Stories from June 2009
Who will pick up the bill? Possible job cuts and revenue loss as a result of ocean acidification
Ocean acidification, a direct result of increased CO2 emission, is set to change the Earth’s marine ecosystems forever and may have a direct impact on our economy, resulting in substantial revenue declines and job losses
Marking centenary of Rutherford’s discovery in Cheltenham
"As incredible as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you". This was Lord Rutherford' s description of the results published by Geiger and Marsden exactly one hundred years ago in June 1909
What if there is only one universe?
Lee Smolin, author of the bestselling science book The Trouble with Physics and a founding member and research physicist at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, writes exclusively in the June issue of Physics World explaining why theories of cosmology that suggest that our universe is just one of many - the so-called multiverse - and thus perpetuate the notion that time does not exist are flawed
Rocket scientist takes career woman award
Four female early career physicists, family, colleagues, friends and members of the Institute of Physics (IOP)’s Women in Physics Group came to the Institute of Physics (IOP) on Wednesday, 27 May, to hear who would be awarded 2009’s Very Early Career Woman Award
More than just the tailpipe
Published today in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters, Monday, June 8, 2009, researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, have created a framework to help us calculate the true environmental cost of travel
Political reshuffle shifts responsibility for science
Following the reshuffle of Gordon Brown’s cabinet on Friday, 5 June, governmental responsibility for higher education and science research in the UK has now moved from the disbanded Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to Peter Mandelson’s re-named Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
The Earth’s magnetic field remains a charged mystery
400 years of discussion and we’re still not sure what creates the Earth’s magnetic field, and thus the magnetosphere, despite the importance of the latter as the only buffer between us and deadly solar wind of charged particles (made up of electrons and protons). New research raises question marks about the forces behind the magnetic field and the structure of Earth itself
New National STEM programme looks good for physics
Physics, chemistry, engineering and maths departments in universities receive a significant boost this week as the Higher Education Funding Councils for England (HEFCE) and Wales (HEFCW) announce the details behind a £20 million national programme that aims to increase the number of science graduates
IOP members honoured
Nine of the Institute’s members have been recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours for their contributions to science, education and industry
British Climate Act “failed before it started”
The British Climate Act is flawed and comprised of unrealistic and unobtainable targets, writes US academic Roger A Pielke Jr, in a journal paper published today, 18 June, 2009, in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters
Holweck Medal awarded for advances in electron inspection of nanostructures
French physicist Dr Christian Colliex from Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris Sud at Orsay, is the 2009 recipient of the Holweck Medal and Prize for his pioneering use of the electron microscope to further our understanding of the electronic structure of nanomaterials
Response to Science and Technology Facilities Council 2009-10 Budget
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has today, Wednesday, June 25, confirmed its 2009-10 science and technology programme
Re-established Science and Technology Committee
Dr Robert Kirby-Harris, chief executive at the Institute of Physics (IOP), has welcomed today’s re-establishment of a parliamentary Science and Technology Committee
IOP Publishing achieves Impact Factor success for the fifth year running
The 2008 Impact Factors, just released by Thomson Reuters, show significant growth for many journals published by IOP Publishing, the Institute of Physics (IOP)’s publishing company, for the fifth year running
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