in Physics (WIP) Lecturer, Dr
Ceri Brenner, arrived in Sydney to present her tour on “Innovation
with the most powerful lasers in the world”. The AIP Women in
Physics Lecture Series is one of our annual highlights, intended
to spread to a non-specialist audience awareness of research
and the possibilities offered by studying physics.
Dr Scott Martin – Committee Member
Dr Timothy Van der Laan – Committee Member
Mrs Erin Munn – Committee Member
Mr Robert Raposio – Committee Member
5
SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 4