Subject Groups
Group Events 2003
Visit to QinetiQ Malvern
Wednesday 26 February, 2003
The visit opened with a presentation by Dr Chris West, Director, Sensors and Electronics Division, on some of the advanced research projects being carried out at QinetiQ (formerly DERA, RSRE, RRE, ......). QinetiQ is 51% owned by the Government, there are some staff options and the Carlyle Group hold the balance.
Dr West's Division has a staff of 1600 and an annual turnover of £140M. Eleven start-up companies have already been spun off and the organisation seems to be adjusting well to the rigours of the commercial world. Health monitoring, security and low-volume manufacture are key technologies and expertise it can sell. It also supports IC production facilities through the analysis laboratories.
After the initial presentation, we were pleased to be joined by the new CEO of the Institute of Physics, Dr Julia King, and Dr Alison Hodge from QinetiQ, who chairs the Institute CEng committee and had organised the programme.
The tour started with a demonstration of the next generation of thermal imagers, which can resolve temperature difference down to 10 mK with high picture quality.
Next was a wide dynamic range camera, which uses CMOS imaging elements to give a logarithmic response, like that of conventional film. This is ideal for surveillance applications, where conventional CCD images are often washed out by bright lights and shadows are too deep to reveal details.
We then spilt into two groups. One saw the characterisation centre, with an ion etching system to analyse component surface structure and moved on to the electron microscopy section, to see a large number of SE microscopes that offer a commercial service to companies. The other party toured the IC fabrication facility.
The tour ended in the Air Traffic Control simulator, where new algorithms and display techniques were being trialled for the European Air Traffic Centre. These significantly reduce the operators' workload, to the extent that the work can be done by just one person in comparison to the current need for a tactical operator and supervisor for each area.
The visit was rounded off with a valuable discussion covering several areas concerning QinetiQ and the Institute and Physics generally. QinetiQ is home to the largest concentration of Institute members in the UK. The culture change within QinetiQ needed to accommodate the new financial pressures were described by Alison Hodge. She felt it would take a while to complete the transformation, but that the company would compete successfully on an international basis.
Dr King thanked our hosts for the trouble they had taken to provide such an interesting and informative visit. Any member who would like more information about any of the topics mentioned, please contact the Committee or Dr Hodge at QinetiQ Malvern.
ITEC AGM and Invited Talk: Could an Electronic System be Intelligent? - Professor Martin Smith of Imperial College
Monday 30 June, 2003
The Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Physics Information Technology, Communications and Electronics (ITEC) Group was held at 17.30 hours on Monday 30 June 2003 in the Franklin Room at the Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 1NT.
The AGM was attended by 20 members.
Agenda:
- Apologies for absence
- Minutes of the AGM held on 23 October 2001
- Chairman's report
- Honorary Secretary's report
- Election of committee
- Any other business (please notify the Hon Secretary in advance)
The AGM was followed by a light buffet with wine, and a talk by Professor Martin Smith of Imperial College, entitled Could an Electronic System be Intelligent?
Jodrell Bank - Day Visit
Saturday 30 August, 2003
The ITEC group organised a visit to the Jodrell Bank Observatory Science Centre - the visitor centre for the world famous Lovell Radio Telescope and the Jodrell Bank Observatory. The Science Centre encompasses exhibition galleries, a 150-seater Planetarium, a 3D theatre and the extensive grounds and collections of the Granada Arboretum. The visit was open to all members of the ITEC group and members of their family.
A number of children were among the 34 people who attended this visit. During the introduction we were fortunate to see the telescope being re-positioned. The Visitor Centre included many hands-on Science experiments and a 3D theatre presentation on the Solar System, as well as a view of the night Sky over Cheshire in the Planetarium.
In the arboretum outside were plaques amongst the trees showing the relative position of the planets in the solar system. The telescope was repositioned again in the afternoon giving us a good view of the front of the dish. The weather was good and the visit thoroughly enjoyed.
Tim Scaife
A Gentle Introduction to Quantum Information
Friday 12 September
One day meeting held at the Institute of Physics, London, UK. Organised by the Computational Physics Group of the Institute of Physics.
Quantum information theory is currently a much discussed topic. It embraces a number of areas including cryptography and computing. This meeting is designed to present a number of topics within quantum information theory to those who are not experts, but who have some interest in learning what it is about and what is going on. We have a selection of very exciting speakers for this meeting, and we will even be handing out a CD-ROM from Simon Singh about cryptography which includes an emulator of the Enigma machine.
Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology
Wednesday 17 September, 2003
Held at the Institute of Physics, London, UK. Organised by the ITEC Group of the Institute of Physics. Co-sponsored by the EPSRC Networks: EEENET, GaN Consortium and the Diamond and diamond-like Carbon Network.
Recent years have seen rapid growth in interest in the wide bandgap semiconductors, GaN, SiC and Diamond. The remarkable properties of such semiconductors allows the possibility of substantial improvements over conventional silicon and GaAs devices for a wide range of electronic and optical applications. However, there are still significant problems with material quality and device processing techniques that need to be overcome if wide bandgap semiconductors are to become commercially viable. This one-day meeting attempts to bring together research and industrial workers in these fields to discuss recent advances in wide bandgap technology and increase collaboration in these rapidly advancing fields.
Over 50 delegates from industry and academia attended this meeting. The five invited speakers came from UK, France and Germany and there were 8 contributed talks and 25 posters. Technical topics covered the latest results in: diamond devices, dramatic new results in diamond doping technology, GaN LED devices and SiC technology. It is hoped that this meeting will become a regular event.
Ubiquitous Computing - Fifth Annual Conference and Workshop, Seattle, Washington
12 - 15 October, 2003
Click here for details of the workshop.
At-Bristol Discovery Centre
Saturday 15 November, 2003
The ITEC Group arranged a family day out to the At-Bristol Centre, on Saturday 15 November. The Centre consists of three attractions:
- Explore-at-Bristol - Hands-on interactive science discovery, including Planetarium
- Theatre-at-Bristol - a 3-D IMAX cinema
- Wildwalk-at-Bristol - a living rainforest with animals, 250 species of plants, interactive displays and film footage.
Twenty members joined the visit to this impressive centre exhibiting hand-on science.
There was a special animation event that weekend, with a series of special showings in the IMAX cinema. There was only one of the usual showings: 'The Abyss' at 12:30, showing the wreck of the Titanic. Places could be booked for the films on arrival. The format was be informal: turn up, collect your tickets and enjoy the Centre at your own pace.
The cost was a special Group rate of: £6 (£3.95 for children under 16) for any one attraction, £10 for two attractions (£6.50) or £14 (£9.05) for all three, with the first family member free for ITEC Group members. Children under 5 were also free.
Web Site
At-Bristol, Harbourside, Bristol BS1 5DB. Tel (0845) 345 1235.
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