Operations

Rediscovering the physicist born a century ago in Far North Queensland who went on to win a Nobel Prize for his role in the invention of the laser.

Australia’s forgotten Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Prokhorov was born 11 July 1916 in Atherton, Far North Queensland—the child of refugee parents fleeing Tsarist Russia.

When he died in 2002, Prokhorov was a nation al hero in Russia. Here, his Australian roots are largely forgotten.

Australian physicists are now working to change that.

The Australian Optical Society (AOS) sessions at the Congress on Monday morning will be held in honour of Prokhorov— AOS President, Professor Stephen Collins can speak to the topic.

The centenary of Prokhorov’s birth was also celebrated in a series of spectacular laser-shows in Far North Queensland as part of National Science Week.

[Read more…] about QLD’s forgotten Nobel Prize winner

The biennial Physics Congress in Brisbane
4 to 8 December

Researchers from every State plus international and Asian leaders
All stories embargoed until released during the Congress.

 

The biggest discovery of 2016 – gravitational waves. Hear from one of the leaders on what’s next.

Einstein said we’d never find them. But we did. Have more been found? What’s Australia’s role, and why should we care? Researchers from Canberra, Melbourne, and Perth will talk about their work on gravitational waves.

Our neutrino world – explained by 2015 Nobel Prize winner Takaaki Kajita

We live in a world of neutrinos. Thousands of billions of neutrinos—mostly created by the Sun—are flowing through your body every second. You cannot see them and you do not feel them. So how did we discover they have mass, and why does that challenge our standard model of the Universe? Kajita will also be meeting with school students.

$20 billion, with a result is expected in 2035. The world’s largest science experiment hopes to crack fusion power.

Speakers from around the world, including senior advisor to the ITER project Jean Jacquinot, will speak about the global race to harness the process that powers our Sun. Researchers from ANU will be available to speak about Australia’s involvement. [Read more…] about A week of physics stories – starting Monday

Public Lecture 7pm Monday 5 December

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Great Halls 1 & 2

Register for the event here: www.trybooking.com/OBQF

We live in a world of neutrinos. Thousands of billions of neutrinos—mostly created by the Sun—are flowing through your body every second. You cannot see them and you do not feel them; and they are very hard for scientists to measure.

Then, when scientists were finally able to catch them, there were fewer than they expected. But why? Was our Sun losing its power?

Join us on Monday 5 December for a free public lecture by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2015, Professor Takaaki Kajita: the man credited with the discovery of neutrino oscillations, and the solution to this riddle. [Read more…] about Shape-shifting particles and underground super labs: 2015 Nobel Prize winner tells his story

One of the highlights on the Australian Institute of Physics’ (AIP’s) calendar is its biennial Congress, where physicists from all over Australia and overseas come together for a week-long program of plenary, keynote and contributed talks, social events, and the opportunity to network.

We are delighted to announce that the next (22^nd) such Congress will take place in the vibrant and progressive city of Brisbane from 4-8 December, 2016. Brisbane is a significant physics ‘hub’, with major research facilities and groups at the University of Queensland, Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology, and the nearby University of Southern Queensland.

Furthermore, and most importantly, the Congress will be held in conjunction with the 13^th Asian-Pacific Physics Conference, the triennial meeting of the Association of Asia-Pacific Physics Societies that brings together physicists from across the entire Asia-Pacific region. This will be the first time that both meetings have been held jointly, and is certain to enrich the scientific program, as well as facilitate new links to be made between the Australian physics community and those throughout the Asia-Pacific region – something that is a high priority for the Australian Institute of Physics. We are also very pleased that these two joint meetings will incorporate the Annual Meeting of the Australian Optical Society.

We very much look forward to your attendance at this joint 13^th Asia Pacific Physics Conference and 22^ndAustralian Institute of Physics Congress and making it an outstanding success, both scientifically and collegially.

Warrick Couch
AIP President and Meeting Co-Chair

Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop
Meeting Co-chair

More at: appc-aip2016.org.au