Maths, physics, chemistry

News from 2005

21 December 2005: Melbourne University researchers talk up domestic nuclear power. Compared the environmental impact, health risks, economic effects and social implications of the use of fossil fuels, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, and nuclear power

13 December 2005: Yes maths is important, just ask Dan Brown. James Sneyd to talk on how mathematics is being applied to things as diverse as helping study the evolution of the AIDS virus to why leopards have their spots and zebras their stripes

13 December 2005: Victoria University launches robotics programme. Designing and building robots that can operate without human intervention will be one of the options available for postgraduate science students at Victoria University in 2006

9 December 2005: David Saxon, physicist who held crucial positions at UCLA, dies. Fired from the University of California during the Communism scare in the 1950s but reinstated by the courts

6 December 2005: US boy wins science competition. High school student Michael Viscardi has won the top prize in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition for his new method of solving an old mathematical problem with applications in the fields of engineering and physics

29 November 2005: Plan to build high-powered trans-Tasman science centre. Otago University physicists in talks with Canberra researchers to establish a cutting-edge condensate facility in Dunedin

16 November 2005: NZ's top science medal awarded to Paul Callaghan. For his contribution for his world-leading research in development of new Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methods

8 November 2005: Nobel prize-winning US physicist gets two years in prison. John Robert Schrieffer killed one and injured seven others while speeding

7 November 2005: Laser technology to stop computer hackers. Using a theory proposed by Albert Einstein, ANU researchers have successfully used bright lasers to prevent data from being hacked

29 October 2005: Nobel winner who discovered 'buckyballs' dead at 62. Richard Smalley shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry with Robert Curl and Harold Kroto with a discovery that opened the way for the development of nanotechnology

6 October 2005: Coveting brother's gift sparked US Nobel winner. Richard Schrock's fascination with chemistry began when he was given a chemistry set at age 8

5 October 2005: Nobel Prize winners for chemistry announced. Yves Chauvin, Robert Grubbs and Richard Schrock, for their work in metathesis. Visiting academic named joint winner of Nobel chemistry prize. Caltech professor Robert Grubbs is visiting Canterbury University as an Erskine Fellow. Grubbs says he didn't realise how good he was at chemistry until late in undergraduate school.

5 October 2005: Nobel Prize fulfils hopes of trailblazing German physicist. Theodor W. Haensch's work improved measurements of the frequency of light

5 October 2005: Trio win physics Nobel for shedding light on optics. Two Americans and a German won the Nobel Physics Prize on Tuesday for optical research giving extremely accurate measurements that could one day be used in deep space travel or three-dimensional holographic television

29 September 2005: Nobel science prizes remain a male preserve. If history is a guide, a couple of greying men are likely to win the 2005 Nobel physics and chemistry prizes

28 September 2005: University uses new x-ray device to probe structure of molecules. Chemists at Otago University say their new single-crystal diffractometer will contribute to a wide range of research

20 September 2005: Science buffs drawn to Wairarapa's Stonehenge replica. Finalists in a video competition to celebrate the achievements of Albert Einstein and the International Year of Physics, to attend a camp organised by the Royal Society

20 September 2005: Laser technology pioneer Gordon Gould dies at 85. The US inventor spent three decades securing patent rights for two of the most commonly used lasers, the gas discharge laser and the optically pumped laser

30 August 2005: Waikato students win tertiary scholarships. All-rounders Tim Loughnane and Ray Gao have been awarded BNZ scholarships for their achievements in materials science and mathematics and finance respectively

21 August 2005: Original manuscript of Einstein paper found at Leiden University. A paper written in 1924 titled "Quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas," was found among papers belonging to Einstein's friend, Paul Ehrenfest

19 August 2005: NZ research shows crucial molecules still cleaning up atmosphere. A NZ-based study of the amount of hydroxyl radical present in the atmosphere over the past 13 years shows it has remained about the same over the past 13 years

16 August 2005: New Zealand achieve more Olympic success. A team of young NZers have brought home silver and bronze medals from the International Mathematical Olympiad in Mexico

11 August 2005: Great placing for New Zealand Olympians. Competing in the 2005 International Chemistry Olympiad in Taiwan

12 July 2005: New standalone business springs from crown research institute. Plant Protection Chemistry NZ Ltd, an agrichemical group within Scion, formerly Forest Research, breaks away to form its own R&D company

11 July 2005: Auckland hosts international materials conference. Advanced alloys, surface coatings, electronic materials, polymers and composites, mechanical properties of materials and nanotechnology

4 July 2005: They're not just forests, they're chemistry labs. The forestry industry is about to make a paradigm shift into biomaterials-based research, foreseeing a world more reliant upon carbohydrates than hydrocarbons

29 June 2005: Pope's stargazers teach tomorrow's astronomers. For the past 20 years, the world's top scientists and prospective researchers have been participating in a summer school at the Vatican Observatory, one of the oldest astronomical institutes in the world

28 June 2005: Girls meet women science graduates. The Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Futures evening for secondary school girls will be held at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Science on Thursday 30 June

10 June 2005: Taiwan set to challenge New Zealand Olympians. Four Year 13 students have been chosen to compete at the Chemistry Olympiad after a rigorous selection process held at The University of Auckland recently

1 June 2005: Winning college physics teams off overseas. Students from Kaitaia College and Fairfield College are bound for Britain and Europe respectively after winning a physics video competition organised by the Royal Society and sponsored by Freemasons New Zealand

1 June 2005: Historic meeting marks 50th anniversary of atomic resolution microscopy. Eminent scientists to gather at Pennsylvania State University from 15-17 June, to celebrate the world's first ion field microscope

22 May 2005: Stanford particle accelerator used to decipher ancient Archimedes text. Physicists are hoping X-rays from the accelerator will detect small amounts of iron in the ink of work by the Greek mathematician that has been hidden for centuries

1 May 2005: Gordon Shaw, physicist who linked music to thinking, dead at 72. Shaw reported in 1993 that a group of college students who listened to Mozart's "Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major" saw their IQs increase substantially, if only temporarily

28 April 2005: UCLA researchers create nuclear fusion in lab experiment. By heating a crystal in a vacuum chamber filled with deuterium gas, a form of hydrogen capable of fusion

19 April 2005: Princeton University starting worldwide relay of lights. Physicists and Albert Einstein buffs around the world planned to flip switches and dial phones in a relay starting on Monday night to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death

19 April 2005: University of Auckland appoints first Professor in Food Chemistry. Professor Melton is recognised internationally for determining the chemical structure of xanthan gum, used in toothpastes to give a clean mouth feel

17 April 2005: Einstein's legacy, like the universe, keeps on expanding. Around the world, universities are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "miracle year" when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that fundamentally changed the world's grasp of space, time, light and matter

17 April 2005: Despite the rumpled clothes, Einstein impressed the ladies. The private life of Einstein

17 April 2005: NZ superconductor used for new range of commercial products. Electromagnetic coils supplied by Wellington-based HTS-110 Ltd, made with superconducting wire invented by the company's parent company IRL are at the heart of a new measurement system being launched in the US

3 April 2005: Sums struggles could be due to 'maths anxiety'. A form of anxiety that interferes with working memory can affect even the most competent mathematicians, psychologists say

29 March 2005: New MRI scan may help gauge brain cancer treatment. Detects at an early stage if a tumour is responding to treatment by tracking the diffusion of water through the brain

15 March 2005: Imago scientist takes out young scientist award. Dr David Larsen awarded the prestigious 2005 Burton Medal by the Microscopy Society of America

10 March 2005: Charles Townes, co-inventor of the laser, wins religion prize. The US Nobel Prize winner has won the lucrative Templeton Prize for his work on the importance of relating science and religion

10 March 2005: Researchers welcome new equipment. An environmental scanning electron microscope and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscope at Auckland University

8 March 2005: Installation of world's largest particle physics collider starts. CERN's $US1.8 billion Large Hadron Collider is expected to draw scientists from all over the globe

3 March 2005: Snow blankets sound as it covers ground. In the first hours after a snowfall, the flakes have a rare acoustic quality to absorb sound waves

3 March 2005: World-renowned scientist set to deliver public lecture in Auckland. Professor Frank Close, a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Oxford University, will talk about The Particle Odyssey

24 February 2005: News release: Eminent speakers for Sydney stats conference. Renowned mathematical biologist Lord Robert May and econometrician Sir Clive Granger have been confirmed as key speakers at the 2005 Session of the International Statistical Institute

7 February 2005: Nobel laureate will launch 'stone' henge, and year of physics. Eminent physicist Alan MacDiarmid will officially open New Zealand's version of Stonehenge in the Wairarapa this Saturday and launch New Zealand's programme to celebrate the World Year of Physics

20 January 2005: Germany celebrates 100th anniversary of theory of relativity. Being marked with tours, a scientific conference and a major exhibition about Einstein

18 January 2005: Einstein year - Germany honours the genius who fled the Nazis. About the lauded scientist and pacifist, who left Germany for the US after Hitler came to power

11 January 2005: Rebranding physics - making Einstein youth friendly. Britain launches Einstein Year with an emphasis on activities of interest to young people in an effort to draw attention to the flagging science