Invited Speakers
We are pleased to announce the following invited speakers have been confirmed.
Céline Bœhm (International)
Professor of Particle Physics, University of Sydney
BIOGRAPHY
Céline is an Astroparticle physicist which means she works at the interface of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. The results of e.g. WMAP and Planck experiments relieved that about 80% of the matter content of the Universe is invisible. Her job is to determine what this "dark" matter is made of. Discovering new particles for example would most likely reveal new fundamental laws in the Universe.
Céline obtained her PhD at Ecole Normale Superieure (Paris) in 2001, under the official supervision of Prof P. Fayet (and unofficial supervision of Prof R. Schaeffer at CEA, Saclay). In 2001, she was awarded a national fellowship in the UK to work with Prof J. Silk at Oxford University and, in 2004, another fellowship to work in the theory division at CERN.
Céline’s research involves:
- Dark matter physics,
- Supersymmetry,
- Beyond the Standard Model theories,
- The Cosmic Microwave Background and large-scale-structure formation,
- and sometimes a combination of all of these at the same time.
Most of her work lies at the frontier of theoretical and experimental physics. One aspect of her job is to predict the signatures associated with theoretical dark matter models and identify the best strategy to detect these effects in particle and cosmology experiments. Another facet of her work is to use the results of experimental searches to confirm or rule out current theories of our Universe.
Gary Williams (International)
IOP National Coordinator Teacher NetworkEditor-in-Chief, Physics Education
BIOGRAPHY
Starting in physics education by working as a lab tech in a school for four years, teacher training at Cambridge University followed and after that, over a decade of experience teaching in a number of secondary schools in England and Wales. Joining the Editorial Board of the international physics teaching journal Physics Education and then starting as one of the first Network Coordinators for the Institute of Physics Teacher Network resulted in eventually becoming the Editor in Chief of the journal and the National Coordinator of the Teacher Network. In amongst that, overlapping the change of jobs, was a completed MPhil in Ellipsometry, looking at changes to the polarisation state of reflected light due to temperature.
Duncan Steel (NZ)
Centre for Space Science Technology, Alexandra
Duncan works at the Centre for Space Science Technology in Alexandra, analysing Earth observation imagery obtained from satellites, aircraft and drones. Over the past thirty years he has worked on space projects in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Sweden, Canada and NZ. Duncan’s research has focused largely on asteroids, comets and meteors, but he has also been involved in planning missions to Mars and the search for life elsewhere. Additionally he is an expert on the history and astronomical basis of calendars. Duncan is the author of four books, over 140 research papers, and more than a thousand articles in newspapers and magazines published around the globe. He has appeared in dozens of TV documentaries, and hundreds of radio interviews. Asteroid 4713 Steel is named for him, as is a lunar-roving robot in one of Arthur C. Clarke’s science-fiction novels.
Jenni Adams (NZ)
University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury Associate Professor of Physics Jenni Adams is part of a large-scale scientific mission using an intriguing elementary particle, the neutrino, to understand the highest energy processes in the Universe. At the IceCube experiment in Antarctica, Assoc Prof Adams and her colleagues use a mountain-sized telescope, embedded deep in the ice, made up of more than 5000 sensors to detect the elusive particle. These sensors are embedded deep in the ice at the South Pole to enable detection of neutrinos, which are nearly massless subatomic particles. “We’re after neutrinos that come from the highest energy regions of the Universe, and they have probably a million to a trillion times the energy than the neutrinos produced in radioactive decays, or from the sun,” Assoc Prof Adams says.
Simon Brown (NZ)
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Christchurch
Sponsored by:
Prof. Simon Brown received a B. Sc (Hons) degree from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand in 1986 and a Ph. D. from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1990. Since 1998 he has been on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is currently a Professor in that Department. He was heavily involved in the formation of a the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, and served as Deputy Director for three years. Simon has published more than 120 refereed papers in a variety of areas of semiconductor and solid state physics. His current interests focus on properties of devices fabricated from nanoparticles, as well as scanning probe investigations of nanoparticles. Simon was founder of NZ’s first nanotechnology company, and has an ongoing interest in the wider ethical, social, environmental and health impacts of nanotechnology.
Anthony Butler (NZ)
Head of Department of Radiology, University of Otago, Christchurch
Professor Anthony Butler is a radiologist with an interest in developing new imaging technologies. In 2007 he was one of the founders of MARS Bioimaging Ltd, a company formed to commercialise spectral imaging technology. He remains on the board and is the Chief Medical Officer. Anthony has more than 150 scientific publications. He has won more than 10 awards for his research including awards from the Royal Society of NZ and the Royal Australian College of Radiologists. He is the lead investigator on over $12m of NZ government research grants, and co-investigator on more than $30m of other grants. At Canterbury District Health Board he works as a clinical radiologist. At the University of Otago Christchurch he is Head of the Department of Radiology and Director of the Centre for Bioengineering. At CERN he is a member of the Medipix3, Medipix4, and CMS collaborations. At the University of Canterbury he is a researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Dave Frame (NZ)
Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (NZCCRI) at Victoria University of Wellington
Dave Frame is Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (NZCCRI) at Victoria University of Wellington. He has a background in physics, philosophy and policy. Prior to joining the NZCCRI Dave spent the bulk of his career at the University of Oxford, working in the Departments of Physics and Geography, and later at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He also has policy experience, having worked at the New Zealand Treasury, and having served on secondment at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. He has been a Lead Author on the Fifth and Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and his research has often been published in the world's leading scientific research journals, as well as in the specialist climate literature.
Annette Koo (NZ)
Principal Research Scientist, MSL
Annette completed a physics PhD through Victoria University in 2005 and then spent 3 years in Melbourne as a postdoctoral fellow at CSIRO and then at Monash University doing research into catalysts for solar hydrogen generation. In 2008 she started at MSL as a research scientist, developing expertise in the measurement of light and human perception, including design of MSL’s robot-based goniospectrophotometer and piloting the CCPR comparison of spectral transmittance.
Dr John Campbell (NZ)
University of Canterbury (1968-2004)
Dr John Campbell is a retired lecturer at the University of Canterbury (1968-2004).
He is author of "Rutherford Scientist Supreme", www.rutherford.org.nz and is co-producer of the 3-hour documentary/DVD "Rutherford" which is based on his book.