Category Archives: GRADnet

17Jan/17

GRADnet School: Experimental Methods for Condensed Matter 5-7 March 2017

GRADnet, postgraduate, Research

Experimental Methods for Condensed Matter 5-7 March 2017

Who:  This course is for 1st and 2nd Year Physics postgraduate researchers working in experimental condensed matter physics, and theorists wanting to learn what   experimenters can do!

When: Sunday, 5 March to Tuesday, 7 March 2017.  Arrival 12:30 on Sunday, 5 March.

Where:  Old Thorns Manor Hotel, Liphook, Hampshire, GU30 7PE.  All meals and accommodation have been booked and pre-paid by SEPnet.  Travel expenses to and from the venue can be claimed through SEPnet.  A shuttle taxi service will be provided from Liphook station to Old Thorns on Monday morning and Tuesday evening.

Register here.  Registration deadline 30 January 2017

What:  A 3-day residential workshop that describes the background science, the methodology, the capability and some dos and don’ts of a range of common spectroscopy, microscopy and characterisation techniques.

This residential school has the joint objectives of reinforcing understanding for students already working with some of the methods discussed and showing what other methods might offer. It will include lectures, tutorials, seminars and other activity sessions on:

  • X-ray and neutron scattering
  • Optical spectroscopies.  A discussion of the basics of optical spectroscopy, spectrometers and spectrographs will be followed by examples of their use in characterising materials by photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy, etc.
  • Nuclear magnetic resonance. An introduction to how physicists use NMR to measure molecular dynamics and microstructure.
  • Electron and atomic force microscopies and surface analysis techniques. These methods enable the imaging of (i) the topography of materials surfaces, (ii) the microstructure of a material, (iii) the defects, such as dislocations, within a material and (iv) chemical analysis. Two sessions explore how these goals are achieved.

This workshop contributes 16 hours towards physics skills training.

13Jan/17

GRADnet Winter School – Please Register today.

GRADnet

GRADnet Winter School 13-15 February 2017, Cumberland Lodge, Great Windsor Park, Berkshire SL4 2HP

This 3-day residential school will focus on the skills required for effective leadership and team-working.  The core activity will centre around a multi-media case simulation of the ill-fated Columbia Space Shuttle mission. In this mission, NASA engineers and leaders sought to understand the nature and threat associated with a technical problem that occurred on launch. Over the course of the mission, they analysed the damage, assessed the risks, and decided 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.

Workshop participants work in teams to analyse the simulation, using materials supplied by NASA. Each team takes the role of one of the key NASA managers or engineers, initially experiencing only those events that that person had at the time of the mission. This adds a rich dimension to the case experience as participants recognise how perceptions of the same event can vary.

See attached for further details and a draft timetable. Columbia’s Final Mission Winter School Timetable 2017 Draft

To see what happened at the last Winter School look here.

This is a free event and all reasonable travel expenses are covered by SEPnet.

Log on to the VRE and register here.  Registration deadline 13 January 2017.

Cristobel

Cristobel Soares-Smith

SEPnet Graduate Network Administrator

mailto:gradnetadmin@sepnet.ac.uk

01483 682270

www.sepnet.ac.uk
16Nov/16

Planetary Science School a great success!

conference, GRADnet

23 SEPnet PGRs attended the 2-day planetary science school at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, Middlesex. The school was led by senior researchers in the SEPnet region and comprised four sessions exploring different aspects of planetary science through a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials.

Thank you to the following contributors:  Dr Susanne Schwenzer, Frances Butcher and Jack Wright , Open University; Dr Rob Fear and Dr Catriona Jackman, University of Southampton; Dr Simon Green and Dr Stephen Lowry, University of Kent and Dr Setnam Shemar and Dr Tian-Hong Loh, NPL.

Joint winners of the poster competition were Paul Hallam, Queen Mary University of London: “Investigating the Depth of Gaps formed by Planets in Protoplanetary Discs” and Daniel Staab, Open University:  “The Dispersed Matter Planet Project”.  Both winners were awarded Amazon vouchers.  Chris Malliband, Open University , received a special mention for his poster:  “1:3m Mapping of a quadrangle on Mercury”.

Overall feedback was very positive and one PGR said the school was a “very interesting intro to planetary science as a whole”.

Thank you to NPL for hosting this event on behalf of GRADnet.

14Nov/16

REGISTER NOW – GRADnet Winter School – Free to attend

conference, GRADnet

GRADnet Winter School 13-15 February 2017, Cumberland Lodge, Great Windsor Park, Berkshire SL4 2HP

This 3-day residential school will focus on the skills required for effective leadership and team-working.  The core activity will centre around a multi-media case simulation of the ill-fated Columbia Space Shuttle mission. In this mission, NASA engineers and leaders sought to understand the nature and threat associated with a technical problem that occurred on launch. Over the course of the mission, they analysed the damage, assessed the risks, and decided 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.

Workshop participants work in teams to analyse the simulation, using materials supplied by NASA. Each team takes the role of one of the key NASA managers or engineers, initially experiencing only those events that that person had at the time of the mission. This adds a rich dimension to the case experience as participants recognise how perceptions of the same event can vary.

See attached for further details and a draft timetable. Columbia’s Final Mission Winter School Timetable 2017 Draft

To see what happened at the last Winter School look here.

This is a free event and all reasonable travel expenses are covered by SEPnet.

Log on to the VRE and register here.  Registration deadline 13 January 2017.

Cristobel

Cristobel Soares-Smith

SEPnet Graduate Network Administrator

mailto:gradnetadmin@sepnet.ac.uk

01483 682270

www.sepnet.ac.uk

 

 

01Nov/16

Register Now for Cosmology and Gravitation School 16-18 January 2017

conference, GRADnet, ,

Cosmology and Gravitation School 16-18 January 2017,  Old Thorns Manor Hotel, Liphook, Hampshire, GU30 7PE

A 3-day workshop led by researchers from the Universities of Portsmouth, Southampton, Sussex, Hertfordshire and Surrey, comprises five pedagogic sessions exploring different aspects of cosmology and gravitation through a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials.

Register here.  Registration deadline is 2 December 2016

Theory Overview:  This session asks what we can expect to learn in the decade 2020-2030. It provides a context to explain how concrete measurements might get turned into knowledge about the underlying physics. It explains the framework used to interpret cosmological measurements. Topics covered include modified gravity, structure formation measurements, inflationary initial conditions and the cosmological constant problem.

Low Red Shift Universe:  This session spans supernovae, weak lensing  and large-scale structure

Gravitational waves:  The newly-emerging field of gravitational wave astronomy will be discussed in the context of detectors, sources and cosmology.

Universe of Galaxies:  This session will focus on how galaxies can be used to place constraints on cosmology, specifically the use of galaxies to measure dark energy through baryonic acoustic oscillations and supernovae, gravitational lensing to probe the distribution of dark matter, and ‘near field’ cosmology to explore the conditions of star formation in the early Universe.

Cosmic Microwave Background:  This session will cover the CMB power spectra, polarisation and B modes, and CMB lensing.

31Oct/16

GRADnet Induction Day 26 October 2016

GRADnet, PhD

The GRADnet Induction Day was held at the Park Crescent Conference Centre in central London on Wednesday, 26 October. 115 postgraduate students attended the day and participated in 5 workshops:

Getting your research published: Simon Harris, IOP Publishing; LaTEX:  Dr Paul Stevenson, University of Surrey; MATLAB:  Prof Peter McDonald, University of Surrey; Python:  Dr Timothy Kinnear, University of Kent and Organising meetings and conferences:  Kay Pearson, Employability Advisor University of Surrey.

Professor Peter McDonald, GRADnet Director, gave an introduction to GRADnet and details of the free training opportunities available in this academic year.

This was an excellent opportunity for first year postgraduates to network with their SEPnet partners. One student reported that the speakers were “brilliant” and the event was “top notch”.

Cristobel Soares-Smith, GRADnet Administrator, said “this was one of the best attended events by physics postgraduates and I hope to see many of the attendees at future GRADnet residential schools and one-day workshops”.

Photo 2

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31Oct/16

Connecting Industry and Researchers in Physics at University of Hertfordshire

Employer Engagement, GRADnet

Connecting Industry and Researchers in Physics – SEPnet’s physics PhDs and employers came together for a lively networking evening at University of Hertfordshire on 19 October.

Herts 1 Key employers AWE, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, GlaxoSmithKline, Leonardo, Royal Marsden, Ultra Electronics and others met physics postgraduates and postdocs to talk about what they can offer industry. Students also met data science experts, Pivigo, and Oscar winners, Framestore, in a structured networking session which raised their awareness of how their research can be applied in a wide range of industries. 

 Asked what students gained from the evening, comments included: ‘that my very narrow field links to the wider world’, ‘how my astrophysics research translates into useful transferable skills for industry application’, ‘I met some really interesting (and hopefully useful) people’.

 Our next event will be in May at University of Sussex.  For more details email gradnetadmin@sepnet.ac.uk

10Oct/16

Connecting Industry and Researchers in Physics – A SEPnet Event – Wednesday 19 October 2016 – 17.00-20.00, University of Hertfordshire

Employer Engagement, GRADnet

Connecting Industry and Researchers in Physics,

Wednesday, 19 October 2016, University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire Sports Village, Hatfield.

SEPnet’s Graduate Network (GRADnet) is organising its 6th networking evening to facilitate greater collaboration and links between industry and physics postgraduate research students (PGRs) and researchers.

Who should attend

  • SEPnet PGR students who want to meet businesses and employers from physics-related industries to find out about career opportunities, make contacts and explore research and business ideas.
  • SEPnet partner researchers who want to build links with industry to explore how their research can create impact.
  • Businesses and employers in physics-related industries interested in recruiting physics graduates.

During the evening

  • Hear from panellists including representatives from Culham, Lein Applied Diagnostics, Leonardo, Ultra Electronics, Royal Marsden, Pivigo and GSK talk about the benefits of knowledge exchange and what physics postgraduates and postdocs can offer industry
  • Participate in a speed networking session
  • Build ongoing relationships between industry and researchers through placements, mentoring or research collaboration
  • Find out about work experience and mentoring opportunities;
  • Develop your networking and communication skills.
  • Refreshments will be provided.

How to register    This event is FREE to attend.  Places are limited so please book early by clicking on the following link:http://bit.ly/1R9GsmA.  (PGR students are requested to attend a networking workshop at 16.00). Registration deadline: 14/10/2016

Banners    If you would like to bring a banner for display let us know and we will reserve you a space.

For enquiries, contact gradnetadmin@sepnet.ac.uk

THIS EVENT IS SUPPORTED BY THE INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS

03Oct/16

GRADnet Induction 2016 for our new PGRs

GRADnet, postgraduate

GRADnet is pleased to announce the Induction event for Physics PGRs from across SEPnet.

Who:  1st Year Physics PhD students. All SEPnet Departments expect all new students to attend.

When:  26 October 2016, 10:15-16:00

Where:  Park Crescent Conference Centre, 229 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PN.

Numbers: This event is strongly recommended by all SEPnet partner Departments.  Circa 100 students are expected to attend. Students are to sign up for two workshops on arrival and attend one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Register here.  Or with your local GRADnet administrator. Deadline to register is 19 October 2016. Please ensure you have your VRE account activated.

What:  A one day introduction to GRADnet to learn more about opportunities, to meet fellow researchers from across the network and to participate in two from five short workshops designed to get you started in key areas of activity.

  • LaTeX. LaTeX is a document preparation system widely used by physical scientists for the creation of scientific papers, reports and theses, indeed many key journals require paper submission in LaTeX. You will learn to create a simple document covering the key components — title, abstract, sections, tables, equations, figures, and references.
  • MATLAB. Matlab is a high-level technical computing language and interactive environment for algorithm development, data analysis and visualization, and numerical computation.  MATLAB can solve technical computing problems faster and more easily than with traditional programming languages, such as C, C++, and FORTRAN.
  • Python. Python is a powerful, high-level scripting language that is widely used in scientific research for a huge range of data  analysis and visualisation applications. In this workshop you will learn how to use Python, starting from basic scripts to explore syntax and data types, working up to more complicated ‘real world’ examples.
  • Getting your research published.  This workshop will explain the steps necessary to take the results of your research through to a published paper.  Led by “insiders” from IOP Publishing, it will explain what makes a good paper and why some authors succeed while others do not.
  • Meetings and conferences.  A major part of many students’ PhD is organising meetings; meetings with supervisors, collaborators, sponsors and broader workshops and conferences.  This is a practical workshop designed to help you organise conferences, meetings and events from start to finish, without compromising your research.