Prof Meghan Gray
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Two terms down, one to go: we’ve come a long way
April 1, 2021
Autumn term: check. Spring term: check. Time for the Easter holidays then a final push through our Summer term. But first, a quick reflection on the academic year so far. (And what a year it’s been.) Now I’ve been in the UK for over 20 years, and when I first arrived learned much about the …
Joel captures Mars on closest approach
November 9, 2020
Amazing footage of the rotation of Mars captured by astronomy PhD student Joel Miller and featured on BBC News. Joel (MSci Physics with Astronomy, 2017) has previously featured in this blog for more sporting reasons, but has been finding other ways to keep busy during lockdown by returning to a love of astrophotography. Catching Frisbees …
On Stars, Ciphers, and Cigarettes
July 31, 2020
Guest post by Floe Foxon (BSc Physics and Astronomy, 2020), whose final year of undergraduate studies featured international travel, research, published papers, and ultimately a job offer. Congratulations Floe on all your accomplishments! What do stellar reactors, medieval cryptograms, and smokes have in common? Probably nothing. Regardless, the final year of my BSc in Physics …
Physics and Music
July 29, 2020
One of the great benefits of studying at university is realising how so many subjects are interconnected in sometimes surprising ways. Many of our staff and students are interested in exploring e.g. connections between physics and music, or between physics and art. Our physics undergraduates can take up to 10 credits per semester outside the …
A different sort of graduation: #WeAreUon
July 24, 2020
Normally graduation is a much anticipated day in the academic calendar: nibbles, speeches, and photos with students and friends at the Physics reception, followed by pageantry and funny hats at the official ceremony. It’s a chance to celebrate and acknowledge achievement, and it’s also a chance to say goodbye. Of course nothing is ‘normal’ at …
Giuliana’s virtual summer school at the European Space Agency
July 23, 2020
The whole world has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with enormous disruption felt by all of our staff and students. However, that didn’t stop Giuliana Le Grazie-Brennan (BSc Physics and Philosophy, class of 2020) from making the best of a slightly unusual summer research opportunity. In this guest post, she describes her experience of …
Black Lives Matter and the First Black Person with a Physics PhD
June 12, 2020
A guest post by Dr. Moustafa Gharamti, who is the special tutor for Black and Minority Ethnic Students. Two weeks have passed since the start of Black Lives Matter protests. Protests all over the world raising one slogan “Black Lives Matter”. Three words that comprise the black race history, call for a change and equality …
Hugh’s experience on the MSci Physics with Science Education course
November 26, 2019
Science education is a important career path for some of our graduates, and we offer a number of options for physics students to gain practical experience in schools during their undergraduate studies. For example, the third-year PJU project module run by the School of Physics and Astronomy is open to application from any BSc or …
UCAS visit days – what to expect
November 20, 2019
As I write this, there’s less than an hour to go before I put on my “Admission Tutor” lanyard — having recently taken over the role from my colleague Prof Philip Moriarty, who has left some big shoes to fill — and prepare to kick off another UCAS Visit day. We hold over a dozen …
What happens when you pour boiling water onto liquid nitrogen?
November 15, 2019
Second year Thermal & Statistical Physics….phase transitions….sound dull? Not if your lecturer is Dr. Yong Mao and you get to witness demonstrations cooked up by lab technicians Paul Munday and Denise Watt. The following footage filmed by one of our students went a bit viral on Reddit this week: Pouring boiling water onto liquid nitrogen …
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