Dr Chris Parkes wins the IoP HEPP Group Prize 2010

(April 2010) The University is pleased to hear of a prize gained by Dr Chris Parkes on the day of first high-energy collisions in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Dr Parkes’ award is in recognition of his wide-ranging software, hardware and analysis achievements in particle physics.  He made the first observation of W boson production in electron-positron collisions in the LEP experiment at CERN using novel code to efficiently analyse data from the DELPHI detector. Subsequently, he led much further research in W bosons using DELPHI until the decommisioning of the LEP experiment. He has in the last years led the LHCb Vertex Locator (VELO) software group, currently leads the UK VELO project and will be the LHCb VELO project leader from June 2010. (LHCb is one of the four main investigations being performed on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN). He simultaneously led the production and testing of semi-commercial 3D silicon sensors in the Diamond Synchrotron beam, the first 3D pixel detector for synchrotron applications.

The award was made on the day of LHC first collisions at 3.5+3.5 TeV. In receiving his award Dr Parkes sent back a first VELO collision picture from the LHCb control room at CERN. The wheels of the VELO detector are shown side-on and used to reconstruct one of the first interactions of the 3.5 TeV proton beam hitting the proton target [see figure]. These types of interactions will ultimately be used to search for the nature of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. The asymmetry is one part in a billion and requires the very precise LHCb VELO detectors to measure minute differences in the decay rates of b quark and anti-quark interactions.

The Institute of Physics (IoP) High Energy Particle Physics (HEPP) Group prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to particle physics. The award recognises physicists early in their careers.

See: http://www.iop.org/activity/groups/subject/hepp/Group_Prize/page_27942.html

Holographic optical tweezers

(January 2010) Daryl Preece and Richard Bowman, graduate students in the Optics group have  just published the use of low-cost graphics cards for the high-speed calculation of hologram patterns.  They have applied these holograms to particle trapping in optical tweezers - even reducing the residual Brownian motion of the microscopic particles.  The paper published in Optics Express has been highlighted by the Optical Society of America in their Spotlights on Optics.

Knotted Light

(January 2010) Writing in Nature Physics, Barry Jack and co-workers in the optics group with collaborator Mark Dennis in Bristol have just created knotted structures in light .  The work has also been featured by others, including the Independent, Telegraph and USA Today   The flow of optical energy through space is similar to water flowing in a river. Although it often flows in a straight line (out of the torch, laser pointer, etc), light can also flow in whirls and eddies -- in particular, forming lines in space called optical vortices.  Along these lines, the intensity of the light is zero, and typical light fields are filled with a dense tangle of these dark filaments.  They use holograms creating single optical vortex loops which are knotted, and isolated in the light beam.  This research shows that there is a physical application of mathematics previously considered completely abstract.  Furthermore, this  control over laser light could be used in future optical sensors.  Finally, this work opens a new chapter in the study of knotted vortices, initiated by Lord Kelvin in the 19th century as a possible explanation of atoms.

Tiny ear listens to hidden worlds

(February 2010)  Arran Curran's work in the Optics Group to make a micro-ear has just been featured by BBC.  Listening to the micro-world is funded through the EPSRC's Basic Technology Programme.  High speed camera watch the wobble of a micron-sized beam held in laser beam acting as a tiny microphone.   Tiny etched dishes, like a Victorian ear trumpet, help focus the movements in the fluid to enhance the sensitivity (see figure).  Initially, researchers will use it to snoop on cells as they go about their daily business. It may in the future to allow the collaboration to listen to how a drug disrupts micro-organisms, in the same way as a mechanic might listen to a car's engine to find a fault.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8529232.stm

Top scientists to advise Scottish government

Refreshed science council launched on 11th March

(March 2010) Twelve leading scientists, including Professor James Hough, an international leader in the search for gravitational waves, have joined the specialist panel that advises the Scottish Government on science issues.

The Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC) is a group of 19 experts from the science and business community who provide the Scottish Government with independent advice on a range of science-related topics. This includes how best to capitalise on Scotland’s world-leading research base to benefit Scotland’s economy and its people.

The first meeting of the SSAC with its new members was held on March 11, 2010 at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE).

Professor Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland and Co-Chair of the SSAC, said:

"Attracting such high-profile experts to the SSAC highlights Scotland’s outstanding strength as a science nation. I look forward to working with all our new and existing members as we explore new ways to ensure that Scotland’s economy and people benefit more fully from the quality of Scotland’s science base."