The University of Southampton

Published: 9 May 2018
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The 'Bursting Pulsar' ‘hiccups’ as it strips matter from a nearby giant star

Astronomers from the University of Southampton have found a rare class of neutron star that has a tendency to ‘hiccup’ as it strips mater from its stellar neighbour.

Jamie Court, a postgraduate researcher in Southampton’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, published observations of the Bursting Pulsar - GRO J1744-28 – in a new paper of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Using archived data from NASA's orbiting RXTE observatory, Jamie found that a constantly shifting fight between the star’s infalling gas and magnetic field causes matter to be swallowed in discrete 'gulps' or 'hiccups'.

The research also observed that the Bursting Pulsar may be the slowest known ‘transitional pulsar’ in existence.

“This exciting discovery will allow us to explore the messy physics of these cosmic hiccups in a more extreme environment than ever before,â€? he explains.

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Published: 8 May 2018
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The Athena SWAN Silver Award recognises Physics and Astronomy's commitment to tackling gender inequality

Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton has been recognised for its commitment to tackling gender inequality with an Athena SWAN Silver Award.

The accolade builds upon Bronze Award status granted in 2015, reflecting a continued drive to improve the life and culture of all people in the department.

An applied set of core values, improved recruitment processes and positive public engagement and outreach are among the practices that helped Physics and Astronomy achieve its elevated status. The department also boasts a highly active Women’s Physics Network, which was recognised for its ‘exceptional contribution’ with a Vice-Chancellor’s Award in 2017.

Professor Jonathan Flynn, Head of Physics and Astronomy, says, “We are delighted to receive an Athena SWAN Silver Award which endorses our department's commitment to diversity and equality and to providing a positive environment for working and learning. The award recognises our achievements so far and our action plan to build on them.â€?

The University of Southampton is a founding signatory of the Athena SWAN Charter and holds a cross-institution silver-level award. As a signatory, it recognises the specific challenges that affect men and women in academic careers, which leads to inequality at senior levels of higher education. It is committed to addressing these issues, to maximise the potential of all its people.

In Physics and Astronomy, the silver award submission demonstrated how good practice was being implemented for everyone in the department, from undergraduate and postgraduate students through to all job families and levels. For example, the department has invested in a baby-changing and nursing room and tackled gender stereotyping in schools through its outreach programme.

The department’s Athena SWAN Silver Award will be valid until November 2021, when it will look to submit an application for a Gold Award.

Physics and Astronomy at Southampton was also awarded Project Juno Practitioner status in 2017. The Institute of Physics scheme recognises departments that have taken action to address the under-representation of women in university physics, encouraging better practice for both women and men. Physics and Astronomy endorses the five Project Juno Principles and will submit an application for Champion status later this year.

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Published: 4 May 2018
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Antonios Kanaras is Principal Investigator of the research project which has developed the new nanoparticles

Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed new nanoparticles that can distinguish and penetrate cancerous cells, in a new study which could have major implications for the delivery of anticancer drugs.

The team has designed an advanced type of nanoparticle, which is able to carry drugs directly into cells and release them only in the presence of an appropriate messenger RNA (mRNA), a critical biomolecule for the production of proteins.

As a result, these nanoparticles can identify healthy cells from cancerous cells and release an anticancer drug only to the latter, thus potentially reducing toxicity levels during therapy.

The report, published in ACS Nano, part of the American Chemical Society, marks the first time these nanoparticles can simultaneously detect the presence of two types of mRNA in cells and release two different anticancer drugs to only those cells that express both types of mRNA.

“As far as we know this is the first example of gold nanoparticle dimers that can selectively release two drugs in cancerous cells triggered by specific mRNA signatures," said Dr Antonios Kanaras from the University of Southampton, principal investigator of the research project.

“This is an important step forward for the development of new types of smart nano-technological drugs. The use of smart nanoparticle designs, which release more than one drugs selectively, can ensure minimal damage to healthy cells, be more efficient in smaller doses, and eliminate toxic side effects during the duration of a therapy.â€?

The study, titled ‘Multiplexed mRNA sensing and combinatorial-targeted drug delivery using DNA-gold nanoparticle dimers’ was carried out working with the University of Oxford.

Nanoparticles are in dimensions about 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair and new research has revealed that drugs carried using them as a platform can be more concentrated, targeted and more efficient than those delivered through traditional means.

The most important aspect of the nanoparticles presented in this study is that the release of the drugs happens only in the presence of the appropriate messenger mRNAs. The drugs are, therefore, not released in the healthy cells, which do not contain the target mRNA. Such types of smart nanoparticle systems may have the potential to revolutionise nanomedicine and improve patient welfare.

Dr Kanaras added: “Using DNA gold nanoparticle dimers as probes for synergistic mRNA sensing and drug delivery allows us to bring together the advantages of having two single nanoparticles into one functional system.

“For example, this could be translated into knowing the exact number of DNA strands per nanoparticle and therefore control the number of drugs released by each dimer probe.

“Combining self-assembly nanoparticle strategies and advanced nanoparticle surface chemistry gives more options to design multitasking probes that could be useful in nanomedicine.â€?

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Published: 26 April 2018
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New technology could prompt a significant change for a spacecraft or satellite. Image: NASA

The study, driven by Principal Investigators Professor Otto Muskens from Southampton’s Integrated Nanophotonics research group, and Electronic and Computer Science's Professor Kees De Groot, has created new Metamaterial Optical Solar Reflectors (Meta-OSRs) that can be placed on the outside of spacecraft to deflect solar radiation while dissipating heat that is generated on board.

The new technology could replace quartz tiles, which are commonly used but have heavy and fragile qualities, and other solutions such as polymer foils that are unsuitable for missions lasting more than three to five years. The research team’s new meta-OSR coating exploits the potential of metal oxide, a material commonly used for transparent electrical contacts.

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Published: 13 April 2018
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Dr Caitriona Jackman, Associate Professor of Space Physics, is the Academic Lead for the group at the University of Southampton

A space research and innovation consortium that includes the University of Southampton has been awarded £4.8 million to help grow the UK space sector.

The Connecting Capability Fund (CCF) grant from Research England will develop national initiatives that provide small and medium-sized businesses in the space industry with unprecedented access to university expertise and facilities. Southampton is one of five universities in the Space Research and Innovation Network for Technology (SPRINT) group and will use its share of the grant to recruit an Innovation Fellow to explore mechanisms for new collaborations.

“Academics at Southampton have experience across many aspects of Space Science, with in-house expertise in data-intensive science, modelling and the development of hardware for space,â€? Academic lead and Associate Professor of Space Physics Dr Caitriona Jackman explains. “We look forward to sharing this expertise for real economic and societal impact.â€?

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Published: 12 April 2018
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Images of one of the transient events, from eight days before the maximum brightness to 18 days afterwards. Credit: M. Pursiainen / University of Southampton and DES collaboration

Southampton astronomer Miika Pursiainen has presented the discovery of dozens of unexplained stellar explosions as part of the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science in Liverpool.

Miika, a PhD researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was highlighting findings of the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Programme (DES-SN), an international study into factors accelerating the expansion of the Universe.

The DES-SN is searching for supernovae, the powerful explosions of massive stars, but has also identified 72 other very bright, but quick events. There is still debate around the origin of these transients, which appear to have temperatures ranging 10,000 to 30,000 degrees Celsius and vary in size from several up to a hundred times the 150 million kilometre distance from our Earth to the Sun.

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Research

Research interests

Professor Tony Bird’s research focus is on astronomy in the X-ray and soft gamma-ray wavebands.

Professor Bird is a co-investigator for the IBIS imager on the ESA INTEGRAL mission, in which has been operational since 2002. He has led the team producing the main survey catalogs from INTEGRAL, the latest of which was released in 2016. He also works on the development on new instrumental and data analysis techniques. Among the many sources in the survey catalogs, Prof. Bird’s personal research interest is in the Supergiant Fast X-ray Binaries, a new class of highly variable binary star system discovered by INTEGRAL. Prof Bird was involved in the technical development of several of the main components of IBIS, and a member of the calibration team.

Prof Bird is involved in the transfer of astronomical technology to other applications, including homeland security and medical imaging. He recently participated in a successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership with local company Symetrica as part of this programme, and currently leads two Space Research and Innovation Network for Technology (SPRINT) programmes.

Teaching

Prof Bird was previously Director of Programmes for Physics and Astronomy, and is now Deputy Head of School for Education. He has taught courses on Medical Physics and Applied Nuclear Physics, and currently leads the mission design element of the Tenerife Field Trip for astronomy and space science students.

Publications

Dean, A.J., Bazzano, A., Hill, A.B, Stephen, J.B., Bassani, L., Barlow, E., Bird, A.J., Lebrun, F., Squera, V., Shaw, S.E., Ubertihni, P., Walter, R. and Willis, D. (2005) Global characteristics of the first IBIS/ISGRI catalogue sources: unveiling a murky episode of binary star evolution. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 443 (2), 485-494. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053513).

Dean, A.J., Bird, A.J., Diallo, N., Ferguson, C., Lockley, J.J., Shaw, S.E., Westmore, M.J. and Willis, D.J. (2003) The modelling of background noise in astronomical gamma ray telescopes. Space Science Reviews, 105 (1-2), 285-376. (doi:10.1023/A:1023995803108).

Sguera, V., Barlow, E.J., Bird, A.J., Clark, D.J., Dean, A.J., Hill, A.B., Moran, L., Shaw, S.E., Willis, D.R., Bazzano, A., Ubertini, P. and Malizia, A. (2005) INTEGRAL observations of recurrent fast X-ray transient sources. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 444 (2005), 221-231. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053103).

Bird, A.J., Barlow, E.J., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A., Belanger, G., Bodaghee, A., Capitanio, F., Dean, A.J., Fiocchi, M., Hill, A.B., Lebrun, F., Malizia, A., Mas-Hesse, J.M., Molina, M., Moran, L., Renaud, M., Sguera, V., Shaw, S.E., Stephen, J.B., Terrier, R., Ubertini, P., Walter, R., Willis, D.R. and Winkler, C. (2006) The second IBIS/ISGRI soft gamma-ray survey catalog. Astrophysical Journal, 636 (2), 765-776. (doi:10.1086/498090).

Lebrun, F., Terrier, R., Bazzano, A., Belanger, G., Bird, A., Bouchet, L., Dean, A., Del Santo, M., Goldwurm, A., Lund, N., Morand, H., Parmar, A., Paul, J., Roques, J.-P., Schonfelder, V., Strong, A.W., Ubertini, P., Walter, R. and Winkler, C. (2004) Letter to Nature. Compact sources as the origin of the soft gamma-ray emission of the Milky Way. Nature, 428 ((6980)), 293-296. (doi:10.1038/nature02407).

Bird, A.J., Barlow, E.J., Bassani, L., Bodaghee, A., Capitanio, F., Cocchi, M., Del Santo, M., Dean, A.J., Hill, A.B., Lebrun, F., Malaguti, G., Malizia, A., Much, R., Shaw, S.E., Stephen, J.B., Terrier, R., Ubertini, P. and Walter, R. (2004) The first IBIS/ISGRI soft ?-ray galactic plane survey catalog. Astrophysical Journal, 607 (1), 33-37. (doi:10.1086/421772).

Sguera, V., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., Ubertini, P., Barlow, E.J., Bassani, L., Clark, D.J., Hill, A.B., Malizia, M., Molina, M. and Stephen, J.B. (2006) Unveiling supergiant fast x-ray transient sources with INTEGRAL. Astrophysical Journal, 646 (1), 452-463. (doi:10.1086/504827).

McGlynn, S., Clark, D.J., Dean, A.J., Hanlon, L., McBreen, S., Willis, D.R., Bird, A.J., Foley, S. and McBreen, B. (2007) Polarisation studies of the prompt gamma-ray emission from GRB 041219a using the spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 466 (3), 895-904. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20066179).

Townsend, L.J., Coe, M.J., McBride, V.A., Bird, A.J., Schurch, M.P.E., Corbet, R.H.D., Haberl, F., Galache, J.L. and Udalski, A. (2010) Be/X-ray binary SXP6.85 undergoes large type II outburst in the small magellanic cloud. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 403 (3), 1239-1245. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.16211.x).

McBride, V.A., Bird, A.J., Coe, M.J., Townsend, L.J., Corbet, R.H.D. and Haberl, F. (2010) The Magellanic Bridge: evidence for a population of X-ray binaries. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 403 (2), 709-713. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.16178.x).

Scaringi, S., Bird, A.J., Norton, A.J., Knigge, C., Hill, A.B., Clark, D.J., Dean, A.J., McBride, V.A., Barlow, E.J., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A., Fiocchi, M. and Landi, R. (2010) Hard X-ray properties of magnetic cataclysmic variables. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 401 (4), 2207-2218. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15826.x).

Coe, Malcolm J., Bird, Anthony J., Buckley, D.A.H., Corbet, R.H.D., Dean, Anthony J., Finger, M., Galache, José L., Haberl, Frank, McBride, Vanessa, Negueruela, I., Schurch, Matthew, Townsend, Lee J., Udalski, A., Wilms, J. and Zezas, A. (2010) Integral deep observations of the small magellanic cloud. Pre-print, (arXiv:1004.221). (Submitted)

Landi, R., Bassani, L., Malizia, A., Stephen, J.B., Bazzano, A., Fiocchi, M. and Bird, A.J. (2010) Swift/XRT follow-up observations of unidentified INTEGRAL/IBIS sources. Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Scaringi, S., Bird, A.J., Hill, A.B., Clark, D.J., McBride, V.A., Dean, A.J., Bazzano, A., Natalucci, L. and Stephen, J.B. (2010) A new determination of the INTEGRAL/IBIS point source location accuracy. Astronomy & Astrophysics. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014209). (In Press)

Malizia, A., Stephen, J.B., Bassani, L., Bird, Anthony J., Panessa, F. and Ubertini, P. (2010) Re-evaluating the local compton-thick AGN fraction. Proceedings of Science, 1-8. (doi:10.22323/1.096.0012).

Masetti, N., Parisi, P., Palazzi, E., Bassani, L., Landi, R., Malizia, A., Schiavone, F., Stephen, J.B., Jimenez-Bailon, E., Chavushyan, V., Morelli, L., Mason, E., Galaz, G., Minniti, D., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., McBride, V.A., Charles, P.A., Bazzano, A. and Ubertini, P. (2010) Revealing the nature of new unidentified INTEGRAL sources. arXiv.

Landi, R., Bassani, L., Malizia, A., Stephen, J.B., Bazzano, A., Fiocchi, M. and Bird, A.J. (2010) Swift/XRT observations of unidentified INTEGRAL/IBIS sources. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 403 (2), 945. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16183.x).

Masetti, N., Landi, R., Sguera, V., Capitanio, F., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J., Malizia, A. and Palazzi, E. (2010) The peculiar high-mass x-ray binary 1ES 1210-646. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 511, A48-A56. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913404).

Bird, A.J., Bazzano, A., Bassani, L., Capitanio, F., Fiocchi, M., Hill, A.B., Malizia, A., McBride, V.A., Scaringi, S., Sguera, V., Stephen, J.B., Ubertini, P., Dean, A.J., Lebrun, F., Terrier, R., Renaud, M., Mattana, F., Götz, D., Rodriguez, J., Belanger, G., Walter, R. and Winkler, C. (2010) The fourth IBIS/ISGRI soft gamma-ray survey catalog. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 186 (1), 1. (doi:10.1088/0067-0049/186/1/1).

Parisi, P., Masetti, N., Jiménez-Bailón, E., Chavushyan, V., Malizia, A., Landi, R., Molina, M., Fiocchi, M., Palazzi, E., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., Galaz, G., Mason, E., Minniti, D., Morelli, L., Stephen, J.B. and Ubertini, P. (2009) Accurate classification of 17 AGNs detected with Swift/BAT. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 507 (3), 1345-1358. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200912931).

Molina, M., Bassani, L., Malizia, A., Stephen, J.B., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., Panessa, F., De Rosa, A. and Landi, R. (2009) The INTEGRAL complete sample of type 1 AGN. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 399 (3), 1293-1306. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15257.x).

Ubertini, P., Sguera, V., Stephen, J.B., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A. and Bird, A.J. (2009) The FERMI/LAT sky as seen by INTEGRAL/IBIS. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 706 (1), L7. (doi:10.1088/0004-637X/706/1/L7).

Clark, David J., Hill, Adam B., Bird, Anthony J., McBride, Vanessa, Scaringi, Simone and Dean, Anthony J. (2009) Discovery of the orbital period in the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J17544-2619. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 399 (1), L113-L117. (doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00737.x).

Malizia, A., Stephen, J.B., Bassani, L., Bird, A.J., Panessa, F. and Ubertini, P. (2009) The fraction of compton-thick sources in an integral complete AGN sample. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 399 (2), 944-951. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15330.x).

Sguera, V., Romero, G.E., Bazzano, A., Masetti, N., Bird, A.J. and Bassani, L. (2009) Dissecting the region of 3EG J1837-0423 and HESS J1841-055 with INTEGRAL. Astrophysical Journal, 697 (2), 1194. (doi:10.1088/0004-637X/697/2/1194).

Bassani, L., Landi, R., Campana, R., McBride, V.A., Dean, A.J., Bird, A.J., Green, D.A., Ubertini, P. and De Rosa, A. (2009) The nature of the ASCA/INTEGRAL source AX J183039-1002: a new Compton-thick AGN? Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 395 (1), L1-L5. (doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00626.x).

Hill, A.B., Bird, A.J., Bazzano, A., McBride, V.A., Sguera, V., Shaw, S.E. and Watkins, H.J. (2009) Identifying a new intermediate SFXT: discovering a 30 day period in SAX J1818.6—1703. Simbol-X: focusing on the hard x-ray universe: Proceedings of the 2nd International Simbol-X Symposium. p. 322 . (doi:10.1063/1.3149444).

Panessa, F., De Rosa, A., Bassani, L., Bird, A., Dean, A., Malizia, A., Masetti, N., Molina, M. and Ubertini, P. (2009) The extra-galactic hard x-ray sky as painted by INTEGRAL. Simbol-X: focusing on the hard x-ray universe: Proceedings of the 2nd International Simbol-X Symposium. p. 112 . (doi:10.1063/1.3149390).

Malizia, A., Bassani, L., Panessa, F., De Rosa, A. and Bird, A.J. (2009) IGR J16351?5806: another close by Compton-thick AGN. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 394 (1), L121-L125. (doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00622.x).

Bird, A.J., Bazzano, A., Hill, A.B., McBride, V.A., Sguera, V., Shaw, S.E. and Watkins, H.J. (2009) Discovery of a 30-d period in the supergiant fast X-ray transient SAX J1818.6?1703. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 393 (1), L11-L15. (doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00583.x).

Landi, R., Bassani, L., Dean, A.J., Bird, A.J., Fiocchi, M., Bazzano, A., Nousek, J.A. and Osborne, J.P. (2009) INTEGRAL/IBIS and Swift/XRT observations of hard cataclysmic variables. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 392 (2), 630-640. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14086.x).

Landi, R., Stephen, J.B., Masetti, N., Grupe, D., Capitanio, F., Bird, Anthony J., Dean, Anthony J., Fiocchi, M. and Gehrels, N. (2009) The AGN nature of three INTEGRAL sources: IGR J18249–3243, IGR J19443+2117, and IGR J22292+6647. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 493 (3), 893-898. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200810503).

Scaringi, Simone, Bird, A.J., Clark, D.J., Dean, A.J., Hill, A.B., McBride, V.A. and Shaw, S.E. (2008) ISINA : INTEGRAL source identification network algorithm. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 390 (4), 1339-1348. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13765.x).

Fiocchi, M., Bazzano, A., Ubertini, P., Bird, A.J., Natalucci, L. and Sguera, V. (2008) The INTEGRAL long monitoring of persistent ultra compact X-ray bursters. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 492 (2), 557-563. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200809715).

Molina, M., Bassani, L., Malizia, A., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., Fiocchi, M., Panessa, F., De Rosa, A. and Landi, R. (2008) A broad-band spectral analysis of eight radio-loud type 1 active galactic nuclei selected in the hard X-ray band. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 390 (3), 1217-1228. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13824.x).

Malizia, A., Bassani, L., Bird, A.J., Landi, R., Masetti, N., De Rosa, A., Panessa, F., Molina, M., Dean, A.J., Perri, M. and Tueller, J. (2008) First high-energy observations of narrow-line Seyfert 1s with INTEGRAL/IBIS. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 389 (3), 1360-1366. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13657.x).

Dean, A.J., Clark, D.J., Stephen, J.B., McBride, V.A., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J., Hill, A.B., Shaw, S.E. and Ubertini, P. (2008) Polarized gamma-ray emission from the Crab. Science, 321 (5893), 1183-1185. (doi:10.1126/science.1149056).

Sguera, V., Bassani, L., Landi, R., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., Malizia, A., Masetti, N. and Ubertini, P. (2008) INTEGRAL and Swift/XRT observations of the SFXT IGR J16479–4514: from quiescence to fast flaring activity. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 487 (2), 619-623. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20079195).

Hill, Adam B., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., Knigge, C. and McBride, V.A. (2008) New and unusual HMXB activity observed by INTEGRAL. Bandyopadhyay, Reba M., Wachter, Stefanie, Gelino, Dawn and Gelino, Christopher R. (eds.) A Population Explosion: The Nature & Evolution of X-ray Binaries in Diverse Environments, St. Pete Beach, Florida, United States. 27 Oct - 02 Nov 2007. p. 263 . (doi:10.1063/1.2945054).

Capitanio, Fiamma, Bird, Anthony J., Federici, Memmo, Bazzano, Angela and Ubertini, Pietro (2008) Correlating the WFC and the IBIS hard X-ray surveys. AIP Conference Proceedings, A population explosion: the nature and evolution of x-ray binaries in diverse environments. p. 257 . (doi:10.1063/1.2945053).

Bird, Antony J. (2008) Obscured galactic populations revealed by INTEGRAL observations. Bandyopadhyay, Reba M., Wachter, Stefanie, Gelino, Dawn and Gelino, Christopher R. (eds.) AIP Conference, St. Pete Beach, Florida, United States. 27 Oct - 02 Nov 2007. p. 217 . (doi:10.1063/1.2945045).

Panessa, F., Bassani, L., De Rosa, A., Bird, A.J., Dean, A.J., Fiocchi, M., Malizia, A., Molina, M., Ubertini, P. and Walter, R. (2008) The broad-band XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL spectra of bright type 1 Seyfert galaxies. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 483 (1), 151-160. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078657).

Masetti, N., Mason, E., Morelli, L., Cellone, S.A., McBride, V.A., Palazzi, E., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J., Charles, P.A., Dean, A.J., Galaz, G., Gehrels, N., Landi, R., Malizia, A., Minniti, D., Panessa, F., Romero, G.E., Stephen, J.B., Ubertini, P. and Walter, R. (2008) Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 482 (1), 113-132. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20079332).

Masetti, N., Mason, E., Landi, R., Giommi, P., Bassani, L., Malizia, A., Bird, A.J., Bazzano, A., Dean, A.J., Gehrels, N., Palazzi, E. and Ubertini, P. (2008) High-redshift blazar identification for Swift J1656.3-3302. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 480 (3), 715-721. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078901).

Dean, A.J., De Rosa, A., McBride, V.A., Landi, R., Hill, A.B., Bassani, L., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J. and Ubertini, P. (2008) INTEGRAL observations of PSR J1811?1925 and its associated pulsar wind nebula. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 384 (1), L29-L33. (doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00415.x).

McBride, V.A., Dean, A.J., Bazzano, A., Bird, A.J., Hill, A.B., De Rosa, A., Landi, R., Sguera, V. and Malizia, A. (2008) INTEGRAL detection of the pulsar wind nebula in PSR J1846–0258. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 477 (1), 249. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078432).

Drave, S.P., Bird, A.J., Sidoli, L., Sguera, V., McBride, V. A., Hill, A. B., Bazzano, A. and Goossens, M. E. (2013) INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations of IGR J16418-4532: evidence of accretion regime transitions in a supergiant fast X-ray transient. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 433 (1), 528-542. (doi:10.1093/mnras/stt754).

Drave, S. P., Bird, A. J., Sidoli, L., Sguera, V., Bazzano, A., Hill, A. B. and Goossens, M. E. (2014) New insights on accretion in supergiant fast X-ray transients from XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL observations of IGR J17544-2619. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 439 (2), 2175-2185. (doi:10.1093/mnras/stu110).

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Sguera, V., Sidoli, L., Paizis, A., Masetti, N., Bird, A.J. and Bazzano, A. (2017) First hard X-ray detection and broad band X-ray study of the unidentified transient AX J1949.8+2534. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 469 (4), 3901-3908. (doi:10.1093/mnras/stx1111).

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Bird, Antony and Coe, Malcolm (2017) Confirmation of six be X-ray binaries in the small Magellanic cloud. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 467 (2), 1526-1530. (doi:10.1093/mnras/stx181).

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Published: 29 March 2018
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Data scientist Dr Adam Hill will help develop new enterprise skills and technologies within Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton through The Royal Society’s Entrepreneur in Residence scheme.

The Southampton alumnus, a lead data scientist at the HAL24K data intelligence research lab, will share real-world experience with staff and students over the next two years as he helps foster an entrepreneurial culture and prepares industry-ready graduates.

He is one of 19 enterprising businesspeople appointed to spend 20 percent of their working time in residence at UK universities. Dr James Otter, Director of Ellipson Ltd, will also be based at the University of Southampton through the scheme, offering his support to the Faculty of Medicine.

“I am thrilled and honoured to have been selected by The Royal Society to be one of the first recipients of the new Entrepreneurs in Residence programme,â€? Adam says. “I hope that it gives me the opportunity to build bridges between the institution at which I completed my PhD training and the industry in which I currently work.â€?

Professor Jonathan Flynn, Head of Physics and Astronomy, says, “We are delighted that Adam has been appointed as one of the first of The Royal Society's Entrepreneurs in Residence. Adam will use his real-world expertise in data-science, built on top of his own academic background, to help us maximise the impact of departmental research based on analysing and learning from large data volumes. An important part of his work will be to help PhD students and early career researchers pursue careers in the knowledge economy where their skills are in high demand.â€?

Adam completed a PhD within the Southampton Astronomy Group in 2005, having worked with the European Space Agency’s INTEGRAL team on surveying the gamma-ray sky. His international research career included projects at France’s Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Grenoble, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, and a return to Physics and Astronomy at Southampton, before he ventured into data science at HAL24K.

“The skills and techniques that physicists need to develop to do their science can also be used within the community to have direct impact with groups that would not normally have access to those skillsets,â€? Adam adds. “We are witnessing the fourth industrial revolution where ‘data is the new oil’ and this is producing new technologies that can be used by scientists to do better science, but is also enabling those scientists who enhance those skills to go forth and innovate beyond the academic world.â€?

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