Department of Physics and Astronomy Alumni Reception

The Department of Physics and Astronomy held a reception for former members of the department on the evening of Friday 9th September. This event was attended by over 40 former students, staff and current staff. Graduation years spanned the period 1950 to 2009.

After a drinks and nibbles reception, held in the first year undergraduate teaching laboratory, the current head of department, Professor David Mowbray presented a short history of the Department since its move to the Hicks Building in 1962 and an overview of the current departmental structure, undergraduate teaching and research interests. Dr Simon Goodwin, a Senior Lecturer in astronomy, then gave a lecture discussing recent advances in his field. Of particular interest was a discussion of our ability to detect planets orbiting nearby stars and the likely future ability to detect the presence of life by the observation of oxygen in the atmosphere of these planets. Following these talks guests were taken on a tour of the Department, visiting the telescope and solar farm facilities on the roof of the building and the second year teaching laboratory.

There was much discussion of how the experiments conducted in the teaching laboratories have changed over the years. Guests also visited a research laboratory where Dr Ashley Cadby demonstrated the use of near field microscopes to study biological systems.