Business and Innovation

Corporate Affiliates Network

Date: Tue, 10 June 2008
Venue: Institute of Physics, Rutherford Theatre - 76 Portland Place, London, W1B 1NT
Organised by: Steven Bird

Introduction

The Institute of Physics is pleased to welcome members to an open evening to be held at 76 Portland Place on Tuesday 10 June 2008. The evening aims to introduce new and potential members to the Institute, and to showcase some of the work we do to promote physics and support physicists. We are delighted to welcome as our guest speaker Dr Patrick Regan of the University of Surrey, who will be talking about Polonium-210 and its relevance to physics. We will also be giving two brief presentations on areas of IOP Professional Services, including the Corporate Affiliates Network and Continuous Professional Development provision.

The evening will commence at 6.30pm. Full details on our guest can be found at the bottom of this page, together with the timetable for the schedule of events.

Timetable

TimeActivity
6.30 - 7.15Arrival and registration, refreshments and canapés
7.15 - 7.30Welcome to the Institute of Physics
Dr R Kirby Harris, CEO, Institute of Physics
7.30 - 7.45Introduction to the Corporate Affiliates Network
Steven Bird, Business Development Manager, Institute of Physics
7.45 - 8.05"Polonium-210 and its Relevance to Physics"
Dr Patrick Regan, University of Surrey
8.05 - 8.15Introduction to CPD & ACTS
Stephanie Richardson, Professional Development Manager, Institute of Physics
8.15 - 8.30Optional tour of 76 Portland Place
8.30 - 9.15Networking, refreshments and canapés

Biography of our speaker, Dr Patrick Regan

Dr Patrick Regan

Paddy Regan has been an academic in the physics department at the University of Surrey in Guildford since 1994, following a PhD in experimental nuclear physics at York University (1991) and post-doctoral research positions at the University of Pennsylvania (1991-2) and the Australian National University in Canberra (1992-4).

His formal research interests are in the area of nuclear spectroscopy and he has co-authored more than 150 scientific papers in the areas of nuclear structure physics research and related instrumentation. He is the international spokesperson of the RISING collaboration, which studies the structure of the most exotic nuclear isotopes at the GSI laboratory in Germany. He also pursues research interests in the area of environmental monitoring of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) using gamma-ray spectroscopic techniques.

He became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2000. To date, he has supervised 11 PhD students to completion and more than 50 MSc research project dissertations. In 2003 and 2006 he supervised the Physics Undergraduate Student of the Year as selected by the Science, Engineering and Technologies (SET) awards committee. Since 2002 he has been the Course Director for their MSc in Radiation and Environmental Protection at Surrey University and he is a regular contributor to mainstream media on issues associated with the detection and effects of radiation. He served on the Science and Technological Facilities Council's Education Training and Careers Committee.

He lives in Cranleigh, Surrey, with his wife Susie, a nurse, and their four young children.

Polonium-210 and its Relevance to Physics

In late 2006 the world became acutely aware of the mysterious substance polonium-210 in the notorious fatal poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko – but what is polonium-210, how is it made, and what does it do? Dr. Patrick Regan, reader in nuclear physics at the University of Surrey will reveal that in addition to the more macabre uses, this isotope is of major fundamental significance, not least in explaining why there is a limit to the stable elements which occur in nature. He will also discuss how one might detect this substance to avoid smuggling such material in the future.

Dr Patrick Regan Presentation (875 KB)

 


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