Hello dear listeners. The team of People doing Physics is taking a short break this summer and will be back in September with new guests and more physics chats. To help you wait, we’ve selected a couple of previous episodes we wanted to share again with you.

We start with our panel episode with three Undergraduate students, which comes out just as we are about to welcome once again hundreds of potential new students for the University of Cambridge Open Days.

This episode was recorded in June 2023, with Misha de Fockert and Armaan Shaikh, who were just finishing their 2nd year, and Ming-Shau Liu, who had just graduated from Cambridge after his 4th year.

We’ll leave you with them and their very open and unfiltered views on their time and experience of studying physics at Cambridge.

We hope you enjoy it, and if you do, don’t forget to rate it or leave a review on your favourite podcast app!

Episode 18: An open conversation with physics students, Misha de Fockert, Ming-Shau Liu and Armaan Shaikh

This is July and the streets of Cambridge burst with sun and excitement as students let a communal sigh of relief now that the academic year is over. This is July, and the time for future students to think about what subject they might be studying when choosing to go to university.

As we are welcoming hundreds of potential new students today and tomorrow for the University of Cambridge Open Days, we have invited three of our current undergraduate students to join us in the studio and talk to us, honestly and without filters, about their experience at Cambridge. Hearing directly from them may help young people thinking about studying physics in Cambridge or anywhere else, to take the leap.

Misha de Fockert and Armaan Shaikh have just finished their 2nd year – here in Cambridge we call it Part IB, and Ming-Shau Liu is graduating from Cambridge after his 4th year, which, not confusingly at all, is called Part 3!

All three of them, and this is just a coincidence, are students at Homerton College. With them today we talk about taking the time to reflect, imposter syndrome, building bridges and making friends for life.

• If you are thinking about applying to Cambridge, visit the Undergraduate Study website.
• Isaac Physics offer free support and activities in physics problem solving to teachers and students transitioning from GCSE (Y11), through to Sixth Form (Y12 & 13), to university. For direct support, you can also sign up to the Isaac Physics mentoring scheme.
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on X/Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Episode credits

Hosts: Vanessa Bismuth and Jacob Butler

Recording and Editing: Chris Brock

We are joined by Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright, OBE; Director of Isaac Physics, Director of Studies for Physics at Churchill College, and Vice-President for Education and Skills at the Institute of Physics.

An astrophysicist by training, Lisa studied Natural Sciences and for a Master’s Degree in Physics at Trinity College in Cambridge, before completing her PhD at the Institute of Astronomy just over the road from the Cavendish. While there, she became involved in the Institute’s outreach activities, contributing to the first Cambridge Festivals and the regular Public Open Evenings, before moving on to a postdoc that was split evenly between simulating the formation of spiral galaxies and outreach.

Since then, she has been a media fellow at the Financial Times, Astronomy Consultant for the Royal Observatory, Outreach Officer at the Cavendish, and co-founder of the internationally-used Isaac Physics project. Her work to support outreach and education has been widely recognised; Lisa has won numerous awards, culminating in an OBE for services to education in 2022.

In this episode, we talk to her about her route through science, the valuable perspective that comes from seeing your work through non-specialist eyes, and the importance of making her teachers work late…

• Isaac Physics is the free platform headed by Lisa, for students and teachers to master physics by solving problems.
• STEM SMART (Subject Mastery and Attainment Raising Tuition) is a widening participation initiative from the University of Cambridge in association with Isaac Physics, to provide free, complementary teaching and support to UK (non-fee paying) students.
• The research relating to A-level physics numbers that Lisa refers to is in this paper by Alan Smithers (Centre for Education and Employment Research University of Buckingham, 2014)
• For more inspiration on the different roles you can have in a Physics environment, listen to some of the previous episodes in the People Doing Physics' back catalogue, for example: Melanie Tribble, Emily Roe, Tom Sharp or Richard King
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you!
• If you like this episode don’t...

This month on People Doing Physics, we have a voice very familiar to listeners; Simone Eizagirre Barker, PhD student in the Quantum Optical Materials and Systems group at the Cavendish.

Following a winding path into Optical Physics, Simone previously dipped her toes into Nanotechnology in the Cavendish’ NanoDTC, and Chemical Physics at the University of Edinburgh. Her interdisciplinary background builds on her fascination for figuring out how the world works, whether looking at quantum systems or how to structure the perfect argument. Outside of science, Simone has been involved in student magazines, debating clubs, improv theatre, and podcasts, most notably (in our opinion) as one of the founding members of this very podcast. She also produces a fortnightly segment for Basque public broadcast radio’s Faktoria Magazina.

In this episode, Simone talks about finding her way through a multi-disciplinary career in science, the importance of communication, and how to publish your first academic paper at the age of 16...

• Simone’s group and research are on the Quantum Cambridge website.
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you!
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Hosts: Jacob Butler and Vanessa Bismuth

Recording and editing: Chris Brock

This month we are delighted to welcome Oleg Brandt, a Professor of Experimental Physics in the High Energy Physics group of the Cavendish.

Oleg’s journey into the world of particle physics is both captivating and enlightening. From his early days inspired by a remarkable physics teacher directly followed by a rocky start at University, to a transformative experience abroad and a few more pivotal moments along the way, Oleg's insatiable curiosity for the fundamental mysteries of nature and his passion for teaching has led him to Cambridge where he now teaches the next generations of physicists while searching for dark matter, long-lived particles and other exciting new phenomena at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and beyond.

In this episode, Oleg offers a glimpse into the intricate world of particle physics through his unique perspective. Together we talk about the fulfilment and frustrations of a life in research, the importance of feeding one’s curiosity, navigating setbacks, and advice for aspiring physicists.

• Learn more about Oleg Brandt’s research on dark matter long-lived particles and other exciting new phenomena here.
• Are you curious about those particle accelerators and detectors discussed in the episode? Explore CERN's Large Hadron Collider and Fermilab’s science.
• The Arithmeum in Bonn (Germany) is the museum housing the most comprehensive collection worldwide of historical calculating machines. Chek it out!
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you!
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Hosts: Jacob Butler and Vanessa Bismuth

Recording and editing: Chris Brock

This episode is also available in video format on our YouTube channel - check it out!

Today’s format is a little different to our usual episodes, as we’ve invited four Cavendish alumni for a panel discussion about all things physics and career development.

They’ll tell us about what they learnt at the Cavendish, their natural sciences and physics background, as well as how their doctoral research in physics shaped their careers and brought them to where they are today.

We’re joined by Aswathy Girija, commissioning editor at the Institute of Physics, Professor Kerstin Göpfrich, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Joanne Baker, author of four popular science books and Chief Opinion Editor at Nature, and Emma Williams, professional development coach and careers expert who has a wealth of insight into not just her own journey, but those she mentors.

We hope that this conversation will give you valuable insights into the many paths and opportunities for people doing physics.

• Learn more about Kerstin Göpfrich's research at the Max Plank Institute for Medical Research
• You might also want to check out IOP Publishing and its portfolio of scientific journals
• Joanne Baker's is the author of '50 physics ideas you really need to know', and many more.
• If you are interested in getting some training yourself, Emma William's website is full of resources. If you are a postdoc you should also explore Hello postdocs - The Nerd Coach
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested injoining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website
• And finally, if you are a Cavendish Alumnus and you would like to share your journey with our listeners, please get in touch!

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey! Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you.
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others tofind us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Host: Simone Eizagirre Barker

Recording and Editing: Chris Brock

Have you ever looked at the sky at night and wondered about the mysteries of the universe? When most of us are just looking at those bright stars in awe, our guest today would be searching for tiny, minuscule signals that would help unlock the mysteries of the so-called Cosmic Dawn, when the universe went from dark to bright.

Eloy de Lera Acedo is an Associate Professor of Radio Cosmology and the head of the Radio Astronomy and Cosmology research group. His background in engineering and thirst of learning about the big science questions have led him to the Cavendish where he is involved in multiple international projects for new radio telescopes exploring a very, very infant universe.

So, with Eloy, we talk about the universe of course and how it went from darkness to radiant, but also about childhood curiosity, choosing between technical and theoretical knowledge, and about convincing people.

• Explore the REACH and SKA projects that Eloy presents in the episode.
• To learn more about his research work on the early epochs of the Universe, visit Eloy’s research group website.
• Curious about the history of radio astronomy in Cambridge? Read this article.
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested injoining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey! Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you.
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others tofind us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

Hosts: Shelly Liu and Vanessa Bismuth

Recording and Editing: Chris Brock

Welcome back to a world of People Doing Physics! For this first episode of 2024, let us introduce you to Richard King, the Undergraduate Lab Manager at the Cavendish Laboratory. Richard oversees the practical side of the undergraduate physics course, managing the team that designs, develops, and deploys lecture demos and undergraduate experiments. A former electronic engineer, his background was in circuit design and computing before he joined the Cavendish in 2008.

With Richard, we talk about how Cambridge has changed over the years, what it’s like going from fast-paced industry to the sedate world of the university, the processes involved in setting up practical work for hundreds of undergraduates, and what exactly he was doing wandering around Costa Rica with photographs of old airfields last year.

• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey! Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you.
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

• Host: Jacob Butler
• Recording and Editing: Chris Brock

Our guest today is Emily Roe, who has recently joined us from industry to start a new role as Senior Research Laboratory Technician. Contrary to many of our previous guests, Physics is actually not her first love. What Emily was really interested in as a young mind, was geology.

But it turns out field trips were not her thing, so after a degree in geology, she shifted to a lab role at the University of Durham. And shifting, she has continued to do throughout her career, jumping from one city to the next, and between University and Industry, showing off her versatility and adaptability skills in the process. She is known for her curiosity and willingness to take on new challenges, which made her accept this invitation on the podcast, but also landed her the title of “only female forklift operator” in her previous role.

After nine years doing R&D in industry, she’s made yet another jump to join the Cavendish Laboratory where she now supports and assist cryostat users with their experiments and equipment.

Together with Emily we talk about bridging the knowledge gap, pretty gems, culture shifts and a bit about forklifting, of course.

• Explore research at Hexcel and Emily's work on the ITER project, the way to new energy
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to the Cavendish website.

• Help us get better by taking our quick survey! Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you.
• If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us.
• Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics.

• Hosts: Shelly Liu and Vanessa Bismuth
• Recording and Editing: Chris Brock