The GRADnet Winter School took place on 18-20 February 2019 at Cumberland Lodge, Great Park, Windsor. Dr Trevor Long, consultant, led the workshop for over 30 delegates.

This workshop was an integrated learning event where delegates developed insights into the importance and nature of leadership and effective team working.  These are skills they will require in any career in academia, government or the private sector.

Formed around a multi-media case simulation of the ill-fated Columbia Space Shuttle mission NASA engineers and leaders seek to understand the nature and threat associated with a technical problem that occurred on launch. Over the course of the mission, they analyse the damage, assess the risks, and decide what to do.  Leadership, organisational culture, communication, personality characteristics, formal systems and job positions are amongst many complex issues that affected the course of the decision-making process.

A panel of employers shared their experiences and the challenges they have faced when leading a team in a senior role on the second day:  Selim Cavanagh, ingenie; Rikki Douglas, Ultra Electronics ; Jason Rolles, Blue Optima; Sheela Sharma, Stifel (Europe) and Alex Shepherd, UK Space Agency

Thank you to the employers for their participation and to Trevor for making this workshop a success.

SEPnet PGRs who attended the workshop said:

• This simulation provided “an important skillset for postgraduate students”;
• The event was packed, enjoyable and provided a thought-provoking simulation and talks (especially on the importance of communication). There was also an informative careers panel;
• The best aspects for me are that it has motivated a lot of thoughts and has challenged me to think about myself. The employer panel was extremely productive.  A lot of good insight was shared.

Marshmallow Challenge winning team:

Kent: Emerald Taylor, Alex Paul, Luke Cornwell and Akiko Sato (Kent).  QMUL:  Jesse Coburn.

L-R:  Emerald, Alex, Jesse, Luke and Akiko

Well done for constructing a 22″ tower! Amazing feat of engineering with spaghetti and tape!

Olivia Keenan, our Director of Outreach and Public Engagement, is giving a talk on her PhD work at the Institute of Physics on the 20th of March. The talk is free and open to all. Refreshments will be served from 6pm, with the talk starting at 6:30.

Location: Institute of Physics, 37 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9BU

Image Credit & Copyright: Malcolm Park (North York Astronomical Association)

Where are all the Galaxies? The Missing Satellite Problem

State of the art computer simulations of our Universe currently over predict the number of dwarf galaxies by a factor of 10. As astronomers, we need to understand why this discrepancy has come about, and whether it is due to problems with simulations, observations, or both. One potential solution is that these galaxies could be hidden, ‘dark galaxies’. Dark galaxies are galaxies which are gas dominated, with few to no stars. There have been many dark galaxy candidates, however, so far none of these has been confirmed. Another solution is that the galaxies are star dominated but extremely faint and hard to detect in crowded, large field surveys. If so these galaxies could be detected using a combination of their physical properties to separate them from background field galaxies. In this talk I will discuss work on this topic, and how this has contributed to understanding the missing satellite problem.

SEPnet organises an annual placement scheme for physics students at the above universities and is seeking 8-week plus projects in industry or research in areas such as data analysis, mathematical modelling, product design and testing or science communication.

The scheme is aimed at any organisations interested in recruiting physics graduates, or who can offer valuable business experience, including large companies, SMEs, start-ups, research institutions, charities and NGOs.

Benefits to employers
• Early access to bright, numerate students with excellent problem-solving and IT skills
• Enables you to carry out projects you would not normally have time for
• Provides a fresh perspective on your business challenges
• All advertising, administration and placement support is handled by SEPnet
• Some funding available for SMEs
• Read our short case studies here

What employers have said:
‘Very satisfied with the whole process, organised and straightforward, with good students.’
‘We took SEPnet students for the second year running and have been very impressed with the calibre, their capabilities and the general high standard. For your records we have just made a permanent job offer to one of the students…’.

For more information email summerplacements@sepnet.ac.uk and to register your placement project, or projects, online by Friday 15 February, click here

The Interface between observation and theory workshop took place 17-18 January 2019 and was kindly hosted by the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield.

Over 40 delegates attended the workshop and they enjoyed the good range of talks from exoplanets to cosmology:

• “Great range of speakers, almost everyone got something relevant and useful”
• “The talks were given clearly with space for questions. Good to meet fellow researchers and have space for discussion.”
• One of the best aspects of the programme was the machine learning talk as it’s a new thing potentially useful for everybody.”

Thank you to all our speakers for participating in this event and making it a success:

Ben Burningham, University of Hertfordshire: Characterising exoplanets from theory and data driven perspectives.

Noelia Noel, University of Surrey: Resolved stellar populations and star clusters in Local Group galaxies: Unravelling galaxy formation and evolution.

Jim Dale, University of Hertfordshire: Modelling star formation in the Milky Way.

Jim Geach, University of Hertfordshire: Machine-learning techniques in Astrophysics.

Sebastian Hoenig, University of Southampton: Stars, dust, and outflows: Modelling the infrared emission from AGN.

Claudia Maraston, University of Portsmouth: Stellar population synthesis models.

Chiaki Kobayashi, University of Hertfordshire: Interpreting the Universe both near and far with cosmological simulations.

Thank you to the lead academics for organising this workshop – (Sugata Kaviraj, Jan Forbrichand, (all University of Hertfordshire), Sean Ryan (all University of Hertfordshire), Kathy Head (Research Administrator, University of Hertfordshire) and Cristobel Soares-Smith (GRADnet Manager, SEPnet).

SEPnet organises an annual placement scheme for physics students at the above universities and is seeking 8-week plus projects in industry or research in areas such as data analysis, mathematical modelling, product design and testing or science communication.

Who can apply?
The scheme is aimed at any organisations interested in recruiting physics graduates, or who can offer valuable business experience, including large companies, SMEs, start-ups, research institutions, charities and NGOs.

Benefits to employers
• Early access to bright, numerate students with excellent problem-solving and IT skills
• Enables you to carry out projects you would not normally have time for
• Provides a fresh perspective on your business challenges
• All advertising, administration and placement support is handled by SEPnet
• Some funding available for SMEs
• Read our short case studies here

What employers have said:
‘Very satisfied with the whole process, organised and straightforward, with good students.’
‘We took SEPnet students for the second year running and have been very impressed with the calibre, their capabilities and the general high standard. For your records we have just made a permanent job offer to one of the students…’.

For more information and to register your placement project, or projects, online by Friday 15 February, click here.

Daphne Jackson Fellow Dr Carolyn Devereux, based at the University of Hertfordshire, has led a programme of events to engage children in care in astrophysics research.

Carolyn, a foster carer herself, organised bespoke observatory open days for children in care and their foster carers, and young people who are carers.

One event attracted 120 attendees new to astronomy, from toddlers and teenagers to adults, with activities such as planetarium shows, lab experiments and telescope demonstrations.

The programme is designed to accommodate the possibility of challenging behaviour, address traditionally low attendance rates among this audience and respond to specific learning needs, such as autism.

Carolyn who is based within the School of Physics, Astronomy and Maths, Centre for Astrophysics Research, at the University of Hertfordshire, worked with the council-run Hertfordshire Virtual School, which brings together children who are looked after.

At a Hertfordshire Virtual School residential event for Year 10 children in care, Carolyn organised a ‘Mission to Mars’ session to help motivate the children for their science GCSE. A school educational adviser said the children’s’ “thirst for science was definitely quenched”.

The University of Hertfordshire runs a wide-ranging astrophysics and astronomy public engagement and outreach programme, for which Bayfordbury Observatory, the University’s own teaching facility, acts as the hub.

Carolyn worked for the General Electric Company (GEC) in industrial research before her 12-year career break. She is returning to astrophysics research with a Daphne Jackson Fellowship, sponsored by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Register now!

Who: 1st and 2nd Year Physics postgraduate researchers working on theoretical and experimental advanced materials wanting to learn what each other can do.

What:  A  2-day residential workshop that describes the background science of advanced materials and experimental and theoretical techniques to study them.

When: 8-9 April 2019

Where:  Royal Holloway, University of London (Accommodation at Travelodge twin occupancy)

Numbers: Circa 25-30 delegates

This residential school provides an overview of research on advanced materials. It comprises lectures, tutorials, hands-on computing practice and, working in small groups, students will write a proposal for central facilities resource. Assuming only a knowledge of undergraduate level physics, it should be beneficial to students working on both theoretical and/or experimental projects.

Strong correlations: The session will cover the theoretical concepts necessary to understand strongly correlated systems.

Numerical modelling: This session will introduce Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, and first-principles quantum mechanical simulation.

Optical spectroscopies: This session will cover the basics of optical spectroscopy, spectrometers and spectrographs using photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy.

X-ray and neutron scattering: This session will cover neutron and synchrotron sources, instrumentation, basic scattering theory, structure determination, magnetic structures and excitations, lattice dynamics and diffusion.

Register here.  Registration deadline 1 March 2019.

This event is free (SEPnet pays for your accommodation and course fees) for SEPnet postgraduate researchers and travel expenses incurred can be claimed from your Physics Department.

SEPnet’s 10th Students’ Expo brought together over 140 students, employers and academics to celebrate the achievements of 74 physics students on placement this summer.

Students showcased their work in a diverse range of industry and research fields through presentations and posters.  The feedback from the day was very positive with people commenting on the variety of projects, good quality of the posters and valuable networking sessions.  Ricardo Mighty, a Royal Holloway physics graduate and former SEPnet placement student, spoke about his varied career from Systems Engineer at BAE Systems to Head of Development at London Block Exchange and a panel of employer representatives including 4Most, Ingenie, Oxford Space Systems and Ultra Electronics offered advice to students on career opportunities and industry skills needs.

We are now seeking placement projects for summer 2019!  Please submit your projects by Friday 15 February.  Click on the registration form here.  

The annual Students’ Expo is a prestigious occasion where students showcase their achievements during their summer placements through presentations and posters to over 150 employers, academic tutors and peers. This year 74 students were successful in finding industry and research placements with organisations including BAE Systems, National Physical Laboratory, Oxford Space Systems, Royal Marsden, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Thales and large number of SMEs developing products in new fields and technologies.

The Expo also offers a great opportunity for employers, academics and students to meet each other to discuss project ideas and career opportunities.  Exhibitors this year include 4Most, Ingenie, Institute of Physics and Oxford Space Systems.

We are delighted that this year’s keynote address will be delivered by Dame Julia Slingo, British meteorologist and former Chief Scientist at the Met Office.

For more information about SEPnet summer placements 2019 email summerplacements@sepnet.ac.uk

A recent joint IOP SEPnet event gave students an opportunity to explore their career options and network with physics alumni from diverse backgrounds. Speakers from academia, the oil & gas industry, teaching and technical start-ups, talked openly about their varied experiences of building a successful career and provided tips and ideas to support students with their future plans.

As one Surrey student described it, ‘the event turned out to be very interesting session with opportunities to talk to academics turned entrepreneurs with exciting new ventures and explore career paths, learning from their experiences and mistakes.‘   As our undergraduate puts it, ‘from quantum computing to the next big social network, you never know what you might discover!‘