Webinars: Summer 2022

Webinar 1: Energy and Decay

Join nuclear physicist Dr Christian Diget with invited guests Dr Kate Lancaster and Professor Rolf-Dietmar Herzberg to explore binding energy and radioactive decay. Rodi is professor of physics at the University of Liverpool. He discusses the origins of the elements, particularly looking at the super heavy nuclei. Kate is an experimental plasma physicist at the University of York. She introduces the concept of nuclear binding energy and explains how the energy released in nuclear fusion may provide a clean energy source for the future. 

Webinar 2: Experimental Nuclear Physics

This week’s webinar is hosted by hosted by Dr James Cubiss with invited guests Dr Hannah Newton and Dr Liam Gaffney. 

Hannah is an Associate Director of the National Laboratories at STFC and is based at Daresbury Laboratories. In her previous role, she was project manager of the Daresbury Laboratory contribution towards the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). DUNE is a leading-edge, international experiment for neutrino science and proton decay studies in South Dakota, USA. She is joined by Liam from the University of Liverpool, who is an STFC Ernest Rutherford Research Fellow in Nuclear Physics, studying the shape of exotic nuclei. His research takes place at radioactive ion beam laboratories, such as the ISOLDE facility at CERN. 

Both speakers discuss these exciting, international facilities and experiments for investigating nuclear physics. 

Webinar 3: Nuclear Astrophysics

This webinar is hosted by Dr James Cubiss with invited guests Dr Christian Diget and Kate Womack. Kate is an PhD student in Nuclear Astrophysics at the University of Hull. In the webinar, she discusses the stellar origins of the chemical elements and explains which astrophysical events make each element in the periodic table. Christian is a Physics lecturer and an experimental nuclear physicist at the University of York. He studies the nuclear reactions that take place in exploding stars, which he talks about in the webinar. 

Webinar 4: Fusion Technology

This webinar is hosted by Dr Chris Murphy, with invited guests Dr Aneeqa Khan and Professor Roddy Vann. Aneeqa is a research fellow in fusion at the University of Manchester with a focus on materials. Roddy is a professor of  plasma physics and director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fusion Energy Science and Technology. They are speaking about the opportunities and challenges of using fusion as an energy resource on Earth.

Webinar 5: Medical Physics

Join host Kate Ravilious with invited guests Professor Thomas Elias Cocolios and Dr. Laura Sinclair. Thomas is based at based at KU Leuven in Belgium. He speaks about his research at CERN, which focuses on the production of new isotopes for medical applications, in particular for new treatments against cancer. Laura works as a senior medical physicist in Dublin, Ireland. Her main focus is using radioactive pharmaceuticals to image and treat patients, and ensuring the equipment is safe for the patients and staff. 

Webinar 6: Particle Physics meets Nuclear Physics

Join nuclear physicist Dr James Cubiss with invited guests Dr Rachel Montgomery and Dr Stuart Fegan. Rachel is a nuclear physics researcher at the University of Glasgow. Find out about her experiments to look deep inside protons and neutrons and understand more about the strong force using an electron accelerator at Jefferson Laboratory, in the USA. Stuart is a researcher at the University of York who also works at the Jefferson Lab. He speaks about the interdisciplinary 'Electrons for Neutrinos' project, which aims to better understand the interactions of neutrinos with nuclear matter.