Quantum physicist Dr Simone De Liberato has been recognised as an outstanding researcher through the awarding of a prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize.

The Associate Professor, based in the University of Southampton’s School of Physics and Astronomy, has pursued an eclectic academic career to date that has ranged from fundamental physics through to applied technologies.

Philip Leverhulme Prizes are awarded by the Leverhulme Trust and recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted global recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising.

Simone has developed an international reputation during his time at the University of Southampton as a Royal Society Research Fellow and leader of the Quantum Theory and Technology Group.

“It is such an honour to see my efforts and achievements recognised,â€? Simone says. “This award will help me to push forward my investigations on the ultimate limit of the interaction between light and matter at the quantum level.â€?

Simone’s current research interest explores hybrid particles known as polaritons. These half-light, half-matter entities are formed when light and matter are made to interact so strongly that they lose their individuality.

“I’m developing a polariton-based nanophotonic technology cheap enough to be integrated into smartphones,â€? he explains. “By exploiting this technology in the near future, your smartphones could, for example, perform a non-invasive health check-up analysing your breath each time you make a phone call. There are also many other potential applications from telecommunications to security.â€?

Simone studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and completed a PhD at the Université Paris Diderot, before undertaking international postdoctorate research roles and co-founding multiple startup companies. He joined the University of Southampton as a Lecturer in 2012.

Philip Leverhulme Prizes have been awarded since 2001 in commemoration of the Third Viscount Leverhulme and grandson of William Hesketh Lever, founder of the Leverhulme Trust. The £100,000 prizes are selected for different subject areas each year, with 2018’s recipients selected from classics, earth sciences, physics, politics and international relations, psychology and visual and performing arts.

Three talented early career researchers have been awarded Newton International Fellowships to push the boundaries of theoretical physics and X-ray astronomy at the University of Southampton.

The international scientists will join Southampton’s School of Physics and Astronomy for the next two years through the competitive programme from The Royal Society, the British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Newton International Fellowships provide the opportunity for the best early stage postdoctoral researchers from across the world to join UK research institutions, covering a broad range of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.

Dr Mehtap Arabaci and Dr Liang Zhang will join Principal Research Fellow Dr Diego Altamirano in the Southampton Astronomy Group , while Dr Diana Rojas will work with Professor Stefano Moretti in the Southampton High Energy Physics Group .

Dr Diana Rojas’ project on dark matter phenomenology in three-Higgs doublet models sees her return to the School that she once visited as a PhD student from Mexico. The research continues a five-year collaboration with Stefano and the NExT Institute which could trigger the discovery of more Higgs bosons at the Large Hadron Collider, including a perfect Dark Matter particle.

“At present, we have no experimental clues to guide us in any particular direction to address the shortcomings of the Standard Model, the current description of particle physics,â€? Stefano explains. “Theoretical ingenuity is necessary and the path that Diana is taking in her research bears some promise, as it may also offer us the means to explain why the Universe in not symmetric between matter and antimatter and why, in both cases, the spectra of masses are so hierarchical.â€?

Dr Mehtap Arabaci’s research will cover the multi-wavelength observations of distant Be/X-ray binaries, where gas is transferred onto a neutron star and creates bright flares of X-rays.

“At the peak of these giant outbursts, these systems become the brightest sources of the X-ray sky, serving as a laboratory to test the role of the neutron star magnetic fields while interacting with its environment at different luminosity regimes,â€? Mehtap says. “I hope that this fellowship can be a first step for creating a long-term collaboration between researchers in Southampton and Turkey via new research programmes related to the Turkish 4-metre NIR telescope, the DAG (Eastern Anatolia Observatory).â€?

Dr Liang Zhang will explore spectral and timing analysis of black hole X-ray binaries with China’s Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope. “It is a great honour to receive a Newton International Fellowship,â€? he says. “I hope that we can establish a long-term collaboration between the UK and China in the area of X-ray astronomy.â€?

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi CBE from the University of Southampton has encouraged academia and industry to continue to embrace racial diversity in an interview for Black History Month with the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng).

The Dean of Faculty, which includes the School of Physics and Astronomy, is one of over a dozen prominent black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) engineers who are sharing their stories this month in an online diversity series.

“I am pleased to see more and more high-tech companies embracing racial diversity through BAME post holders in key executive roles,â€? he says. “Whilst Black History Month provides a welcome opportunity to celebrate past achievements, it also enables us to consider next steps to embed a more inclusive, equal and racially-diverse culture at our institution.â€?

The University of Southampton signed the Equality Challenge Unit’s Race Equality Charter (REC) in 2016 and Bashir is leading the institution’s forthcoming submission for a Bronze Award. The University is committed to supporting equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education and is inviting widespread participation in the important discussion through an inaugural REC event on Thursday 18th October.

A guide to Black History Month events taking place across Hampshire, marking the 70th anniversary of the Windrush generation, is available to download on the University website.

Bashir is an Arm Professor of Computer Engineering with a worldwide reputation for research into energy efficient and reliable embedded systems. Earlier this year, he was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to engineering and industry.

You can read Bashir’s full interview with the RAEng through the Celebrating leading minority ethnic engineers online feature.

Dozens of volunteers delivered valuable data analysis for two national charities in a hackathon-style DataDive at the University of Southampton’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

Data scientists, developers and designers united for the two-day event which sparked new insights and valuable connections for the Shelter and Parkinson’s UK charities.

The DataDive, which was run with DataKind UK and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), attracted almost 90 people at its peak, with almost half of participants either working or studying at the University.

Charity DataDives are collaborative work sessions where volunteers analyse, visualise and mash-up data to give partner organisations initial insights or prototypes to inform their work.

Last month’s event was organised by Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence Adam Hill, a HAL24K data scientist who is encouraging the incorporation of data science techniques and methodologies within research activities in Physics and Astronomy.

“I think it was a great success. There was a lot of positive energy in the room and impressive engagement from all participants,â€? Adam says. “There was a feeling that everyone got something out of the two days. There have already been conversations about whether some PhD or student projects could be developed that would be beneficial to the charities, which is fantastic news.â€?

Hester Steedman Thake, Data Manager at Shelter, says, “The DataDive was a really valuable experience for Shelter. We learned a lot about new tools and techniques and different ways to look at modelling housing and homelessness risk across the UK. Shelter launched our new strategy this week and this work is really important for us as part of defining new ways of tackling the housing emergency. We will be building on the outputs from the DataDive to develop our approach to modelling housing need in the UK, and to help shape Shelter's engagement with local housing issues over the coming years.â€?

Cathal Doyle, Head of Strategic Intelligence at Parkinson’s UK, says, “By participating in the DataDive we learned a great deal about how we can better combine and analyse different datasets, for instance our data on the prevalence and incidence of Parkinson’s, population projections and hospital admissions. Armed with this information, we can better understand how demand for Parkinson’s services will grow in the future and ways we can plan for this.â€?

Enthusiastic volunteers were still coding beyond 9pm on the first day of the marathon event, with 28 large pizzas swiftly dispatched by the data hungry workforce.

“I very much wanted this to be a proof of concept piece that could demonstrate the value of collaborative partnerships between skilled academics and the private/public sector, but also the value to society of getting those skills out of the academic bubble,â€? co-organiser Adam continues. “I hope that this could inspire future similar events which, when integrated into a programme, would deliver social good to the wider community.â€?