< Previous68 ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN FUTURE LOW-ENERGY ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGIES CASE STUDY NETWORKING AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT: TOPOLOGICAL SUMMER SCHOOL Recognising the increasing importance of topological physics, FLEET helped run the 2018 Canberra International Physics Summer School on Topological Matter at ANU – a great opportunity for early-career Australian physicists to hear from leading experts from around the world. Over 90 attendees discovered topological materials’ applications to photonics, ultra-cold systems and quantum computation. Nobel laureate Prof Duncan Haldane (Princeton University) was the headline presenter, describing the study of topological materials that saw him named co- recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. FLEET’s Elena Ostrovskaya (ANU) and Jeff Davis (Swinburne University) helped organise the summer school and a number of senior FLEET members gave presentations. FLEET also provided communications and marketing assistance. Co-sponsorship by the US Embassy in Canberra introduced an element of international cooperation, and public events included a talk by Prof Haldane, a topologically-themed Physics in the Pub event, and media coverage. OTHER TRAINING PROGRAMS RUN BY FLEET THIS YEAR INCLUDED: • Outreach training (Melbourne and Sydney) • Thin-film X-ray diffraction (XRD) skills refresher, run by FLEET Research Fellow Dr Dan Sando (UNSW) • Tall Poppy training with Education Liaison Camille Thomson (held at Monash University) • Ferroelectrics workshop run by FLEET Research Fellows Dr Dan Sando and Dr Peggy Zhang (UNSW) • Nature paper and pitch training at the FLEET annual workshop (see p86) • YouRforum Post-PhD development training (UNSW). The Topological School was fantastic, with a broad spectrum of lectures. A number of students commented on how much they had learned. FLEET PI Prof Victor Galitski University of Maryland FLEET will continue to leverage the established ANU Summer School platform, aligning topics to FLEET research approximately every two years. This will introduce a wider scientific community to FLEET-related science and give ECRs an opportunity to build their knowledge base. The 2020 physics summer school will cover spontaneous quantum coherence. Left: ECRs meet Nobel laureate Duncan Haldane at Topological Matter School (ANU). Right: Education Liaison Camille Thomson.69 FLEET 2018 ANNUAL REPORT BUILDING MEMBERS’ OUTREACH SKILLS: MELBOURNE KNOWLEDGE WEEK Melbourne Knowledge Week (May 2018) was an opportunity for FLEET to engage with the public and road-test a number of outreach demonstrations being developed for schools. It also gave 20 Centre members the opportunity to gain valuable experience in public science outreach, speaking to a diverse audience. Melbourne Knowledge Week showcases cool science and engineering projects in the city of Melbourne, connecting non-scientists with the research and technology around them. FLEET’s Novel Electronics presentation ran for the full week at the festival hub, with hands-on science demonstrations linked to materials used in FLEET research, such as gallium, bismuth and ferrofluids. FLEET members staffed the stand in small teams to demonstrate electrical and magnetism concepts, operate (and constantly tweak!) the laser maze, and explain FLEET’s research. This year FLEET has focused on improving members’ skills and confidence in public engagement, and other forms of science communication (see more on p82). FLEET will be participating in Melbourne Knowledge Week 2019 with new activities under development. FLEET members gained valuable science- outreach experience by participating at public events, as well as via dedicated Centre outreach training. Melbourne Knowledge Week was a highlight for me in 2018, as was helping a primary school science teacher at Surrey Hills Primary School and volunteering for a Scienceworks excursion for Primary School students and kindergarten students. Dr Shilpa Sanwlani FLEET Research Fellow SwinburneSecondary-school students experiment with magnetism, one of several school demonstrations at FLEET’s official launch. FLEET is engaging Australians with science — from school to public to policy makers. ENGAGE 06 71 FLEET 2018 ANNUAL REPORT PRESS RELEASES PRINT ARTICLES N0N-PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES RADIO INTERVIEWS 226728197 MENTIONS ON TELEVISION MENTIONS IN ONLINE MEDIA HOURS SPENT ON OUTREACH SCHOOL TEACHERS ENGAGED HOME SCIENCE ACTIVITIES DEMONSTRATED PUBLIC AUDIENCE REACHED THROUGH OUTREACH ACTIVITIES TOTAL NUMBER OF CENTRE MEMBERS ATTENDING TRAINING WORKSHOPS TOTAL NUMBER OF NON-CENTRE MEMBERS ATTENDING TRAINING WORKSHOPS 1551 197 11,186 2189 47 676 1130 SCHOOL STUDENTS REACHED THROUGH OUTREACH ACTIVITIES VIEWS OF FLEET RESEARCH VIDEO (1768 new views) 2318413 594 AVERAGE MONTHLY NEW USER VISITS TO FLEET.ORG.AU 1572 AVERAGE MONTHLY UNIQUE PAGE VIEWS FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS (196 new followers) TWITTER FOLLOWERS (310 new followers) 564472 ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN FUTURE LOW-ENERGY ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGIES OUTREACH SPREADING A PASSION FOR SCIENCE: OUTREACH FLEET focuses significant efforts on science outreach, with the aim of: • Increasing the participation of students in science and physics • Increasing understanding of and passion for science in the general public • Improving the outreach skills of FLEET members • Supporting the public discussion of FLEET-specific research. FLEET shares the responsibility to increase the participation of students in science, and to increase the number of girls and women participating in physics, chemistry and engineering. See p59 for successful outreach collaborations in 2018, including development of a virtual reality tour of FLEET labs, and significant outreach collaborations with the Australian Institute of Physics. In 2019, FLEET will launch a Year 10 ‘Future electronics’ course in partnership with John Monash Science School, Victoria. As well as covering the history of semiconductors and computing, and introducing students to Moore’s Law, the course will also be Australia’s first introduction to superfluids and topological materials at the secondary school level. See the Outreach Committee on p98 . Secondary-school students experiment with magnetic properties of bismuth, one of the ‘toolkit’ of school activities developed for school outreach. See more, including FLEET’s continuing Home Science program, at FLEET.org.au/outreach.73 FLEET 2018 ANNUAL REPORT DID YOU KNOW... Up to 75% of future jobs will require skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Yet school participation in science is in decline. FLEET is to be congratulated on its outreach activities. Requiring each Centre member to spend 20 hours per year on outreach also provides significant benefits in the training and development of Centre researchers. FLEET Advisory Committee Demonstrating electrical conduction in graphite. And using molecular models to describe 2D materials.74 ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN FUTURE LOW-ENERGY ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGIES OUTREACH FLEET members hosted over 600 students on tours to Centre labs and visited nine schools.75 FLEET 2018 ANNUAL REPORT FLEET’s partnership with Monash Tech School has given students a new perspective on the importance of research. Being able to see scientists at work in state-of-the-art facilities, and having the chance to ask researchers questions, is unforgettable. Neil Carmona-Vickery Deputy Director, Monash Tech School ENGAGING SCHOOL STUDENTS Over the course of 2018, 16 FLEET members visited or hosted 22 schools, engaging students with relevant issues such as information and technology (ICT) energy use, how transistors work and the new fields of science studied at FLEET. Our visiting scientists were kitted out with an outreach toolkit developed in-house, including mechanical digi- computers to demonstrate binary operations, two- dimensional (2D) material demonstrations, an electronics card game and virtual reality viewers. FLEET hosted lab tours in a very fruitful partnership with the new Monash Tech School, which provides hands- on science experiences for participating secondary students. During 2018, over 200 teachers and students from 10 schools were shown through FLEET labs by young Centre researchers. Targeting students from remote schools, who do not get the opportunity to visit urban universities, FLEET also collaborated with others to create a virtual tour of FLEET labs (see p59). Schools outreach also gives FLEET ECRs valuable opportunities to develop their science-communication skills. Communicating learnings associated with FLEET into schools will be essential as we continue to use more technology in our everyday lives. Andrew Chisholm Assistant Principal, John Monash Science School76 ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN FUTURE LOW-ENERGY ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGIES OUTREACH SUPERCOOL, SUPERCONDUCTING FLEET MOBIUS TRACK FLEET’s superconducting track features 1500 neodymium magnets, fixed into the shape of a Mobius strip, so that a small superconducting ‘puck’, when cooled in liquid nitrogen, will whizz around the track, spending half of each orbit hanging suspended upside down. The track allows FLEET to demonstrate several relevant science concepts, including: • Topology (via the Mobius strip – incidentally, mirroring the shape of FLEET’s logo) • Superconductivity (an interesting quantum state with implications for electric current) • Magnetism • Low-temperature physics • Demonstration of invisible, atomic-scale science, via a physical demonstration. And it’s also really fun, which is the key: physical science demonstrations that make a strong impact have a clear advantage in embedding learnings. The Mobius track and associated liquid nitrogen have been a highlight of lab tours and open days at Monash University and UNSW – no matter the age group, from school students to visiting scientists. FLEET’s prototype Mobius track was built by Monash University undergraduates as a summer research project, in collaboration with the Faculty of Science (the prototype is now used at Melbourne’s Scienceworks museum). Subsequent, fine-tuned Mobius tracks are now used as outreach tools by FLEET teams at Monash and UNSW. A super-cooled, superconducting 'puck' floats around a magnetic track. FLEET's Mobius track has proven extremely successful at engaging school students with science. See more at FLEET.org.au/mobius77 FLEET 2018 ANNUAL REPORT Secondary-school students experiment with FLEET virtual reality (VR) lab tours, atomic models and manual digital computers.Next >