Prof Graham Ross FRS has been awarded the 2012 Dirac Medal of the UK Institute of Physics for his theoretical work in developing both the Standard Model of fundamental particles and forces and theories beyond the Standard Model that have led to many new insights into the origins and nature of the universe.

The Particle Theory Group is pleased to welcome Dr Guido Bell as a Royal Society University Research Fellow from October 2012. Guido did his undergraduate studies at Aachen (including an year abroad in Toulouse and another in Granada). He obtained his PhD from Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich in 2006 and has held postdoctoral positions in Karlsruhe and Bern. His research is focussed on quantum chromodynamics, in particular the technically challenging computation of higher order corrections.

Dr Joseph Conlon has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to study supersymmetry breaking directly in string theory.

Physics has long been a male-dominated subject. To fulfil the department's scientific mission, it is vital that we use the full potential of the population and redress that imbalance. Since 2010, the department has been developing a portfolio of new and existing actions to improve the employment conditions and practice for all staff and students. Good practice benefits everyone, but disproportionately benefits women. These actions, and the critical assessment that led to them, are described in our application for an Athena Swan Silver Award.

Dr Andrei Starinets was awarded the 2011 Maxwell Medal of the UK Institute of Physics for his work on the gauge-gravity correspondence which relates quantum gauge theories to gravitational systems.

The medal is awarded for outstanding contributions to theoretical Physics, mathematical or computational Physics. Dr Starinets joins other distinguished past winners from the Rudolf Peierls Centre: Prof Richard Dalitz (1966), Sir Roger Elliott (1968), Prof Anthony Leggett (1975), Prof Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith (1979), Prof James Binney (1986) and Dr John Wheater (1993).

Professor Julia Yeomans runs a research group in theoretical soft matter physics and has recently been awarded an Advanced Grant of 1.5 million Euros from the European Research Council. This prestigious grant will enable Professor Yeomans group to investigate questions that combine hydrodynamics and statistical physics, such as how bacteria can mix a fluid or the design of super-water-repellent surfaces.

David Sherrington, Wykeham Professor of Physics Emeritus has been elected as Chairman of the Academic Council of the European Academy of Sciences (EURASC). He also serves as the Chairman of the Physics Division .

During the course of his 3 year Fellowship, Douwe will address an exciting problem in polymer dynamics – how polymers and biopolymers move through nano-pores. This is an important and topical problem due to its relevance to biomolecular transport across cell membranes, and the rapid development of experimental techniques in this area that could be used in DNA sequencing.