Fusion - The Open University Physics & Astronomy Society
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Site Last Updated : 7th December, 2009

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What is Fusion? | History | Merchandise | What is the Institute of Physics? | What is Nexus?

Colliding Particles

Click here to see a short film about Adam Davison, a PhD student at University College London, and the work he is doing at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland, with his supervisor, Jon Butterworth, and other colleagues in London and Paris. The latest update (Nr. 4) has just been released.

New Ladies' T-Shirts Available!

Click here to go to our Merchandise page for more info on our new T-shirt design.

New Level 3 Courses

Click here to download Silvia Bergamini's presentation given at the 2008 Science Revision Weekend about the proposed new courses S382 and S383.

Fusion on MyIOP

Robert Ley has started a "Fusion" network on MyIOP, the new IOP social networking site. Click here and log in using your IOP username and password, then browse "Networks" - you will find it near the end of the list.

Physics and Astronomy Lectures Around the UK >

The list is regularly updated, with details of many talks to be given by Jonti Horner, Barrie Jones, John Zarnecki and other OU lecturers during 2009. Now showing events right through to October!

OU degrees meet Chartered Physicist requirements

If OU students wish to progress to Chartered Physicist after they have completed their degree, they are required to follow a new scheme for accreditation.

Job Opportunities for Physics graduates

We have been asked to mention these job opportunities in Milton Keynes and Leicester.

IOP Careers evenings

The Institute of Physics is hosting a series of careers evenings throughout October, November, December and February for you to meet the best employers out there. The employers are:

Bank of England 29 October 6.30pm – 8.30pm
BP 3 November 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Areva 18 November 4.30pm – 6.30pm
Selex Galileo 3 December 4.30pm – 6.30pm
NPL 18 February 6.00pm – 8.00pm

At each event you can:

• talk one-to-one to leading employers
• learn more about the careers available to you
• enhance your CV and application forms by finding out what to include
• get advice about interviews and assessments
• mingle with other physics students from across the UK.

Click here to find out more about each employer and to reserve your place (http://www.iop.org/activity/careers/careers-events/index.html) Please note that attendance is limited to a maximum of 70 students per event.

The careers evenings are free to attend and will be held at the Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1B 1NT – for directions click here .

2010 Fusion AGM weekend

Fusion has always said we should ‘do London’ for the AGM - so the 2010 AGM weekend on 23rd/24th January will be at UCL.

It will take the form of previous years. Registration will be at 10:00 on the Saturday morning, followed by talks and lab tours – organised by Jim Grozier, ex Fusion chair etc who is now a research physicist at UCL - and a presentation by Mischa Stocklin of the student section of the IOP.

After lunch – the AGM. There will be a few vacancies on the committee, and Dwyn is standing down as events organiser, so we are looking for replacements.

Immediately after the AGM Jonti Horner will be giving our guest lecture on the Neptune Trojans.

We will then head off to the local Spaghetti House for an evening meal, followed by Dwyn’s challenge quiz at a local pub. (Any offers for next year’s challenge quiz will be gratefully received!)

There will be an activity on Sunday morning – a walking tour of Greenwich (if Dwyn gets her act together!) followed by the last event of the weekend and a Fusion tradition – Sunday lunch at a local pub.

Fusion will provide lunch on the Saturday, but members need to organise any overnight accommodation (there is a youth hostel at St Pancras within walking distance of UCL), and also pay for the Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime meals.

Members can attend anything from one event to the whole weekend.

If you are interested in the event contact

Events E-mail

Fusion Weekend Hits Target

Oxford lab tour: accelerator

John Ward showing some Fusion members how the accelerator works.

The 2009 Fusion Weekend, held in Oxford on 24th/25th January, was a great success. On the Saturday morning, about 20 Fusion members were taken on a fascinating tour of the Oxford teaching laboratories by John Ward, Oxford's Head of Laboratory Services; then after lunch, the eighth Fusion AGM was held, and a new committee elected. The meeting was attended by the OU's Head of Physics & Astronomy, Nick Braithwaite, and a motion to change the name of the society to "Fusion - the Open University Physics & Astronomy Society", following the demise of the OU Society for Astronomy & Planetary Science (OUSAPS), was passed unanimously.

Following the meeting, the OU's Barrie Jones gave a lecture entitled "Planets & Life Beyond the Solar System". And after a hearty dinner, participants were ready for the Maria Griffiths Challenge Quiz, which featured a variety of questions, many with a physics theme; there was also a song lyrics round, after which Maria sang the answers to an appreciative audience! Dwyn Padfield then took up the challenge to pose next year's quiz, at an as yet undecided location.

Dwyn's Challenge

Dwyn Padfield throwing the gauntlet (actually a woolly glove) at Maria Griffiths after the quiz.

Sunday saw a tour of Oxford, which finished up with a visit to the town's Museum of the History of Science, after lunch at the Turf Tavern, reputedly the oldest pub in Oxford.

Sunday Lunch

Lunch at the Turf.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities


There are undergraduate research opportunity schemes at various institutions in the UK and USA which are aimed at giving undergraduate physics students a taste of research, prior to commencing a postgraduate degree.

Schemes exist at Trinity College Dublin, Imperial College London and Leicester University  

There is also the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) located at Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

And of course the CERN Summer Student Program no longer has an age limit ...

Alternatively, try contacting your local university, as there are often ad-hoc opportunities for research experience.

Why join FUSION?
  • Supported by the OU's Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • Affiliated to the Institute of Physics and OUSA
  • Regular Newsletter
  • Events and visits to places of interest
  • Revision and course preparation weekends
  • Exchange of views and experience
Join Nexus as well!
FUSION - The Open University Physics & Astronomy Society is affiliated to NEXUS, the student branch within the Institute of Physics.
On joining the Institute as a student member, you also become a member of NEXUS.

Nexus

The Nexus News magazine is sent out to student members. It contains everything from interviews and competitions to humour and occasionally physics! Contributions always welcome.

Cool Fusion Available Now!
FUSION Maxwell T-Shirts Yes, you can look cool too, with the Fusion Sweatshirt, or Fusion T-Shirts featuring Einstein's, Maxwell's or Schrödinger's famous equations. Click for details.

What is Fusion?

FUSION was formed in 2001 by students who recognised the need to create a society for Open University students and graduates whose primary interest is in physics. It now has over 400 members.

As a member of FUSION you will receive a regular newsletter with articles and reviews provided by fellow students and professional physicists, event updates and news from the OU Department of Physics and Astronomy. Past FUSION events have included visits to Culham Science Centre, Mullard Radio Observatory, Jodrell Bank, Bletchley Park, Sellafield and many more.

As a member of NEXUS you can attend lectures and meetings held by your local branch of the Institute of Physics, and take part in NEXUS activities such as trips to CERN.

You can find out about post graduate research opportunities or even help to influence the University on its choice of future courses. Gain a wider range of student contacts to help with a particular problem, or maybe meet to discuss ‘natural philosophy’ over a pint at the local pub.

With its sponsorship of Revision and Preparation Weekends, FUSION adds to your OU experience by bridging the gap left by distance learning. In addition, associate membership of Fusion is open to anyone with an interest in science and the aims of the Society.

We are delighted to announce that FUSION membership is now also available to part-time students at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Send in your application Form now.

Institute of Physics

What is the Institute of Physics?

The Institute of Physics is a professional body and learned society, established to promote the advancement and dissemination of a knowledge of and education in the science of physics, pure and applied.

The Institute has a world-wide membership and is active in:

  • Scientific publishing and electronic dissemination of physics
  • Providing support for physicists in all professions and careers
  • Providing support for physics in schools, colleges and universities

The benefits of Institute membership

  • A copy of Physics World every month, to keep you up to date on the latest events, research and jobs in physics.
  • Discounts on all books and journals produced by Institute of Physics Publishing.
  • Use of PhysicsWeb, a source of Physics Links, Jobs, Electronic Journals and your own portable email address!
  • Branch Lectures at locations around the country on a variety of physics topics.
  • Professional Support - upon graduating, you can apply for Associate Membership (and use the letters AMInstP after your name) - and enrol in their Professional Development Scheme to gain Chartered Physicist Status.

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