SPA Colloquia

The Colloquium series of the School of Physics and Astronomy aims to attract high profile speakers on topics of broad interest in Physics. A number of the talks are on cutting edge research by physics academics. Others are from speakers with training in physics but pursuing interesting careers outside academia. The Colloquium series includes Physics across Disciplines events, where we typically have short talks by a number of speakers : physicists, biologists, engineers and others who apply physics ideas and techniques to diverse scientific problems.

Physics is defined by its big questions about the nature of the universe as well as its techniques and results while, to some extent, it is simply what physicists do. The Colloquium is a mirror of this duality. It follows in the tradition of Departmental seminars previously organised by Prof. John Charap. A complete list of these seminars dating back to 1965 is found here.

The audience for the colloquia is diverse, including faculty, post-docs, PhD students as well as undergraduates. We ask speakers to keep a good part of the talks broadly accessible to advanced undergraduates.

Future and past seminars  

E.g., 20/04/2024
E.g., 20/04/2024
Datesort descending Room Speaker Title Series
December 13th, 2013 at 16:30 David Sizer Lecture Theatre Prof. Massimo Bianchi String theory : even if it is not true, it is well-conceived. SPA Colloquium
January 17th, 2014 at 16:30 David Sizer Lecture Theatre Prof. James Olsen "Nature of the New Boson: a lonely Higgs, or the first of many cousins?" SPA Colloquium
February 14th, 2014 at 16:30 David Sizer Lecture Theatre Mr Matthew Machowski Nuclear latency - where physics affects international peace SPA Colloquium
March 7th, 2014 at 16:00 David Sizer Lecture Theatre Alix Pryde SPA Colloquium : Showbiz Physics SPA Colloquium
March 28th, 2014 at 16:30 David Sizer Lecture Theatre Dr Alexandre Polnarev Imprints of Primordial Gravitational Waves on the Cosmic Microwave Background Detected by the BICEP-2 Experiment SPA Colloquium
May 30th, 2014 at 16:00 David Sizer Lecture Theatre Dr. Mark Baxendale, Dr. Adrian Bevan and Prof. John Allen. Physics across disciplines SPA Colloquium
October 24th, 2014 at 16:30 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Dr. Guillem Anglada, Lecturer, School of Physics and Astronomy, QMUL Small stars, small planets : searching for exo-Earths around low-mass stars SPA Colloquium
November 21st, 2014 at 16:30 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Professor Patrick Regan, University of Surrey. Nuclear Spectroscopy: From Natural Radioactivity to Studies of the Most Exotic Isotopes SPA Colloquium
December 12th, 2014 at 16:30 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Prof. Samir Mathur The Black Hole Information Paradox, and its resolution in string theory SPA Colloquium
February 6th, 2015 at 16:30 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Dr. Giuseppe Montano (AIRBUS Defence and Space Ltd – Space Systems) The science of the ExoMars Rover SPA Colloquium
March 27th, 2015 at 16:30 David Sizer Lecture Theatre Dr Jeroen Elzerman Quantum photonics with spins in semiconductor nanostructures SPA Colloquium
April 24th, 2015 at 16:30 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Prof. Alessandra Buonanno Hunting for the Elusive Waves Created by Black Holes and Neutron Stars SPA Colloquium
October 23rd, 2015 at 16:15 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Dr Ginestra Bianconi Network Geometry SPA Colloquium
November 26th, 2015 at 16:15 See Talk Details Dr Jonathan Hays and Dr Pavel Novak Physics across Disciplines: Particles, Molecules, Proteins, and Life SPA Colloquium
February 19th, 2016 at 16:15 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Prof Bruna Bertucci, University of Perugia and INFN sez. Perugia The AMS-02 experiment on the International Space Station SPA Colloquium
March 4th, 2016 at 16:15 GO Jones Lecture Theatre Prof Frank Close Half-Life: A mysterious tale of neutrinos and spies SPA Colloquium