Some Students back next week
As you will have seen in the messages coming out from the University and our own Faculty Dean, some UG students will be returning next week to complete essential practical work.
This will mean more people on campus generally and in the Physics building.
Our teaching lab sizes are much reduced and we are expecting groups numbering under 20 to attend each session along with the academic lab leads and post graduate helpers.
I don’t expect this limited resumption of activity to have any major effects on those of us in the building but it is an opportune time to remind all of us to keep going with the procedures we have been doing for so long now. Infection numbers must remain low if the way out of lockdown is to proceed.
Keep washing your hands, wearing face coverings, maintaining social distancing and letting fresh air in where we can.
The situation after the Easter break is under review the University will react to guidance from the government which is expected at the end of the Easter vacation.
Shonah Ion
Astrophysics Webinar
Online event via MS Teams
Monday 8 March 2021
3:00pm to 4:00pm
9io9: a hyper luminous infrared galaxy under the microscope at z=2.6
Speaker: Dr. James Geach (University of Hertfordshire)
Izzy Garland
DSI Weds Lunchtime Talks – Aneta Stefanovska
Online Microsoft Teams
Wednesday 10 March 2021
12:30pm to 1:30pm
Capturing dynamics based on data from non-autonomous, open systems
Julia Carradus
DSI Data Dynamics – mini-talks
Online Microsoft Teams
Thursday 11 March 2021
12:00pm to 1:30pm
Talks on Data from Dynamic Systems
Julia Carradus
Space and Planetary Physics webinar
Online event
Thursday 11 March 2021
2:00pm to 3:00pm
Title TBC
Speaker: Beatriz Sanchez-Cono (University of Leicester)
Jarek Nowak
Experimental Particle Physics webinar
Online via MS Teams
Friday 12 March 2021
11:00am to 12:00pm
Title tbc
Speaker: Dr. Christoph Englert (University of Glasgow)
Jarek Nowak
Terahertz lights up the nanoscale! ‘Optoelectronic Characterisation of low-dimensional materials using terahertz spectroscopy and microscopy
Online via MS Teams
Friday 12 March 2021
3:00pm to 4:00pm
Condensed Matter Seminar
Speaker: Dr Jessica Boland (University of Manchester)
Michael Thompson
PS Staff Reward and Recognition
This is just a reminder that the deadline for submission of PS staff reward and recognition cases is Friday 26th February. There is also a further opportunity in May to submit cases and the deadline is Friday 28th May.
The link detailing all the information you need is here: https://portal.lancaster.ac.uk/intranet/services/people/pay-recognition-and-reward/professional-services-reward-and-recognition/
Cases are to be emailed to PSReward@lancaster.ac.uk, however, please copy in Lynne so we can keep track of the cases submitted. If anyone would prefer a sanity check on their case prior to submission then please let me know.
Lynne Haley & Shonah Ion
New Lockdown Requirements
All those who are accessing or planning to access the building for essential activities during this current national lockdown must review their risk assessments in light of the increased risk of infection due to the highly transmissible virus currently in circulation.
It is strongly suspected that the new strain is more transmissible because of the following reasons
- Greater viral loads may be shed by asymptomatic cases.
- The viral survival time on surfaces may be longer.
- The viral survival time as an aerosol may be longer, particularly in relatively low humidity environments.
Consider these increased risks and modify your control measures if required.
The basic controls (hands, face, space) are still good control measures but we need to redouble our efforts and be especially vigilant now.
The following points from the University’s safety office offer actions which will help to protect us all. Review your work area and ensure we do all we can to counteract this increased risk.
- Regular handwashing, keeping a distance of 2 m and wearing a face covering where instructed, remain the greatest priority.
- All staff must use the cleaning sprays and disposable towels to regularly wipe surfaces after use, paying particular attention to touch points (i.e. door handles, key pads, the handles of shared equipment (specialist and kitchen equipment). Hands should be washed or sanitised following this activity.
- Ensure ventilation settings remain at the maximum and staff should continue to open windows where artificial ventilation is not provided.
- Physical screening should be reassessed to ensure it is adequate i.e. the screen should completely isolate the person behind it, if not, the distance the aerosol must travel to reach the other person must be greater than 2 m.
Shonah Ion