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1. July Lectures in Physics, 6:30pm, Fridays in July, University of Melbourne
There are two lectures remaining in the series:

21st July. Dark Galaxies. Surveying the unseen universe with Prof Virginia Kilborn, Swinburne University of Technology.
Abstract: Galaxies such as our Milky Way are beacons in the night sky - lit up by stars, we can observe galaxies with optical and infrared telescopes. But could there be a galaxy that has no light at all - where the gas has never become dense enough to form stars, but is existing, unseen in the universe?
In this talk, we will explore the dark side of the Universe - and how we can detect some of the faintest galaxies through using next generation radio telescopes.
We will explore how we find gas - and dark matter in the Universe and address the exciting question - do dark galaxies exist?

28th July: A stellar crime scene: Piecing together the life and death of stars with Associate Professor Katie Auchettl, University of Melbourne
Abstract: During their lives, stars are the powerhouses for forging elements as heavy as Iron. However, stars don’t live forever. At the end, they don’t go quietly but explode like a firework in a supernova explosion enriching the universe with heavy elements. One of the most uncertain aspects related to our understanding of the end points of a star’s life is the link between the properties of the star during its life and the type of supernova explosion that it will undergo.
In this lecture, we will explore the life and death of stars, and how physicists piece together the leftover pieces of stars using telescopes on Earth and in space.

Venue: For both, Lecture Theatre (B117), Glyn Davis Building (133 - Melbourne School of Design). Map at the link above.
For those who wish to arrive early for networking, doors will open at 5:30pm with complimentary wine and nibbles available from 5:30-6:30pm.
Videos of the July Lectures presentations going back to 1991 are available here. Some are relevant to Year 12 content, e.g. Relativity, Newtonian gravitation and Light.

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2. Public Lecture: 7pm, this Thurs by Dr Karen Livesey, AIP Women in Physics Lecturer for 2023, RMIT
In addition to speaking at the Girls in Physics Breakfast on Friday Morning, Dr Livesey will be giving a public lecture the evening before.

Topic: Nano-magnets: new materials to address biomedical and technological problems

Abstract: Tiny magnets that are one thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair are starting to be used in technologies all around us, including cancer treatments, medical imaging and even self-repairing paints. Magnets that are shrunk down to the nanoscale behave very differently to the large ones that you have on your fridge, allowing a whole new set of materials to be designed to answer important technological problems. Come along to hear how a theoretical physicist studies nano-magnets and what exciting problems are currently being solved.

Speaker: Dr Karen Livesey, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Newcastle, and an Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low Energy Electronic Technologies (FLEET)
Bio: Theoretical physicist Dr Karen Livesey is designing new nano-sized magnets to address technological challenges, such as reducing the energy that computers use, and heating inoperable cancer tumours. Dr Karen Livesey studied Physics at the University of Western Australia, completing a PhD in 2010. For almost 10 years she worked at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Karen has won teaching awards and research grants in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. In 2023 she is a national Superstar of STEM (Science and Technology Australia) and the AIP Women in Physics lecturer (Australian Institute of Physics).

Date and Time: 7.00 pm, 20th July
Venue: Storey Hall Auditorium, RMIT Building 16, Level 5
To book: Click here. For a copy of the flyer, click here .

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3. 2024 National Youth Science Forum for Year 11 students. Entries close 30th July
Introducing the 2024 National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) Year 12 Program a nine-day residential program in January 2024.
The NYSF Year 12 Program is designed to give students a broader understanding of the diverse study and career options available in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to encourage continued studies in these fields.
The NYSF Year 12 Program runs two summer sessions. Participants stay at university colleges and have the opportunity to become immersed in science and technology through a range of activities, including:

participating in tours of science and technology facilities,
learning about cutting-edge research, university, training and STEM career pathways,
mixing with other like-minded students from all over Australia, and
participating in social and team-building activities.

Delivered by youth for youth, past participants return each year to participate in the Student Staff Leadership Program and help run the program.

2024 dates and locations

The Australian National University, Canberra (5-13 January 2024)
The University of Queensland, Brisbane (12-20 January 2024

Financial support
If required, we encourage students to first contact a local Rotary Club in their area for funding. They can also apply for an NYSF Access and Equity Scholarship if eligible.
The program fee for the NYSF Year 12 Program in 2024 is $2850. There is a $65 application fee.
The program fee covers all meals, accommodation, and participation in events during the program. Participants must make their own way to and from Canberra or Brisbane.

Here's a Facebook post about the event.
Applications are now open here and close on 30th July. Check the link for more details.

After January:
NYSF will also offer state-based mini-hubs during the April and July school holidays. These include day visits (non-residential) to local STEM organisations, and most hubs will run for between 3-5 days in a variety of different state locations. Further information on these and how to apply will be released in early 2024. Students do not have to have attended the NYSF Year 12 Program in January to attend a mini-hub; some may choose to do both. The mini-hubs are a separate offering and will incur an additional fee.

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4. Vicphysics AGM and how to become a member.
Membership of the Vicphysics Teachers' Network is open to any person interested in physics education. There is no joining fee or membership fee. Members are able to contribute to the decision making of the group, receive meeting agendas, nominate for the Committee and vote at the Annual General Meeting.
To become a member, you can download and complete the membership application form under 'About Us' at the top of the website and email it to the Secretary.

Membership is confirmed once the applicant attends a meeting, either in person or on Zoom. Please note that being a subscriber to the resources on the Vicphysics website or being a recipient of this newsletter are not the same as being a member of Vicphysics.

The next Vicphysics meeting will be this Wednesday,19th July and will be on Zoom. The AGM will be Weds, 26th July at Melbourne Girls' College, 55 Yarra Boulevard, Richmond, followed by dinner afterwards covered by Vicphysics. Online access to the AGM will be available.

So if you wish to be involved, complete the form, attend the zoom meeting this Wednesday to confirm you application and then you can join the other members at the AGM.

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5. Events for Students

Girls in Physics Breakfasts in 2023
Below are the dates and venues for the Term 3 Breakfasts with the speakers and their topics. The bookings for the Monash Breakfast closed a few days before the expected closing date.

21st July, Monash University. Speaker: Dr Karen Livesey, University of Newcastle. The AIP Women in Physics Lecturer for 2023. Topic: Nanomagnets: New materials to address biomedical and technological problems. Bookings have closed. Dr Livesey is giving a public lecture on Thursday evening, see item 2 above.
2nd August, Geelong. Speaker: A/Prof Elizabeth Hinde, Melbourne University, Topic: Glow in the dark – Using fluorescence to observe DNA in a living cell
11th August, Wodonga. Speaker: Emma Dyce, Medical radiation physicist, Topic: Treating skin cancer with radiotherapy
16th August, Traralgon. Speaker: Prof Rachel Webster, Melbourne University, Topic: Geothermal: vast energy reserves beneath our feet
25th August, Ballarat. Speaker: Dr Taissa Danilovich, Monash University, Topic: Molecules in Space
1st September, Bendigo. Speaker: Dr Amanda Karakas, Monash University Topic: Stars as chemical element factories

The cost this year is $20 per student, the first teacher attends for free. There is a discount to $5 for low ICSEA schools, you need to contact Vicphysics to request the discount.
For more details and to book go to the Vicphysics website.

International Lepton Photon Conference. Public Lecture, Convention Centre, 6pm, 20th July.

The Conference runs from 17th to 21st July. The public lecture on Thursday, 20th July will feature Suzie Sheehy (University of Melbourne and Oxford University) and Alan Duffy (Swinburne University of Technology) in a talk titled 'How to Discover a Universe'.

It will be held in the Clarendon Auditorium at MCEC from 6pm until 7pm.

Cost: $15. Click here to book.

Bios: Dr Sheehy is a physicist, science communicator and academic who divides her time between her research groups at the University of Oxford and University of Melbourne. Her research addresses both curiosity-driven and applied areas and is currently focused on developing new particle accelerators for applications in medicine. An award-winning public speaker, presenter and science communicator, Suzie is dedicated to sharing science beyond the academic community. Her 2018 TED talk has been viewed over 1.8M times and she has been an expert TV presenter for a number of Discovery Channel shows including four seasons of Impossible Engineering. In her talks and shows, Sheehy loves to bring real-life demonstrations and experiments, and she has shared these with hundreds of thousands of audience members. 'The Matter of Everything' is her first book.

Professor Alan Duffy. Professor Alan Duffy is the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Flagship Initiatives at Swinburne University of Technology, bringing together diverse research teams with industry and government stakeholders to undertake transformative programmes in Flagship sectors of hydrogen, renewable technologies, AI, space and aerospace, MedTech and health innovation. He was the inaugural Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne, finding ways to use space and AI to help companies and communities on Earth. His research background in computational astrophysics saw Alan model universes on supercomputers to understand how galaxies like our Milky Way form within vast clouds of dark matter. He is trying to find this dark matter as a Chief Investigator in the $35M ARC CoE for Dark Matter Particle Physics and SABRE, the world’s first dark matter detector in the Southern Hemisphere, at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory at the bottom of an active gold mine in Victoria.

Swinburne Innovation Challenge
Swinburne University of Technology’s Innovation Challenge gives high ability students in years 10 to 12 an opportunity to extend their learning in Applied Innovation through an eight-week challenge and on-campus experience.
To start the program, students will form multidisciplinary teams (STEM, sociology, media, etc) of 4-6 and select a challenge to address related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.(Examples not provided)
After forming their teams and selecting the challenge focus, students will attend a half-day on-campus experience at Swinburne’s Hawthorn Campus (13th Sept).

After the on-campus experience, students will return to school and work in their teams to refine their idea and create a final pitch. Final pitches are submitted in the form of a 1-2 min video and a panel of Swinburne experts will evaluate them and award prizes in a range of categories. Swinburne support is available.

Cost: There are no details, but it seems to be free to Gov't school teams. The program is repeated later in the year.
For more information and to register click here. This flyer has more details.

Revision Lecture: Sunday, 10th September. Online and in person at Swinburne University of Technology
The Revision lecture this year will be delivered on-line and in person. The presenters will be Colin Hopkins, Sandor Kazi and Paul Cuthbert.
The program will run from 10:00am until 2:50pm with two 50 min morning presentations and a 10 min break in between, followed by a 60 min lunch break, with two more 50 min sessions in the afternoon.
Swinburne University is not only providing lunch, but also offering 25 min Astro Tours and campus tours at lunch time. They will also have Course Advice booths in the lunch area.
Notes will be available in a digital format.
Cost: $25, payment by credit card only. If schools wish to book a large group, please contact Vicphysics.
Venue: Level 2, AMDC Building, Swinburne University of Technology, Burwood Rd, Hawthorn.
Students can register for the lecture and the tours at the Students webpage on the vicphysics website.
Getting there: Glenferrie railway station, Six tram routes (16, 48, 70, 72, 75 and 109). Free car parking across Burwood Rd in the council car park.

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6. Events for Teachers

a) Out-of-Field Electricity and Forces and Motion Workshops.
Electricity Workshop: Kew.
The Kew event at Kew High School is next term. It will be six two-hour sessions on Thursdays from 27th July to 31st August, starting at 4:30pm.
The intensive module steps you through the key concepts and skills to successfully teach the relevant Year 7 - 10 curriculum content.

Why your colleagues should participate:

Deepen their conceptual understanding of key concepts in electric circuits
Engage in practical activities that they can directly deploy in your classroom
Unpack typical student misconceptions and learn best practice pedagogy for combating them
Improve their ability to differentiate curriculum and assessment student achievement
Access materials to support your classroom practice prepared by experienced teachers and science education academics associated with the Vicphysics Teachers' Network
Become part of a network like-minded teachers who are striving to improve their practice

The Force and Motion Workshop: John Monash Science School
This event is also next term. It will be six two-hour sessions on Mondays from 24th July to 27th August, starting at 4:30pm.

Cost $240 per participant for each workshop. A discount is available for teachers from low ICSEA schools.
For more details and to book click here.

Talk, Dinner and Catching Up: ChatGPT and Physics Teaching and learning - Friend or Foe? , 6pm, Weds, 30th August at the Auburn Hotel

The Vicphysics Teachers’ Network invites physics teachers and others interested in physics education to gather in an informal setting for a series of dinners with a guest speaker. The guest speakers will address diverse topics touching on curriculum, pedagogy and the discipline itself. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in discussion and network with colleagues over dinner.

The next occasion will be Wednesday, 30th August at the Auburn Hotel at 85 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn starting at 6:00pm.

Topic: ChatGPT and Physics Teaching and learning - Friend of Foe?
Speaker: Prof Andrew Greentree from RMIT, Andy is a theoretical physicist, with a background in quantum optics and quantum information.

The cost is $45 ($40 for Vicphysics subscribers) and covers a main course and drinks.

For more details and to book click here. To download the flyer, click here. For some background, check this video and this article:
16 min video , How ChatGPT can help physicists in their daily work

Lab Techs Workshops, Weds 13th September, Camberwell Grammar School
The Workshops are on again this year, back in the last week of Term 3.
The program offers a range of workshops including:

Learning new skills e.g. repairing a multimeter, using a CRO, using a Ruhmkorff coil,
Soldering: An introduction to the Art with Harvey Edwards from Principles and Practice
Electronic data method in the Physical Sciences with Megan Simkins from Ciderhouse
Electronic data collection with Amanda Lovett from Modern Teaching Aids
Physics Demonstrations for Open Days and Using Science Toys with Man Lam from Mount Alexander College (to be confirmed)
Safe handling of ionising radiation and storage of radioactive sources with Dan O'Keeffe, Vicphysics
Tour of lab and prep room facilities including animal house plus Laboratory management hints with Svetlana Marchouba, Camberwell Grammar School.

Cost: $75, lunch is included.
For more details and to book, click here.

Course Planning Day for Units 3 and 4 in 2024, Friday, 10th November. Online and in person at Swinburne University of Technology.
Vicphysics is organising a Course Planning Day for Friday, 10th November, the day after the Physics exam and the day before the assessors' meeting. It will be held at Swinburne University of Technology and also online. The program is expected to include presentations and small group activities. Lunch will be provided for in-person participants.
Cost: $90 non-subscribers, $80 subscribers in person. $50 non-subscribers, $40 subscribers online.
Vicphysics is currently finalising the program. Registrations will open next week on the Vicphysics website.

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7. Seeking a Physics teacher? Seeking a new position?
The Vicphysics Teachers' Network has a Job Ads page to assist schools in finding a physics teacher.
There are three (3) schools seeking a physics teacher. The Vicphysics webpage above has a link to the Government schools jobs website. The following Gov't Schools are seeking a physics teacher.

Somerville Secondary College (closes 15th July)
Virtual School Victoria (closes 24th July)
Sale College (closes 25th July)

The webpage is updated every weekend. The webpage also has a link on how schools can register a position and lodge a payment for this service.

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8. Vicphysics matters

i) Vicphysics Forum: Tips and Questions for the Physics Teaching Community

The Vicphysics Teachers’ Network has set up an online Forum for teachers to raise issues, seek ideas, offer suggestions, etc. The link is on the top line of our website’s home page: https://www.vicphysics.org/ We hope it will be an opportunity for mutual professional development.

The forum is open to all teachers. If you are a subscriber you can login in the usual way. If you are not a subscriber you can register to just use the forum at ‘My Account’. Given the purposes of this Forum, we ask that you use your real name when generating a topic or a lodging a post.

We hope this Forum will become a valuable medium for the exchange of ideas as we begin planning for the new study design.

ii) Subscriptions: A Vicphysics subscription gives you access to the Teachers section of the website. The subscription will last for a year from the day payment is received. Both individual and school subscriptions are available. Check the homepage for subscription link.

iii) Tutor Listing Service: The website has a Tutor Listing Service. There are now six tutors listed. If you tutor and wish to add your name to the list, please check the website.

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9. Physics News from the Web
Items selected from the bulletin of the Institute of Physics (UK).
Each item below includes the introductory paragraphs and a web link to the rest of the article.
a) Web of confusion

A UK teacher talks about his classroom experience with errors on the internet and in textbooks. 'Nobody is perfect and errors do, inevitably, creep in to even the best publications. ... The mistakes in textbooks are as nothing compared with the persistent misinformation that floods the Internet. The problem is particularly acute at the intersection between science and popular culture.'
b) Untangling the mechanisms behind surgical knot strength
Researchers have unearthed a robust physics-based mechanism that dictates the sliding strength, or resistance to slippage, of the most common type of surgical knot. In particular, they have found that for a suturing filament with given elasto-plastic properties, the strength of the knot depends on the pre-tension applied to the knot during tying. This finding could be used to train surgeons to tie stronger, safer sutures – a skill that usually takes years to master. It could also help advance robotic surgery.
c) New elastocaloric cooling system shows promise for commercial use
An elastocaloric cooling system that absorbs heat as tension is released in bundles of metal tubes has been developed by a team of researchers in the US and China. Led by Ichiro Takeuchi at the University of Maryland, the team’s scheme achieved a cooling performance on par with other caloric materials, and could pave the way for commercial use in the not-too-distant future.

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