Professor Patrick Gill MBE FRS has been awarded the Royal Society’s Rumford Medal for outstanding research in the field of physics.

The award recognises Professor Gill’s development of optical atomic clocks of exquisite precision, of ultra-stable lasers and of frequency standards for fundamental physics, quantum information processing, space science, satellite navigation and Earth observation.

Research led by Oxford Physicists shows how a novel functional discovery approach can be used to address a longstanding problem in the study of dense plasma opacities.

The work was performed at the FLASH free-electron laser in Hamburg, where femtosecond XUV pulses were focused down to micron spots to create solid density plasmas at temperatures exceeding 200,000 K.

The Department of Physics is delighted to welcome eight new Associate Professor Tutorial Fellows to its academic staff.

‘We are thrilled to be joined by such fantastic new colleagues,’ enthuses Professor Ian Shipsey, Head of Department. ‘Each one brings with them their rich experience, cutting-edge research and insightful teaching practice. As leading experts in their fields, the entire department is very excited for what the future holds. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the search committees for their excellent work in identifying such exceptional talent.’

In March, the Department of Physics welcomed Dr Kim Budil and Professor Emeritus Frank Close to deliver a lecture giving two very different perspectives on high-energy-density science. The event marked 80 years of the Frisch-Peierls Memorandum and a drinks reception was held at the department’s own Rudolph Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics.

Scientists around the world are racing to understand more about the COVID-19-causing virus – and physicists at Oxford are no exception. 'Without physics and physicists there could be no modern technological society, from microelectronics and telecommunications, to LCD displays and PET scanners in hospitals; it is therefore not surprising that physics has much to offer in the battle against CoV2,' explains Head of Department, Professor Ian Shipsey.

Peter Norreys, Professor of Inertial Fusion Science in Oxford University’s Department of Physics, is bringing together the world’s leading scientists and policy advocates to begin preparations for the next generation facilities that could unleash the potential of inertial fusion energy – and help to halt climate change.