Oliver Humphries and Sam Vinko from Oxford Physics were part of one of the first user experiments to take place at the European XFEL, the flagship x-ray free-electron laser facility currently being commissioned at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. The first user results were reported at the annual XFEL User meeting on 23 January.
Outreach news
15 January 2019
Congratulations to Sir Alex Halliday who has been knighted for services to Science and Innovation in the New Year's Honours list for 2019.
Alexander Halliday FRS, Visiting Professor of Geochemistry at the Department of Earth Sciences and recently Head of Oxford’s Mathematical Physical and Life Sciences Division, is knighted for services to science and innovation.
To see the full list please click here
15 January 2019
The Royal Astronomical Society has given the Galaxy Zoo team – including the volunteers who have made the project the success it is – their Group Achievement Award for 2019.
Citation for the 2019 RAS Group Achievement Award:
14 December 2018
Members of the public were invited to the Department on Nov. 26, 2018 to join researchers from Oxford Physics, Imperial College, Bristol University, RAL Space and the UK Space Agency, who have worked on the Mars Insight mission, to celebrate its scheduled landing on Mars.
14 December 2018
IF Oxford
The Department was again well represented at the annual Oxfordshire Science Festival, this year re-branded as the IF Oxford, the Oxfordshire Science and Ideas Festival. We spoke to over 1,000 people about our research at events across the city.
29 October 2018
How is physics research being used to change your life? We opened our doors as part of Oxford's science and ideas festival to showcase some of the ways research can become technology, and physics can move from the lab into your life.
15 October 2018
Students taking a break from their undergraduate laboratory experiments will notice two new canvases displayed in the foyer of the Physics Teaching Labs. These colourful canvases are inspired by the themes of space and cosmic rays, and were created in 2017 by students at Ysgol Gynradd Rhoscolin (Rhoscolin Primary School) on Anglesey, Wales working with artist Catrin Williams. Dr Karen Aplin, Head of Physics Teaching Labs 2009-2018, was a co-investigator and scientific advisor to the project.
6 September 2018
Catchy songs are great way to make a message ‘stick’, but can we use song to enthuse young people about science? What if they’re the ones writing the songs?
At three local events this summer, three researchers (Nathan Adams, Dr Neil Bowles, and Dr Donal Hill) teamed up with songwriter, Jonny Berliner, and 537 local residents to create three brand new songs based on current physics research at the University, covering distant galaxies, planetary science and particle physics.
24 July 2018
Overall there were 72 members of the Department who took part or contributed to the activities during the Outreach Development Day on 20th April 2018.
It was an opportunity for researchers who are passionate about sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm for physics outreach to share best practice with others in the Department.
The day began with a ‘Storytelling skills for scientists’ training session by Robert Holtom. At lunchtime there was a hands-on showcase of activities and demonstrations from a number of departmental outreach initiatives, including:
23 July 2018
Stargazing+ at O'Hanlon House
On Thursday 17th May a team of our researchers visited O'Hanlon House, a resettlement centre for around 66 homeless people in central Oxford, to talk about space and the Universe.