Wednesday 19 October 2011

Physics Department Colloquium

Dr Gavin Crooks (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Berkeley) will be giving this term's Departmental Colloquium today, Wed 19 Oct, on Statistical Thermodynamics and the Breaking of Time Symmetry.

Abstract: The irreversible dissipation of energy is directly related to the breaking of time reversal symmetry. I will discuss some of the implication of these phenomena to microscopic, driven non-equilibrium systems, such as single molecular force-extension experiments, biological molecular motors and artificial photosynthesis.

Monday 3 October 2011

Departmental Teaching Prize

Phil has won the Department of Physics and Astronmy's Departmental Teaching Prize for 2011.  In 2010-11 Phil was lecturing the course Lasers & Modern Optics (PHAS3443) for third and fourth year undergraduates.  The prize-giving ceremony will be held on Friday 28 October.  Earlier this year Phil also won the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MAPS) Faculty Teaching Award.

New Group Members

Kelly Thorneycroft has joined the UCL Optical Tweezers Group for her MSci project.  Kelly is a fourth year undergraduate studying Natural Sciences and will be working on optical trapping and binding experiments and biophysical applications.