“Rocket Science” kicks off tomorrow morning at 10:30am on Launch Pad PSS, aka the Scienceworks oval. Full details available here

A preview of some of our rockets in action! We also have a camera to attach to the rockets (centre top) and an altitude meter (centre bottom)

Welcome Back BBQ

This will be held on Thursday 4 August in the Physics Courtyard, 12:30-2pm

National Science Week

We have two exciting events planned for National Science Week:

1. Rocket Science — This is your chance to press the big red button during National Science Week! Rocket Science is a model rockets activity, and will be held on Sunday 14 August at Scienceworks. Entry is free for students
2. Physics in the Pub — The next installment of the PSS’s signature event takes you to the very heart of modern science and technology. Physics in the Pub will be held on Monday 15 August at Pugg Mahones (Carlton) on the theme, “The Tools of Big Science”.
   

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held midway through semester 2.  All committee positions will be up for grabs, so this is your chance to step up and make a meaningful contribution to the Society.

More information about all of these events will be available soon. Check out our dedicated National Science Week page at http://unimelbpss.org/index.php/about-the-pss/rocket-science-2011/

We’re very lucky to have Matthew Wright give his time to speak to us; he is the Executive Director of Beyond Zero Emissions (the group that produced the ZCA Report) and has extensive knowledge of the technical issues behind the energy plan. If you’re interested in reading the ZCA plan before the talk, it can be downloaded from: http://www.zerocarbonplan.org/

Time permitting, there will be an opportunity for a brief Q&A session at the end of the talk.

Event Details
Date: April 13
Time: 1-2pm
Venue: Senior Chemistry Lecture Theatre, 3rd Floor of Chemistry Building

Pizza will be provided. Hope to see you there!

The topic for the evening is “Nuclear Power in Australia”.

The discussion will be led by a panel featuring:
- David Jamieson — Head, School of Physics, University of Melbourne
- Matthew Wright — Executive Director, Beyond Zero Emissions
- Gavin Mudd — Faculty of Engineering, Monash University
- Martin Sevior — Experimental Particle Physics, University of Melbourne

Date: Monday 28 March
Time: 6:30pm
Venue: Pugg Mahones. 171 Elgin Street, Carlton (just a short walk from the physics building). We will be in the function room upstairs.

This is a free event, but you will need to cover the cost of your own food and drinks. Hope to see you there!

This event completely free (thanks to the AIP). Pizza, soft drinks, beer and wine will be provided. You will also have the chance to win the door prize – an iPod Nano!

Details are as follows:

- Date: Thursday 26 August
- Time: 6pm. The evening will run for approx 1.5 hours
- Venue: Level 7, Physics Building (postgrad common room), The University of Melbourne
- More info at http://vic.aip.org.au/news/143

The panel will consist of:

- Dr Rohan Dowd, Accelerator Physicist, Australian Synchrotron, theme: government research lab

- Dr Gaby Bright, Versi, theme: non-physics specific, general science career in
e-research

- Dr Ruth Plathe, former Australian Antarctic Division scientist now x-ray scientist
at Australian Synchrotron, theme: diverse career and interesting travel

- Kent Wootton, PhD student, Experimental Particle Physics, University of Melbourne,
theme: student involved with Big Science and international travel.

The topic will be:

Can Physics Change Climate Change?

We’ll look at the people, the projects and the prospects for dealing with climate change through physics and other fields of science and engineering.

Joining us on the evening will be our panel:

• David Jamieson, Head, School of Physics, University of Melbourne
• Grant Schuster, Ernst & Young Sustainability Advisory Services
• Rachel Webster, Astrophysics Group, University of Melbourne
• Simon Torok, Communications, Marine and Atmospheric Research, CSIRO

Details:

• When: 6.30 PM, Monday, 16^th August, 2010
• Where: Pugg Mahones, 171–175 Elgin St, Carlton
  (head about 400 metres past the Earth Sciences building along Elgin St, away from Uni)

All are welcome: we had at least sixty people show up to the previous Physics at the Pub, Can Physics Save the World? and had a great discussion.

There are also some other great National Science Week events running next week, so check out the website and go see some great science.

Also, if you’re around the University on Sunday, remember the PSS will be at the University of Melbourne Open Day, so drop round, say hello and see our awesome demo of the Meissner effect.

We’ve also got some fantastic demonstrations lined up. The double pendulum will be making a reappearance, and we’ll have a liquid-nitrogen–cool demonstration of the Meissner effect. If you’re around Uni that day, drop by and say hi. We’ll be on the Concrete Lawn, in purple.

We’ll also be holding Physics in the Pub in conjunction with National Science Week the day afterwards. More details will be forthcoming soon!

Excursion to the Australian Synchrotron in 2009

We are going to the Australian Synchrotron!

The excusion will be on Tuesday 11 May . Places are limited; you can register using the form below or by emailing us at unimelbpss@gmail.com . The excursion will include a tour of the facility in the morning, followed by a BBQ lunch with some of the staff at the Synchrotron.

The date has been chosen to coincide with a maintenance day, which means we’ll be able to walk through the tunnels and get up close and personal with some sexy scientific equipment. We are also planning a second excursion in Semester 2 on an operation day, so we can see it all in action.

(Registration is closed)

• Date: Tuesday 3rd November and Tuesday 10th November 2009
• Time: 10 AM — 3 PM
• Venue: Conference Room, Level 7, Physics Building

This Tuesday, we plan to give the study day at least SOME air of dignity to acknowledge Cup Day. We intend to traverse in a particle-like-fashion down to Lygon street and collect highly decadent snackage and refreshments. Formal dress code is optional in the extreme.

See you there!

We will be given a tour of the facility, and you will have the opportunity to walk through the synchrotron tunnels and talk to some professional physicists about their work. The tour will be followed by a free BBQ at the Synchrotron, brought to you by the PSS and the University of Melbourne School of Physics.

Details of the Excursion

• Date: Tuesday, 1st September 2009
• Time: We will be meeting at the Synchrotron at 11:15am, and the tour will commence at 11:30am sharp. The tour will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a BBQ lunch.
• Venue details: The Synchrotron is located at 800 Blackburn Road, Clayton. This is adjacent to Monash University Clayton Campus. You will need make your own way there, however we will organise a group to leave together from Melbourne Uni. This will be confirmed by email closer to the date. You’ll need appropriate footwear — in particular, no open-toed shoes.

How to Sign Up

Unfortunately, we are only able to take 40 people, as this is all the venue is able to accommodate. The best way to sign-up will be at the PSS AGM on the 25th of August. (See the “Notice of Physics Students’ Society Annual General Meeting” e-mail for further details.)

Alternatively, if you can’t make it to the AGM, you can sign up for the excursion by replying to this email with the following details:

• Full name
• Student number
• Preferred email address

We will send you an email confirming your place on the excursion, including any last-minute details, shortly after the AGM.