Implementing a Vision for the Future of Physics in Cambridge · Implementing a Vision for the Future of Physics in Cambridge The Cavendish Laboratory . Overview The Cavendish Laboratory

Implementing a Vision for the Future of Physics in Cambridge

The Cavendish Laboratory

Overview


This document summarises the exciting initiatives which constitute the Cavendish Laboratory’s Development Programme. It is the result of many discussions with colleagues in the Department, with the Cambridge University Development and Alumni Relations, with the School of the Physical Sciences and benefactors to the Department. The Development Programme arises from a document produced about twelve years ago and approved by the School of Physical Science and the University concerning the long-term redevelopment of the Cavendish Laboratory. While the main thrust of that document was a plan for rebuilding the Laboratory, at the same time the University’s 800th Anniversary Campaign focused our attention upon the importance of seeking, in parallel, resources for studentships, fellowships, funding of university posts, outreach to the community and so on. Since we began, we have had a number of notable successes in implementing the Programme. The Physics of Medicine Building, the Kavli Centre for Cosmology in Cambridge, the Winton Programme, the Battcock Centre for Experimental Astrophysics and the forthcoming Maxwell Centre are prominent highlights of the activities over the last seven years and set the pattern for the development of the large-scale infrastructure of the Laboratory. The various projects outlined in this document span the complete range of activity within the Laboratory and are presented in order of increasing cost. But, it must be emphasised that gifts and benefactions at all levels are of enormous value to the Department. Thus, in the first few project sheets, small gifts can make an enormous difference to our ability to help students and to trying out speculative pioneering research initiatives. We have grouped the Development areas into four themes: • Support for people and their programmes • Endowment of Professorships • Equipment • Buildings and Infrastructure Please contact us, or the contact person listed in each sheet if we can provide more details about each programme. Andy Parker Malcolm Longair CBE FRS FRSE Head of Cavendish Laboratory Director of Development Professor of High Energy Physics Emeritus Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy


Support for people and their programmes

Many of the great discoveries in physics have come from speculative experiments carried out on the inspiration of individuals, often running counter to the conventional majority view. The ability to encourage research physicists at all stages in their careers, but especially early on, to attempt bold and innovative research is at the heart of some of physics greatest triumphs. For example, Lawrence Bragg discovered Bragg’s Law of Diffraction as a first year graduate student. To facilitate this key aspect of the Department’s research, a physics research support Fund has been set up, bringing together existing funds within the Department and providing a simple means for benefactors to contribute to the research work of the Department at a wide range of levels. Very often, small amounts of investment can have a quite disproportional benefit in testing out ideas that cannot attract funding from traditional funding sources. The guidelines for the operation of the Fund are as follows: • A Board of Managers, chaired by the Head of the Cavendish Laboratory and

involving senior members of the Department, is responsible for the proper management of the Fund.

• The capital and income of the Fund will be used to provide unrestricted grants to support the research in the Cavendish Laboratory. This might be in the form of fellowships, the provision of equipment or any other means of supporting innovative research within the Laboratory.

• There is no restriction upon the areas of physics research that can be supported by the Fund. The emphasis is on innovation and interdisciplinary areas where new concepts can be exploited.

Donations of all sizes can make a difference. The Department would be pleased to discuss naming opportunities in recognition of a major contribution to the Fund.

To find out more about this initiative please contact, in the first instance: Madeleine Langford-Allen, Associate Director, email [email protected], tel 01223 339810

Head of the Cavendish: Professor Andy Parker Andy Parker is Professor of High Energy Physics and Professorial Fellow of Peterhouse. He is a founder of the ATLAS experiment for the Large Hadron Collider, and for 6 years he was the project leader for the ATLAS Inner Detector. His current research interests involve experiments to reveal new physics such as extra space dimensions, quantum-sized black holes, and supersymmetry.

High resolution image of a surface section of a scale of the Indonesian ‘Green Swallowtail’ butterfly in unpolarised light (left) and with the scale placed between crossed polarisers (right).

Pump-Priming the Next Generation of Physics Research

The Cavendish Laboratory Physics Research Support Fund



Supporting the Next Generation of Physicists

The Cavendish Laboratory Graduate Student Support Fund

Among the most important roles of the Cavendish Laboratory is the training of research students. At any one time there are about 350 research students carrying out world-leading research in the Laboratory, who will be the future leaders of research in the UK and abroad in the years to come. We are fortunate that these students are of outstanding quality and bring fresh imagination and initiative to the research endeavour. The Laboratory has the capacity and desire to increase the size of the graduate student population in response to the exciting prospects offered by the research programme, and the national need for expert trained manpower of the highest intellectual and experimental attainment. Funding from external sources is variable and often limited. We need to be able to offer our own funds to the very best students from the UK and elsewhere, giving them, and us, the freedom to develop new research areas. A three-year PhD studentship costs about £99k (based on a lump-sum gift made in 2011/12). To kick-start the Graduate Student Support Fund, the Department will consolidate the existing funds available to it through the James Clark Maxwell Fund and other benefactions. The pressure on public funding means that we are becoming more and more reliant upon these benefactions to ensure that we continue to attract and support the very best graduate students from the UK and abroad. The Fund may also be used to provide additional support including training, equipment, travel expenses, and conferences at the discretion of the managers of the Fund. Donations of all sizes can make a difference. The Department would be pleased to discuss naming opportunities in recognition of a major gift, such as the endowment of a graduate studentship in perpetuity.



The Cavendish Laboratory Senior Physics Challenge

One of the great successes of our outreach programme to schools has been the pioneering Senior Physics Challenge. This summer course gives talented young people the opportunity to understand how physics works as a theoretical discipline with the creative use of mathematics. To address the problem of the decline of physics student numbers in the UK, the Cavendish has created a major ‘schools physics development programme’ and ‘university access initiative’ called The Senior Physics Challenge. This development programme has two main aims: • Many of the most able school and college students, with aptitude in

maths and a passion for physics, are not opting to study physics at university. The students' misconception about physics at a higher level arises from the removal of much mathematically-based problem solving from the school curriculum. The activities and material they encounter in the Senior Physics Challenge are specifically designed to dispel many of these myths about physics.

• Universities seek fluency and ability in physical and mathematical analysis that are not given prominence in the current school physics syllabus. Some students and their schools are increasingly surprised and disadvantaged by the discrepancy between their expectations of higher physics and its reality. The aim is to demystify and make more accessible to a wider range of students the transition from A-level to university physics in the UK. The course has been outstandingly successful over the years. It has led to the national Rutherford Schools Physics Project, led by the Cavendish Laboratory.

The course needs a dedicated organiser, ideally a bright young physicist who would be employed as a Teaching Fellow. The annual cost of the course, including the salary of the Teaching Fellow who would support the project half-time, is about £50k. There are strong possibilities of matching funds from other sources.

School Physics with the Mathematics put back in



The Cavendish Laboratory Cavendish Physics Centre

Physicists of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

The unique history and tradition of Cavendish physics is an inspiration for future generations of scientists and their teachers. The full potential of the historical collections and their role in education will be greatly enhanced by a fully-supported Cavendish Physics Centre, which would bring together many different aspects of the interface between the Cavendish and the external world.

The Cavendish Physics Centre is the vehicle for bringing together the various aspects of the programme to reach out to young people, their teachers and families. Our ability to reach larger audiences is limited by the resources needed to redevelop and expand the exhibition area and the manpower to sustain the outreach and teacher training activity.

• The Cavendish Museum. There is great scope for increasing the wealth of material on display for educational purposes. Much of the historic material is in storage. An immediate programme would involve the refurbishment and expansion of the museum area, including many more interactive displays.

• The Outreach Programme is organised by our full-time schools liaison officer, who runs a very wide variety of programmes for schools and young people in the area, supported by volunteers among the staff, graduate students and undergraduates. The scope of this key activity is limited by the staff effort available to support it.

• Teacher Training Initiatives One of our most important programmes is refreshing school physics teachers in new ways of engaging young people in physics. These enrich the experiences of teachers and enable them to communicate the excitement of contemporary physics and its role in the future of society.

Many possibilities for philanthropic support of this programme include funding a full-time Director of the Cavendish Physics Centre with the focus firmly on schools, teachers and young people (£100k per year), a gift to support a major redevelopment of the Cavendish Museum (£500k), and the support of further outreach personnel working under the supervision of the Director of the Physics Centre (£80k per year).


Endowment of Professorships



The Cavendish Laboratory Endowment of Professorships

Enabling the Best to do Better

John Cockcroft, Nobel Prize winner for Physics in 1951, Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy

One of the most effective ways of enhancing the research and teaching programme of the Laboratory is through the endowment of distinguished chairs. Although these were often established long ago, the initial endowment has long ceased to cover even a small fraction of the salary costs of the most distinguished physicists we seek to attract. The endowment of Professorships releases resources that can be used to support the research and teaching programme of the Laboratory in very substantial ways.

We have identified five chairs for which endowment funds are sought. Three of these are established chairs: • Jacksonian Professorship of Natural Philosophy, currently

vacant; • Professorship of Nanophotonics, currently held by Jeremy

Baumberg; • 1966 Professorship of Theoretical Physics. The endowment of three new Professorships is expected to result in major enhancements of the research and teaching activity: • Professorship of Thin-Film Magnetism, the area of recent

appointee Professor Russell Cowburn. The endowment of Professorships is a major component of the University’s Development Campaign. The investment sought to endow a post in perpetuity is about £2.5m for an existing post, and about £5m for a new post, based on a lump-sum gift made in 2014/15.


Equipment



The Cavendish Laboratory Equipment

General Equipment Fund

One of the most helpful contributions to the research programme is through the provision of funds for general equipment. State of the art equipment is essential if the Laboratory is to maintain its position in the forefront of experimental physics. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the research councils will often only provide partial support for the purchase of equipment. For large equipment purchases, collaborations with other Departments are often essential, but during the early phases of many of the most innovative programmes, which would not have a chance of being funded by the research councils, there is a need for the investment of modest funds to enable the prototyping to be carried out. This often involves the expenditure of several tens of thousands of pounds. Another example is contributions of equipment for larger scale projects, such as the helium-3 spin echo spectrometer. While many of the components could be built in the Laboratory, many of the items had to be purchased from specialist manufacturers. Another example of the need for modest sums to support the research programme is the provision of specialist teaching facilities. One of the recent successes has been through the provision of facilities for training in computer aided design and electronics design and construction, which was made possible through the generosity of a Cavendish benefactor. The typical request for specialist equipment is for sums of the order £10k - £50k.

A section of the beam-line for the helium-3 atomic spectroscopy system. While much of the equipment was built in-house, individual parts of the system had to be purchased from commercial suppliers, typically costing £10k - £50k.

A training session in CAD techniques in the new computer-aided design and electronics teaching suite




The Next Generation of Semiconductor Materials

Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) is a sophisticated, ultra high vacuum technique for the growth of high-purity thin crystalline films with atomic monolayer precision. This technique led to a number of major advances in nanoscale science and technology, including the development of novel semiconductor devices such as the first terahertz laser and the first triggered source of entangled photons by the Semiconductor Physics group, led by Professor David Ritchie. New possibilities have been opened up by the change from traditional III-V semiconductor materials to functional oxides, pioneered by the Quantum Matter group under the guidance of Professor Gil Lonzarich. These materials include dielectrics, metals, superconductors, ferroelectrics, and fully spin-polarized ferromagnets, exhibiting a wide range of different properties. The Thin Film Magnetism group, under the leadership of Dr Crispin Barnes, has for many years studied the fundamental properties of magnetic metal films incorporating them into device structures with novel functionalities. The aim of this project is to create a centre for the MBE growth of thin films of functional oxides. The time is now ripe for the exploitation of a range of different materials in bulk with very well controlled properties. This is a unique opportunity to draw together three world-leading research groups with complementary expertise to establish a new grouping for the fabrication and exploitation of next-generation of device structures made from oxides. Applications include ultra-high density information storage, ultra fast switching and potential energy storage applications, novel multi-functional device structures where electric and magnetic fields combine. The investment sought is £1m.

A molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system for the growth of ultra-pure III-V semiconductors




Understanding and Exploiting the Unique Physics of Molecules

The Optoelectronics and Microelectonics research group in the Cavendish Laboratory led by Professors Sir Richard Friend, Henning Sirringhaus and Neil Greenham is one of the internationally leading research groups in the device physics of conjugated polymer semiconductors. The Thin Films and Interfaces Group is developing techniques for improved structural control in the assembly of molecules from solution. While much of our work in the past has been focused on understanding the properties of thin molecular films over micrometer length scales and their application in thin-film devices, recent breakthroughs are now allowing us to study physical properties on the length scale of individual molecules and nanoscale molecular assemblies. This opens up new opportunities not only for better understanding of the unique charge and spin transport physics and the optoelectronic properties of such well- controlled molecular assemblies, but also for discovery of novel device functions and architectures that use these unique properties. This will define a scalable approach to nanotechnology, based on manufacturing by self-organised solution assembly and direct-write printing, for a broad range of applications in energy conversion and storage as well as information processing and storage. To establish the Centre we need to invest in new experimental techniques for molecular scale electronic characterisation. In particular, we need to make use of the latest advances in scanning probe instrumentation offering unprecedented measurements of electronic structure on molecular length scales as illustrated in the diagrams. This requires an investment of £1m.

Imaging of the charge distribution in a conjugated pentacene molecule with an atomic force microscope.




The Wish List

As part of the continuing redevelopment of the Laboratory and the preparation for the move of the Laboratory into the new Cavendish III buildings, the research groups have been invited to make bids for the necessary infrastructure for their research programmes. This table gives an impression of the scale of investment involved.

Research Groups Equipment

Costs (£M)

Principal Elements of the Requested Investment

Astrophysics + High Energy

Physics

4.75 Optical Instrumentation Laboratories, Fast Digital and Electronics and

Photonics Development Lab, RF and Antenna Laboratory. Clean room

facilities and refurbishment of the HEP electronics development suite.

Atomic, Mesoscopic and

Optical Physics

10 Centre for Light-Matter Interaction involving the construction of 4

laboratories with state-of-the-art lasers and single-molecule detection and

excitation schemes.

Biological and Soft Systems 0.6 Biological imaging and microfluidics applications facilities in biology,

including confocal microscopy and two photon-microscopy.

Optoelectronics,

Microelectronics and

Nanophotonics

2.8 Time resolved laser spectroscopy systems, vacuum deposition systems with

multiple organic/inorganic sublimation sources. Reactive ion etching/ion

milling for metal patterning. Small angle X-ray scattering, a scanning near-

field microscope system for two-photon broadband microscopy.

Quantum Matter 2.4 Cryogenic atomic force microscope, surface sensitive probes of complex

materials, X-ray Laue camera. High pressure cubic anvil furnace, high

temperature simultaneous thermogravimetry & differential scanning

calorimetry . Low temperature powder x-ray diffractometer. Micro-

crystalline laser micro-milling and contacting ‘spot welder’.

Quantum Sensors,

Semiconductor Physics and

Thin Film Magnetism

18.5 UHV deposition system for fabricating multilayer superconducting chips.

Long wavelength vacuum FTS. A cryogen-free 100 mK fridge. Complete

rebuild of the Semiconductor Physics facilitates for semiconductor device

fabrication and testing. Thin Film Magnetism materials growth facility. A

large, multi-user growth facility, focused around sputtering.

Surfaces, Microstructure and

Fracture

2.5 High Strain Rate Material Dynamics Laboratory, Centre for High Speed

Imaging, Energetic Materials Facility, Microstructural Characterisation Suite

Total £41.55M


Buildings and Infrastructure



The Cavendish Laboratory Rebuilding the Cavendish

The Rebuilding to Date

In 2002, the Cavendish submitted a proposal to the University for the phased redevelopment of the Laboratory on its present site in response to a number of pressures, driven by the need to maintain the excellence of the research and teaching programmes and to continue to regenerate these in the long-term future.

BDP produced a visionary plan for the redevelopment of the whole site which was approved by the central university bodies. The successful elements of the programme so far are:

• Physics of Medicine Building (£12.5M) - opened December 2008; Herchel Smith Professor of Physics of Medicine Ben Simons appointed 2011

• Kavli Institute of Cosmology (£5M) - opened November 2009

• Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability (£20M) - David Harding gift; Richard Friend, Director of Programme. Inaugurated March 2011

• Battcock Centre for Experimental Astrophysics (£5M + £1M) - construction completed Autumn 2103

• Maxwell Centre for the collaboration between the Physical Science and Industry (£25.6M) - fully funded by HEFE and the University. Planned to be completed autumn.

The rebuilding of the rest of the Cavendish is the top priority for the Laboratory. There are a number of urgent reasons for this as indicated overleaf.

Physics of Medicine

Battcock Centre

Maxwell Centre




Scientific and Strategic Aims

• The Cavendish has a key role to play in the national interest: small UK physics departments are under threat

• Large departments like the Cavendish need to maintain a large output of highly qualified graduate students and undergraduates from the UK and abroad

• Other universities look to the Cavendish as a national and international leader in Physics teaching and research

• We need to continue to enhance our extensive programme of Public and Schools education, which has been demonstrably successful and effective

• Physics is still considered by HEFCE as a strategically important and vulnerable (SIV) subject

• Recent changes to Higher Education funding may hit SIVs particularly hard since VCs may close physics and chemistry departments through lack of AAB undergraduates and/or undergraduates choosing to spend their £9K tuition fee on more applied/vocational subjects

• The Cavendish has an even more important role in protecting the health of the subject. The pressing need continues to be for state-of-the art laboratories, office and supporting infrastructure and services to the highest level of modern design

• These are essential if the Cavendish is to be able to recruit and retain the very best physicists from the world-wide pool of outstanding individuals

• The facilities need to be flexible to accommodate future developments and collaborations

• Expansions of the programme may take place through strategic collaborations with other departments and Universities and with industry




The Need to Rebuild

• The rebuilding of the Cavendish Laboratory was completed in 1974 on the West Cambridge site with a design lifetime of about 25 years; it was designed in an era when energy was cheap and there was little concern about the environment

• The buildings have proved functional, but are not of high quality, reflecting the need to provide the maximum space possible for the available resources

• There is very significant overcrowding in many areas of the laboratory

• The building is far outside current space and environmental norms and there are numerous deleterious design features which would be very expensive to mitigate

• The internal construction of the buildings is very wasteful of space which cannot be reclaimed at economic cost

• The flat roofs are a continuing nightmare and very vulnerable to water damage. This has resulted in accidents and serious health & safety issues. Asbestos is a severe problem, particularly in the Mott Building

• Many areas of the Mott building continue to be barely inhabitable during the summer months

• The operating costs are very large relative to modern design norms. As an example, with single glazing, there are severe heat losses




The Elements of the Continuing Redevelopment

There are three main components to complete the Redevelopment:

(1) It is proposed that the buildings will include a large clean room and common large scale experimental facilities for use by all. This will lead to economies in the provision of such facilities.

All the experimental groups from the Mott building will be housed in the new buildings:

• Quantum Matter • Semiconductor Physics • Surfaces, Microstructure and Fracture • Thin Film Magnetism • Structure and Dynamics

(2) A second major element would comprise the following experimental groups:

• High Energy Physics • Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics • Optoelectronics • Microelectronics • Nanophotonics • Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory • Astrophysics larger experimental laboratories.

(3) The third element comprises teaching and infrastructure support of all types:

• Administration and finance division • Stores • Lecture halls • Common room • Library • Central services of all types • Museum and Physics Centre for public education.

Ideally, these elements of the rebuild would all be part of an integrated coherent plan for the completion of the Cavendish redevelopment plan. This would result in the maximum economy of build and the most integrated design for the benefit of interaction between all members of the Laboratory. BDP have provided examples of how this can be achieved.



The Cavendish Laboratory Redevelopment on the Paddocks Site

An outline concept

The University wishes the Cavendish to be relocated on the Paddocks site and we have already some conceptual drawings about how this could be achieved. An order of cost estimate has been provided by BDP in consultation with the Turner & Townsend Cost Management Ltd. The pre-feasibility estimate indicates a project cost of just under £218.7M which comprises the construction costs of £106.7M and other essential costs such as Professional fees, Risk allowances, inflation (assuming a third quarter 2017 mid-point), VAT, Infrastructure levy and Estates Management fees and project reserve. The largest of these other costs are VAT (£33.6M) which is an assumed cost but might be improved, Inflation (£25.6M) which is dependent on project timing, Professional fees and surveys (£14.9M), Infrastructure levy (£14.9M) and Risk Allowance (£11M). These are pre-feasibility estimates and as the project definition improves there may be scope for reducing some of the costs. Realistically, if the building were to be completed over the next 5 years, we are looking at a £200M project cost.

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Implementing a Vision for the Future of Physics in Cambridge · Implementing a Vision for the Future of Physics in Cambridge The Cavendish Laboratory . Overview The Cavendish Laboratory