Physics Department News

Extra solar planets have come to prominence in the past decade as advanced techniques have begun to detect them in greater numbers. The discovery of Kepler-78b in October 2013 attracted media coverage worldwide, with some reports suggesting the planet had Earth-like properties. But what does that mean? Are we a step closer to finding another habitable environment outisde of our solar system? Lucy Handford spoke to Professor Don Pollacco from the Department of Physics to find out more.

Professor Geetha Balakrishnan and her collaborators have recently been awarded funding from EPSRC for three years, for the study of Topological Insulators.

It is with great sadness that the University and its Department of Physics reports the death of undergraduate student Yin Fei (Andrew) Chan, a 1^st year MPhys student who died on Thursday 9 January 2014.

Professor Sandra Chapman has been awarded the Royal Astronomical Society James Dungey Lectureship for 2014.