Open Days 2021: Teaching physics in the time of COVID (and beyond)
June 23, 2021
Our Open Days for prospective undergraduate students look a little different this year. Normally the whole university would be gearing up to welcome crowds of thousands on to campus for two days in July, with an multitude of student ambassadors showing off our beautiful campus. (Sunny weather and ice cream by the lake a definite …
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 …
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 …
Questions I wish I’d known the Answer to as a First Year Undergraduate
September 7, 2018
If I only knew then what I know now….. In this guest post, recently graduated student Jake Lester shares his advice for new and prospective students. Jake has just started a position as a Information Systems Engineer at BAE Systems (where he was previously a summer intern). If you’re reading this, you might be considering …
2018 National Student Survey (NSS) Results in Physics
August 7, 2018
Guest post by Prof Michael Merrifield, Head of School I am somewhat vociferously on record arguing that most university league tables are a complete waste of time – they are compiled by newspapers who have a vested interest in promoting volatility, and they combine disparate statistics in a way that makes no sense at all. …
Dr. Andrew Armour: 2018 Lord Dearing Award for Teaching
July 19, 2018
Today the members of the School of Physics and Astronomy celebrated the achievement of all our undergraduate and postgraduate students who received their degrees following years of hard work. It’s always a highlight of the academic year. This year we were also delighted to see our own Dr. Andrew Armour recognized for excellence in teaching. …
What is the point of lectures?
May 9, 2018
guest post by Head of School, Prof Michael Merrifield There has been quite a lot of discussion in the Times Higher Education over the last few weeks questioning the purpose of lectures at university. As my contribution, I would like to advance a rather unfashionable view, but before doing so let me say what I …
Nottingham hosts the first ever Institute of Physics Technicians Event
March 15, 2018
Guest post by Dr. Nick Botterill, Facilities and Technical Manager, School of Physics and Astronomy On 7th March, a contingent of Technical staff from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham attended a Technicians Event hosted by the Institute of Physics on our Jubilee Campus. Founded in 1874, this was the Institute’s …
2017 National Student Survey (NSS) results
August 9, 2017
Guest post by Prof Michael Merrifield, Head of School The results of the National Student Survey (NSS) were published today. This survey is conducted among all graduating students every year, in which they answer a whole series of questions about their experience at university, ranging from how good the staff were at explaining things to …
TEF Gold
June 22, 2017
Guest post by Prof Michael Merrifield, Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy The publication of the first “Teaching Excellence Framework” (TEF) results provides a new source of information both for staff at universities to think about changes they might make to the way they teach, and for prospective students to compare places …
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