Schools/colleges liaison activities
Open days
Prospective students can visit the School of Physics and Astronomy as part of the University-wide open days.
One-day Schools in Physics
These will be held annually in the School near Easter. On each day there are four lectures on current research topics in physics. The lectures are given by members of the School and are intended to be interesting, entertaining and informative. The level is intended for sixth formers studying AS or A2 in Physics, and compliments the A-level curriculum.
In 2012. One-Day Schools will be held on Monday 26th, Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th March 2012.
The contact person is Karen Dunsmore:
email: karen.dunsmore@manchester.ac.uk
telephone: 0161 306 3673
University of Manchester Particle Physics Masterclass 2012
The Particle Physics Masterclass is a one-day event specifically designed for sixth form students and their teachers and run at the University of Manchester by practising researchers from our Particle Physics Group. The nationwide programme of Masterclasses began in 1997 and has proved to be stimulating and informative for thousands of students and hundreds of schools. This event is primarily intended for those students taking modules which include particle physics at 'A' or 'AS' level, but is also open to any physics student or teacher interested in studying or teaching the subject. The Masterclass will consist of a mixture of talks given by researchers in the Particle Physics Group and hands-on practical sessions.
Our next Masterclass will be held on Thursday 29th March 2012 at the School of Physics and Astronomy's Schuster Laboratory. This year we will charge a nominal fee of 6 pounds per head to cover the cost of catering.
To register please go to:
http://www.hep.man.ac.uk/u/masterclass/masterclass2012/
Please book early as places are limited to 150.
Presentation on Physics in Higher Education
You can view the slides (10MB) of a talk which is delivered at school career evenings, higher education fairs and conferences. The slides offer advice to sixth formers on higher education choices. They discuss what physics is about when studied at the highest levels and why it is a useful and relevant subject, what skills are developed when studying physics, the various different courses and degrees that are available across the country and entry requirements, the teaching methods used in higher education, and what careers and occupations physics graduates take up.
Lectures for Schools & Colleges
These talks and lectures are available to schools and colleges. Lecturers will be happy to visit to give the lecture and will try to accommodate any requests. However their availability may be limited by teaching and research responsibilities. No fees are charged for the lectures, but in view of rising costs, where lectures involve travelling a significant distance from the University it will be necessary to ask the schools to bear the cost of travel.
Sixth form talks
- Professor Tom Mullin, Non-linear Dynamics, 'Physics of Chaos' and 'Not quite the Indian Rope Trick'
- Professor Fred Loebinger, Particle Physics, 'Quarks & Gluons'
- Professor Roger Barlow, Particle Physics, 'Anti-matter'
- Professor Helen Gleeson, Non-linear Dynamics and Liquid Crystals, ' Liquid Crystals: organizing of fluids for technology and biology'
- Professor Jeff Forshaw, Particle Physics, 'The Higgs boson', 'Quantum Physics' and 'Relativity'
- Professor Andrew Murray, Photon Science, 'Manipulating and controlling atoms with lasers - from cold atoms to electron collisions'
- Dr Sean Freeman, Nuclear Physics, 'Nuclei in the Extreme'
- Dr Dave Cullen Nuclear Physics 'Gamma-ray lasers'
- Dr Tim O'Brien, Jodrell Bank, ' Cosmic Explosions'
- Dr Rob Appleby , Particle Physics, ' The building blocks of the universe'
- Dr Philipa Browning, Astronomy, ' Power from nuclear fusion ' and ' Our active sun '
- Professor Andrei Golov, Condensed Matter Physics, 'Superfluids, Superconductors, Vortices and Cosmic Strings'.
- Dr Ingo Dierking, Non-linear Dynamics and Liquid Crystals, 'Liquid Crystals'
- Dr Mark Dickinson, Photon Science, 'Blood, guts and lasers'
- Dr Andrew Thomas, Photon Science, 'Physics and Chemistry: more magic than Harry Potter'
- Dr Tobias Galla, Theoretical Physics, 'Rolling the Dice on your Computer - Probabilities and Simulations in Physics and Finance' and 'What physics has done for us'
For any enquiries about our programme of activities for schools and colleges, contact Dr Tim O'Brien, the Schools Liaison Officer for the School of Physics and Astronomy.
Tel: 0161 275 4165
Email: tim.obrien@manchester.ac.uk