Cavendish Laboratory

From the future of quantum computing to the earliest galaxies and a final look inside 'Cavendish 2' iconic 1974 buildings before demolition, the latest CavMag gives you all the news and stories from across the Cavendish community. Read issue 35 : buff.ly/BNpMj4V

📸 Quantum gas microscopes show us where atoms are. But what if they could also show us how they’re moving? A proposal for a new ‘phase-space’ microscope could capture both in a single shot, opening a new window onto quantum matter. Read the full story: buff.ly/jy7jeWJ

The winners of the Cavendish Photo Competition 2026 have been announced! Meet 1st Prize winner, Zofia Dziekan! Her image, ‘Winter Wonderland’, reveals intricate, fractal-like patterns formed by gold nanoparticles and molecular linkers, captured using scanning electron microscopy.

🔬 Vibrating material organises itself into a single beat Cavendish physicist Anton Souslov and international colleagues have developed a material that coordinates its own movement until the entire structure pulses in unison. The research is published in Nature. Read the full story: buff.ly/ThVnt0H

The opening of the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre at the RDC marks the next phase of Cambridge's corporate research partnership with IonQ. Nine projects will kick off the Centre, from scaling quantum computers to exploring applications in finance, engineering and cancer research: buff.ly/PageoMg

Delighted for our three Cavendish researchers honoured in the 2026 Institute of Physics awards: Sarah Bohndiek, Russell Cowburn and Akshay Rao—recognised for transforming biomedical optics, translating new physics into real-world products, and advancing energy materials physics👏 #IOPAwards26

Join us for Cavendish Professor Nicola Marzari's ‘inaugural’ talk on Wednesday 14 October, 4.15pm at the Ray Dolby Centre. The talk, ‘Materials from First Principles: From Pseudogaps to Autonomous Discovery’, is part of the Cavendish Quantum Colloquium series. Find out more: buff.ly/qqH8hGs

Huge congratulations to Dr Loubna Bouarfa, Affiliated Lecturer in Applied AI and Entrepreneurship at the Cavendish Laboratory, for being elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of her exceptional contributions to her field. 👏

Last week, the Laboratory for Scientific Computing hosted a three-day conference in Cambridge celebrating the scientific legacy and 80th birthday of Professor Eleuterio F. Toro OBE. 🎉 Researchers united across disciplines to share work. Learn more: buff.ly/6cU25KE

We are delighted to announce Prof Amir Yacoby as inaugural Ray Dolby Professor of Theoretical and Experimental Physics. He is joining the Cavendish from Harvard to develop new ways of probing and understanding quantum matter. A very warm welcome to Amir! 🔗 www.phy.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

🌌 Beyond Light: Understanding the Universe with #GravitationalWaves Join Richard Dyer at 6pm on 29 Sept at the Ray Dolby Centre to explore how gravitational waves reveal black holes, neutron stars, and a universe once hidden from view. Free and open to all. 🔗https://buff.ly/yc7G3Oc

Earlier this week, we welcomed researchers for Phage Research @ Cambridge: Community Building - a research event that brought together the phage research community to connect, exchange perspectives and explore new ideas. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

⚡ It begins before the arrival An experiment in sound by Cavendish Arts Science Fellow Thulani Rachia, reflecting on lightning as an agent in Indigenous Temporalities. 📅 Tuesday 29 Sept, 12.15–13.15 📍 Ray Dolby Centre atrium 20-min sound experiment + artist Q&A. To book, visit: buff.ly/zXqDsB6

Physics at Work 2026 has inspired more than 1,900 students to think about a possible career in physics! Now in its 42nd year, our flagship outreach event brought together 22 exhibitors who showcased careers across physics and the many routes into them. Physics at Work returns 21–23 September 2027.

🎉Congratulations to Harry Cliff on his appointment as Assistant Professor in Experimental High Energy Physics! An Ernest Rutherford Fellow and member of the LHCb experiment at CERN, Harry is also the Cavendish’s Public Physicist and editor of CavMag, our alumni magazine. @harrycliff.bsky.social

Help preserve Parton Kirk, closely associated with the founding head of the Cavendish Laboratory James Clerk Maxwell. Parton Community Council has until 1st November to raise £70,000 to save it for the community. Support 👉️ buff.ly/xXH6LRU

Our group website "AI for Materials" led by Prof Jacqui Cole is now live: www.ai4mat.phy.cam.ac.uk Explore: open-source software, materials databases, domain-specific language models, and the carbon cost of our own models @cambridgephysics.bsky.social #ChemSky #MaterialsScience #SustainableAI

“It’s a lot of detective work, and it’s a lot of fun.” 🔭 Meet Lucy Oswald, our new Assistant Professor in Data-Driven Radio Astronomy. In the latest issue of CavMag, Lucy talks pulsars, big data, mentorship and why curiosity matters when finding your place in physics. 👉️ buff.ly/zTvhsAb

@cambridgephysics.bsky.social @physrevlett.aps.org @umdscience.bsky.social Thanks to J. J. Thio for the magnificent cartoon.

Since I was a PhD student, I've wondered whether Kirkwood–Dirac quasiprobabilities could help with pinpointing the magic that underlies quantum-computational speedups. After all, Wigner quasiprobabilities are useful, if limited. We finally have an answer. journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

🌌 MOONS, a new UK-led instrument, has taken its first look at the heart of our Galaxy, beginning an ambitious mission to map millions of stars and galaxies. Its mission? To uncover new insights into how the Milky Way and the wider Universe formed and evolved. More here: buff.ly/DE376gu

🔬 A new kind of magnetism has been confirmed deep inside chromium antimonide (CrSb) for the first time. The research provides firm experimental evidence for bulk #altermagnetism and could support future advances in efficient electronic technologies. buff.ly/pd3dXmQ

📖 Have you read the latest #CavMag? 💀 Discover how a growing supermassive black hole may have slowly starved Pablo’s Galaxy of the gas needed to form new stars - a cosmic ‘death by a thousand cuts.’ 🌌 Read the full story in CavMag 35 👇 buff.ly/CJ33ot2

🔬 'Physical Sciences at Alumni Festival' returns to Cambridge! Join us at the RDC on 18 September for a day of Physical Sciences events and talks. Explore quantum uncertainty and AI-driven materials discovery with Prof Dorian Gangloff and Nicola Marzari. buff.ly/uJlKIDX

Quantum computers need “magic” states to outperform classical machines but new Cambridge research shows magic alone may not be enough. The key may lie in negativity: Kirkwood–Dirac negativity. Read the story : www.phy.cam.ac.uk/news/a-littl... Cartoon by J.J Thio

A tiny satellite could use the far side of the Moon to listen for whispers from the early Universe. The CosmoCube mission will search for a faint hydrogen signal from the cosmic dark ages - before the first stars appeared. 🛰️ Read: buff.ly/ulAsA9O

The latest issue of CavMag, our Alumni magazine, is here! 🔬 Among the stories, discover how the new MicroBooNE results rule out a ‘sterile’ neutrino - but mysteries remain. Read the story: buff.ly/ItJq6WD Image: MicroBooNE Collaboration and Fermilab

Are you ready to shape the future of physics with #AI? Frontiers is a new training programme for incoming and prospective Physics PhD students at the Cavendish Laboratory in 2026. Gain the skills to tackle tomorrow's biggest scientific challenges. Learn more: buff.ly/wVMRKRO

💧 How do protons move through water? Using AI-powered quantum simulations, researchers tracked 51 interconnected molecular vibrations simultaneously, revealing that protons move by "hopping" from one water molecule to the next. 🔗 buff.ly/j27SzuA

What happens when a chain flies off the 3rd floor of the Ray Dolby Centre and why does it do *that*? To mark 20 years of the Senior Physics Challenge (SPC), we recreated the famous chain fountain, which was explained by physicist and founder of the SPC Mark Warner and his then-student John Biggins 👀

After a fantastic first Undergraduate Open Day yesterday, we're looking forward to welcoming more future physicists at the Ray Dolby Centre on Day 2, and giving them a glimpse of what it's like to study Physics at Cambridge. If you're joining us today, we can't wait to meet you!

🍫 Happy World Chocolate Day! The next time you unwrap a chocolate bar, remember - you are holding a fascinating piece of science. Swipe through to explore the physics of chocolate and discover how concepts like crystal structures, viscosity and density shape every bite.

Thinking about studying Physics at Cambridge? Only a few days to go until our Open Days at the Ray Dolby Centre on 9 and 10 July, from 1pm to 4.30 pm. Attend sample lectures, meet our current students, and explore the Natural Sciences course. Book your place now: buff.ly/sW6uJXj

Good luck to the UK’s International Physics Olympiad team, who completed their final training camp at the Cavendish before heading to Colombia for #IPhO2026. Practicals and theory prep done, those 5 bright young minds are ready to take on the world stage! We’ll be cheering you on from Cambridge! 👏

Researchers from the AION collaboration, including Cavendish physicists, have demonstrated a key technique to cancel laser noise in atom interferometers under real-world conditions. The work marks an important milestone in developing the quantum technologies of the future: buff.ly/bdEi0VG

📢 We're hiring: IonQ Project Manager Want to help deliver one of the UK's most exciting quantum initiatives? Join the University of Cambridge to support our landmark partnership with IonQ, which will bring the UK's most powerful quantum computer to Cambridge. Apply by 12 July: buff.ly/Lznjd0B

Thank you to everyone who joined the inaugural Dolby Symposium last week 🎉 This year's theme, AI in Science, inspired great talks and discussion. The Dolby Symposium will be back on 17 June 2027 - stay tuned for next year’s theme!

Thinking of studying Physics at Cambridge? Visit us in our new home the Ray Dolby Centre during #CambridgeOpenDays on 9 and 10 July, from 1pm to 4.30pm. Register: buff.ly/BAWzIOJ General information stands can also be found at the Student Services Centre, from 9.30am to 4.30pm on both days.

Huge congratulations to Roberto Maiolino for his 2026 Feltrinelli Prize in Physics from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, for his pioneering work on galaxies and massive black holes across cosmic times. Roberto received the prize in a ceremony attended by Italian President Sergio Mattarella 📷️

🎉 We turn 152 today! 🎉 It is hard to believe that it has already been a little over a year since we officially opened the doors to the #RayDolbyCentre. In this past year, the Centre has become a vibrant home for our community. Here’s to this year of many firsts and many more to come ✨

A summary illustration capturing the work of Prof. Jacqueline Cole published in @chemistryworld.com @cambridgephysics.bsky.social www.chemistryworld.com/features/ai-... #AI #Chemistry #DataMining #MaterialsScience

Didier Queloz has long been on our #PeopleDoingPhysics ideal guest list, so we're excited to share this new episode. Listen to Didier discuss his path into physics, his search for life in the universe, and why failing and bouncing back matters in research. Available everywhere and 👉️ buff.ly/lerXKtb

⚡The rain and lightning over Cambridge today remind us of this stunning image of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory (MRAO), captured by a local resident during an electrical storm last month. What a show of drama and beauty! ✨ 📸 Photo credit: Douglas Thompson #RadioAstronomy

Join us for the next Big Science Colloquium with Prof Sarah Seager (MIT): 'From Lab to Cosmos: The Possibility for Life in Non-Water Planetary Environments' 📅 Tuesday 9 June from 4.15pm 📍 Ray Dolby Centre, Cambridge Free and open to all members of the University. For more details 👉️ buff.ly/g4MVc9P

Final few days to register for the Dolby Symposium: AI in Science. 📅 18 June |📍 Ray Dolby Centre, Cambridge Hear from Nobel Prize laureate John Jumper (Google DeepMind) and an outstanding line-up of speakers. Register for this free one-day event before 08 June: www.phy.cam.ac.uk/event/dolby-...

Welcome to Marcos Guimarães (@mhdguimaraes.bsky.social), our new Associate Professor in the Physics of Energy Materials 💫 His work on charge, light, spin and magnetism in quantum van der Waals materials advances energy-efficient information technologies. Delighted to have you on board Marcos!

A new radio antenna system is being built at the mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory near Cambridge📡 The instrument will help REACH scientists study signals from more than 13 billion years ago, when the first stars and galaxies began to form. Learn more about the REACH project: buff.ly/bL61gPz

Cavendish researchers have discovered a new way to make “forbidden” molecular triplet states shine🔬✨ The findings, published in Nature Chemistry, could lead to brighter #OLED materials, improved imaging technologies, and future quantum sensing applications. Read the paper: buff.ly/IbDB3N7