CONDENSED MATTER & MATERIALS PHYSICS

The CMMP group offers one of the most exciting environments in the UK for graduate studies in condensed matter physics. Research within the group spans a wide spectrum of subjects including quantum computing, organic electronics, superconductivity, the physics of the Earth's deep interior, biomagnetism, nanoscale imaging, etc. Currently the group comprises 90 members, including 26 academic staff and over 50 Ph.D. students, making it one of the largest condensed matter groups in the UK. The group is located in the LCN and Physics buildings on the Bloomsbury campus. The LCN building is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for the design, fabrication and analysis of nanoscale systems. In additional the group plays a leading role in the development and exploitation of x-ray and neutron scattering instruments at central facilities both national and international. The CMMP group has both theoretical and experimental components and is closely associated to the Thomas Young Centre for Theory and Simulation of Materials. For more information visit TYC@UCL.

ELIZABETH SPREADBURY LECTURE 2013
Dark Matters
Professor Simon White, Max Planck Institute
4.30pm on Wednesday 6th March 2013 in the Harrie Massey Lecture Theatre
Our Universe is predominantly made of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Both lie beyond currently known physics, but Dark Matter may soon become visible to experiment or astronomical observation.

Physics Colloquium on
The Changing Face of Science Communication

Professor Jim Alkhalili  
Department of Physics, University of Surrey

Date: Wednesday 28 November 2012, 16:00 to 17:00

Location: Harrie Massey Lecture Theatre, 25 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AY
Wine reception to follow afterwards in Physics Room E7.

"Starting from a very traditional academic career worrying about postdoc positions, then lectureships, applying for research grants, publishing papers and choosing conferences to attend, I first dipped my toes in science communication in the early 90s. I have come a long way since then. I will recount some of the triumphs, pitfalls, pleasures and challenges in my work as a full-time academic physicist who has been able to find a balance between university life and science communication in its many forms of public lectures, writing and broadcasting and sitting on various public bodies and committees. This evolution of my career has coincided with a general acceptance of the importance of outreach and science communication by the academic community and beyond as we have moved from public understanding of science to public engagement in science. Oh, and I will recount a few anecdotes and entertaining insider stories about working for the BBC."

Jim Al-Khalili OBE is a professor of physics, author and broadcaster based at the University of Surrey where he also holds a chair in the Public Engagement in Science. As well as teaching undergraduate courses at Surrey since 1992, he is still active in his research area of theoretical nuclear physics and is venturing into the new field of quantum biology. He has also built a reputation as a science communicator and has written a number of popular science books, between them translated into over twenty languages. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries, including the Bafta nominated Chemistry: A Volatile History, and presents the weekly Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific. He is a recipient of the Royal Society Michael Faraday medal and the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal.