The State of the Nation

1
The State of the Nation

• Roger Davies
• Chairman of Physics
• 5th December 2006

2
Administrative structure

• New central management structure
• Took effect 1/1/06
• 2x Associate Chairmen
• Prof S Cooper (Restructuring Finance)
• Dr. J Wheater (RAE and Space)

3
Chairman
PA to Chairman of Physics
Sub-Departments, including Teaching
Associate Chairman (x2)
PMC
Senior Administrator
Services Strategic Management Committees
PA to Associate Chairman (x2) and Senior
Administrator



Health Safety
Finance Administrator
Personnel Manager
Technical Services Administrator
CEG
Design Office
Computing
Personnel Officer
Secretary (Shared with Examining)
Secretary
Workshops
PPU (Media Services)
Thin Film
Building Services
PFU
Stores
4
Senior Administrator

• Last year Simon Fowle ?
• He left in March
• Thanks to everybody who stepped up.. Associate
  Chairs,
• Jean Clay the FinanceTeam,
• Lindsay Walker Personnel Team

In August Malcolm Bradbury arrived .. Hooray!!
5
Departmental Profile

• Total Staff - 431
• Academics 78
• Postdoctoral Academic related staff - 213
• Technical Support Staff 117
• Total Students 994
• Students - u/g 724 p/g 270
• Total 1,425
• Budget 28.9m

6
Finance

• 05/06 Outturn
• Surplus of 450k!
• 06/07 Forecast
• Forecast deficit of 1.7m
• Full Economic Costing will help
• Cost recovery beginning to work
• JRAM

7
Personnel

• New team in place has been very busy.
• HERA Assimilation
• 398 eligible 384 have transferred.
• Recruitment
• Merit review

8
Building Projects 2006

• Fire Escape (DWB) ?
• John Adams Institute ?
• BIPAC extension ?
• E Science building - due soon.
• DWB railing ongoing.

9
Building Projects 2006

• Clarendon and DWB Common Rooms ?
• Clarendon re-roofing January
• Electric infrastructure upgrading, ongoing
• Clarendon toilets ?
• Computer clusters at Begbroke Spring

10
Building Projects

• Clarendon Extension
• Up to 6000m2 extension to rear of Clarendon being
  explored
• Feasibility study under way
• To accommodate staff from 2-3 sub-departments and
  fulfil an urgent need for expansion in Biological
  Physics.

Looking to refurbish lab space in the DWB
basement
11
RIP

• The year began with the passing of Dick Dalitz
• And ends with the death of
• Brebis Bleaney

12
Teaching

• Record number of u/g applications 796
• New admissions process
• a Physics test as well as a Maths test.
• all candidates interviewed at two colleges.
• New hurdle 2.1 standard in 2nd year to go on to
  4th yr MPhys.
• 4th year Biological Physics option started

13
Highlights
Christopher Bailey, 4th yr at St Johns
College Winner National Young Physicist
Competition Biefield-Brown Effect
14
Highlights

• Prof. Andrew Turberfield named in
• Scientific American 50.
• The award honours those whose accomplishments in
  research, business or policymaking during 20056
  demonstrate outstanding technological leadership.
• For his work on the first structurally robust,
  self-assembling DNA building tetrahedra.

15
Highlights
Prof. David Sherrington IoP Dirac Prize
outstanding contributions to theoretical
(including mathematical and computational)
physics. For his pioneering work in spin
glasses.
16
Highlights
Carole Jordan was elevated to Dame Commander of
the British Empire in the Queens Birthday
Honours List. Fitting timely recognition of
her eminence in astrophysics her diverse
accomplishments in science. Other Dames Judi
Dench, Barbara Hepworth..
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Research

• Total Grant income 14M for 06/07
• 4 Research Councils UK Fellows
• The Dark Universe
• Nanomedicine
• two in Energy Research
• RAE coming up..

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OUP John Fell Fund

• 5M pa from OUP for Research
• Laura Herz Coating equipment for energy research
• Andrei Nomerotski Advanced Si detectors
• David Andrews Physical Climate Science
• Niranjan Thatte Probing the Dark Ages with SWIFT
• Andrea Cavallieri Low Energy Electron
  Diffraction
• Achillefs Kapanides Portable Single Molecule
  detection
• John Cardy/Subir Sarkar Research link with India
• Cigdem Issever RD for SLHC

628,000
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Public Outreach Access

• Sept Oxford Kids University theme Climate
• Hosted student groups from Japan, Holland
  Denmark.
• Wetton Telescope Opened Dec 05
• Staff Open Night
• Green College connection
• School visits
• Astrophysics postdocs

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Happy Christmas !