Astrophysics Research Institute - LJMU

LT SkyCams 22/07/2020 SkyCams movie from the night of 22/07/2020

Dr Sebastian Kamann awarded Future Leaders Fellowship

Congratulations to Dr Sebastian Kamann who has been selected for a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF). These highly competitive fellowships aim to grow the strong supply of talented individuals needed to ensure that UK research and innovation is world class. This is the first FLF to be granted to Liverpool John Moores University, and adds to the growing number of prestigious fellowships held at the Astrophysics Research Institute at LJMU.

In his research, Sebastian studies star clusters, densely packed groups of stars that were formed in the collapse of gigantic gas clouds. In such collapses, some stars grow to extremely high masses, more than 100 times as massive as our Sun. Such stars end their short lives in supernova explosions, leaving behind nothing but a black hole. As these black holes wander around the clusters, they may encounter each other and merge, giving rise to gravitational waves – the first detection of which was rewarded with the Nobel prize in physics in 2017. During his fellowship, Sebastian will investigate how many black holes wander around the clusters and how likely it is that they merge. To this aim, he has developed a novel method to find black holes. By studying the motions of thousands of stars with the Very Large Telescope in Chile, he is able to identify the few stars that orbit around black holes.

Sebastian has been a research fellow at LJMU since 2016. As part of the award, Dr Kamann will be inviting applications for a postdoctoral research assistant and (at least) one PhD student to join his growing team.

More information on UKRI and these prestigious fellowships can be found at the links:

https://www.ukri.org/news

https://www.ukri.org/funding/funding-opportunities/future-leaders-fellowships

Image Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/spaceengine.org

Do you want to work for the NSO?
We are looking for a Development and Marketing Officer to join our team for science education and outreach. Please share or tag anyone who might be interested.
Vacancy closes 14 April 2020
Apply now: https://jobs.ljmu.ac.uk/vacancy/national-schools%E2%80%99-observatory-nso-development-and-marketing-officer-417147.html

Advice on coronavirus Health & Safety, Travel Advice, China, International Students, International Travel, Public Health

Due to the current situation, we have reluctantly decided to cancel the John Porter Memorial lecture that would have been given by Prof. John Zarnecki on 24th March.

With Corvid-19 now recognised as a pandemic and the clear scientific evidence that minimising gatherings and travel as early as possible can significantly reduce the rate of spread of such pandemics, we have decided that continuing with the event would be irresponsible.

Only 18 days left to apply for a place on 's FREE Astronomy Work Experience Week, as Louis says "...it was a really fun and interesting week, it provides a realistic insight into research jobs and student life at any university."

www.schoolsobs.org/wexweek

IoP Merseyside: Space debris risks to space sustainability Prof. Hugh Lewis (Astronautics Research Group, University of Southampton) will talk about the effects of (human-made) space debris within Earth orbit. This free talk is suitable for all and will be held within the Central Teaching Hub at the University of Liverpool. Abstract: The DAMAGE computer mod...

Call for nominations for IOP 2020 Awards

Nominations close on 13 January

• Do you, or your contacts know someone whose contribution to physics should be recognised with an IOP award? Nominate them today from the following diverse portfolio of Awards and Medals
• Do you know an outstanding technician contributing to physics in secondary school, further education, higher education, national research facilities, business/industry or teams? Nominate them for Honorary Fellowship, the award of our highest honour.

The IOP business awards for companies and individuals:
• Business Innovation award
• Business Start-up award
• Lee Lucas Award – for early stage companies in the medical and healthcare sector
• For individuals working in business or commercial context - Katharine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize, Dennis Gabor Medal and Prize awarded or Clifford Paterson Medal and Prize.

The Technical Skills awards:
• Technician award (categories for FE/HE, national research facilities, business and teams)
• Apprentice award
• Apprenticeship employer award (SME, large and macro employer awards)

For the Apprentice and Technican Award, individuals must be nominated by another individual (nominators/nominees do not have to be IOP members).
For the Apprenticeship Employer Awards organisations/companies may nominate themselves.