Eight students were awarded their PhD’s in 2006. They were:

• Julian Berengut
  Isotope shift and relativistic shift in atomic spectra.

• Warrick Clarke
  Quantum interaction phenomena in p-GaAs microelectronic devices.

• Toby Hallam
  The use and removal of a hydrogen resist on the Si(001) surface for P-in-Si device fabrication.

• Dene Littler
  Structural studies of the CLIC proteins.

• Timur Mukhamedjanov
  Manifestations of fundamental symmetry violation in solids: A theoretical approach.

• Michael Pracy
  The properties and evolution of galaxy populations in the rich cluster environment.

• Frank Ruess
  Atomically controlled device fabrication using STM.

• Rena Widita
  Simultaneous optimization of beam positions for treatment planning and for image reconstruction in radiotherapy.

A number of postgraduate students and graduates received awards this year. Warrick Clarke was the NSW Nominee for the AIP Bragg Medal (Best PhD Thesis in 2006) for his thesis ‘Quantum Interaction Phenomena in p-GaAs Microelectronic Devices’. Paul Dickens was awarded first prize by the AIP for his Physics in Industry poster, based on the research conducted during his PhD. Jessie Christiansen won the best student poster at the Astronomical Society of Australia’s General Meeting.

Tamara Davis, an alumnus of the School of Physics, was awarded the 2006 UNSW U Committee Award for Research Excellence in Science (for being adjudged to have produced the best PhD thesis within the Faculty of Science in 2004). Tamara’s thesis, ‘Fundamental Aspects of the Expansion of the Universe and Cosmic Horizons’, covered many fundamental issues about the expansion of the universe. Her PhD was co-supervised by Professor John Webb and Dr Charley Lineweaver. This is only the second year this prize has been awarded; in 2005 it was won by Dr Michael Murphy, also an alumnus of the School of Physics (and also a student of Professor Webb).

2006 saw the introduction of the Master of Philosophy degree at UNSW. This degree consists of one third coursework and two thirds research project. Students can enter the degree after completing a three year Bachelor of Science, and they may use it to gain entrance to a PhD afterwards. This is a new qualification for the Australian tertiary system and is likely to prove especially popular with overseas students studying in Australia, and Australian students wanting to study or work overseas.