‘Naked Scientists’ Chris Smith recently visited the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the Waite campus to interview  Prof. Mark Tester about the great research going on there.

The podcast, ‘Science Down Under’  is ready for download right now.

For anyone who missed last night’s terrific free public lecture, make like a gravitron escaping from a spinning black hole and get a move on to download the podcast!

Podcast: Cracking the Einstein Code: Relativity and the Birth of Black Hole Physics

Speaker: Prof Fulvio Melia

Stay tuned for announcements of the next Keys to the Universe lecture in the series!

The University of Adelaide’s School of Chemistry & Physics presents a free Public Lecture…

”Cracking the Einstein Code – Relativity and the Birth of Black Hole Physics” presented by Fulvio Melia, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Arizona and Associate Editor of the Astrophysical Journal Letters

Thursday 17 September at 6pm Napier Lecture Theatre 102

Level 1 Napier Building (follow the signs), University of Adelaide, North Terrace

Admission: Free

Prof Fulvio Melia will present the exciting account of how Albert Einstein’s mathematical code for general relativity was cracked. Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity describes the effect of gravitation on the shape of space and the flow of time. But for more than four decades after its publication, the theory remained largely a curiosity for scientists; however accurate it seemed, Einstein’s mathematical code—represented by six interlocking equations—was one of the most difficult to crack in all of science.

That is, until a twenty-nine-year-old Cambridge graduate solved the great riddle in 1963. Roy Kerr’s solution emerged coincidentally with the discovery of black holes that same year and provided fertile testing ground—at long last—for general relativity. Today, scientists routinely cite the Kerr solution, but even among specialists, few know the story of how Kerr cracked Einstein’s code.

Fulvio Melia offers an eyewitness account of the events leading up to Kerr’s great discovery. Cracking the Einstein Code vividly describes how luminaries such as Karl Schwarzschild, David Hilbert, and Emmy Noether set the stage for the Kerr solution; how Kerr came to make his breakthrough; and how scientists such as Roger Penrose, Kip Thorne, and Stephen Hawking used the accomplishment to refine and expand modern astronomy and physics. Today more than 300 million supermassive black holes are suspected of anchoring their host galaxies across the cosmos, and the Kerr solution is what astronomers and astrophysicists use to describe much of their behavior.

By unmasking the history behind the search for a real world solution to Einstein’s field equations, Melia offers a firsthand account of an important but untold story. Sometimes dramatic, often exhilarating, but always attuned to the human element, Cracking the Einstein Code is ultimately a showcase of how important science gets done.

Dr Amanda Able gave a presentation about her research at the future SACE workshop held at the University of Adelaide on Thursday July 16th, 2009.

Amanda’s SACE workshop powerpoint presentation is also available to download.

Dr Dan Peet gives a presentation on his research at the ‘getting ready for the research project’ future SACE workshop held at the University of Adelaide on Thursday July 16th, 2009.

The 2nd Harold Woolhouse Lecture is named in honour of the former Director of the Waite Agricultural Research Institute and is hosted by the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine.  Presenting a seminar titled ‘Evolution of patterning genes in land plants’ is Prof John Bowman ARC Federation Fellow, Monash University/UC Davis. Professor Bowman has investigated the history of genes involved in establishing leaf polarity in the model plant Arabidopsis.  Expression and functional studies in early diverging lineages of land plants provide clues as to ancestral functions, and thus to the evolution of land plant morphology. Professor Bowman will discuss how the ancestral roles of patterning genes may lie in interactions with environmental parameters critical in the transition from an aquatic algal ancestor to a land plant.

Date: Monday 3rd August, 2009
Time: 4pm
Location: Plant Research Centre Auditorium, Waite Campus
Cost: FREE

For more information contact Dr Amanda Able or visit the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine website.

From November 2007 to December 2008 a series of free public forums on nanotechnology was held by the Australian Office of Nanotechnology in all capital cities around Australia. Tanya Monro from the Faculty of Science’s Centre of Expertise in Photonics dicussed the concept of nanophotonics, and the podcast of this presentation is available to download:

• Nanotechnology in Optical Fibres

More great information about these public forums (inlcuding vodcasts) can be found on the government’s Public Awareness and Engagement website, and also on the Centre of Expertise in Photonics wordpress blog.

Still unsure if you’ve made the right choice?

For anyone who has applied for a University of Adelaide Faculty of Science degree in 2009, and is now unsure if they have selected the right program, check out this informative podcast about the different options available. It’s not too late to change!

Change Your Preference?

For more help, please contact the Faculty of Sciences.

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, FRS, FRAS  kindly allowed yesterday’s free public lecture to be recorded, and the podcast is now available for you to listen to:

“In Pursuit of Pulsars”

Dame Bell Burnell outlines the fundamentals of the lifespan of a star from formation to death, and then, from her unique perspective as the discoverer of pulsars, explains their content, structure and function. Some of the highlights of this fascinating lecture include:

• Discussion about the Large Megellanic Cloud, a galaxy close to our own galaxy (the Milky Way), which is rich in gas and dust, and is home to the Tarantula Nebula, the most active star-forming region in the Local Group of galaxies. Pulsars form as these stars explode and die, leaving only their super-compressed cores comprised mainly of neutrons.

• Pulsars are highly magnetised, rotating neutron stars. Due to their phenomenal mass, gravitational effects are exerted upon visible light, meaning the view from the surface of a neutron star would extend beyond the horizon!

• The story of a lawsuit filed by the Pulsar watch company against radio astronomers for using the term “pulsar” in relation to their work. Their case was unsuccessful.