People doing Physics Cavendish Laboratory

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Joining us this month is Dr Sandro Tacchella, Assistant Professor in Extragalactic Astrophysics at the Cavendish and the nearby Kavli Institute for Cosmology. Inspired by astronomy at a young age, Sandro pursued a degree in Physics and threaded a line between the “small” scale of planetary astrophysics and the statistical world of pure cosmology. He looks at the physics underpinning the formation of galaxies and black holes, hoping to understand how these cosmic structures came to be using data from some of the most advanced telescopes on, and above, Earth. His experience of using analytical and cosmological models to determine the physical properties of galaxies is being brought to bear on data from the recently activated James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument, and he plays a key role in projects aimed at characterising the earliest galaxies.
His research has taken him around the world, from Switzerland to Korea and the US, but he has still found time to start a family and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Today, we’ll talk to him about the benefits and unique problems he faces working in astrophysics, what it has been like to do cutting-edge research on three continents, and where he sees extragalactic astrophysics going in the near future.
[00:36] – Guest’s intro
[01:50] – Dreaming of space through a telescope
[03:57] – Physics degree and outreach events to become a budding astronomer
[05:03] – It's not so easy to do Astrophysics in Switzerland
[06:00] – From broad astrophysics to extragalactic observations
[08:17] – The exquisite images from the Hubble Space Telescope
[10:00] – Why do galaxies look like what they do today? Look at them back in time!
[12:17] – Live podcast announcement with special guest Professor Dame Athene Donald
[13:42] - Starting a family while doing a PhD
[16:35] – What counts when you try to succeed during a PhD are you don't get the support you need from your group?
[20:05] – There is work, and there is family...
[21:05] - Restarting a career at Harvard and working on the James Webb Telescope
[23:15] – From Harvard to Korea to the UK- two kids, a partner, a postdoc, and a pandemic
[26:35] - Analising the date from James Webb Telescope and understanding when the very first galaxies and black holes formed and how they evolved
[31:25] Astrophysics is famous for finding things that nobody was expecting
[33:46] – Outro  
Book aheadJoin us for a LIVE recording of the Poeple Doing Physics with special guest Professor Dame Athene Donald on Saturday 18th March at 3.30pm. Part of Cambridge event is part of the Cambridge Festival from the University of Cambridge.
Reserve your free spot now!
Useful linksLearn more about a href="https://www.tacchella.space/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Head of the Cavendish Laboratory Andy Parker takes us on a tour of our new home the Ray Dolby Centre, and talks about his inspiration for becoming a High Energy physicist.

Our guest this month is Prof. Sarah Bohndiek, Professor of Biomedical Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, and Fellow of Corpus Christi College. Currently, her research group, the Vision Lab, looks to understand tumours using new medical imaging techniques, and Sarah is also particularly interested in the incredibly important process of standardising complex methods and datasets between laboratories. Alongside her research, she has championed public engagement and interdisciplinary research training, and pushes for open access, practical solutions to serious medical issues.
During the episode, we talk about her experiences growing up in Greenwich, her early interest in Astrophysics and subsequent movement into Biomedical physics, her research and future exciting developments in medical imaging.

Our guest this month is Dr Paolo Molignini, a postdoctoral research associate in the Theory of Condensed Matter group here at the Cavendish. He brings together elements of nonequilibrium physics, topological phases of matter, quantum optics and quantum simulation. During the episode, we talk about about his experiences growing up in southern Switzerland, his path from Civil Engineer to Physicist, the work he does as a theoretician working in an experimental laboratory, and where this will take him next.

Our guest this month is Dr. Tiffany Harte, an experimental physicist who works with ultracold atomic systems. During the episode, we talk about the challenges of devising experiments at the limits of zero temperature, on how to find motivation when experiments break down, and how to navigate postdoc life in and out of the pandemic.

Our guest this month is Prof. Malcolm Longair, CBE, FRS, FRSE, (and Munroist), who specialises in high energy astrophysics and astrophysical cosmology. During the episode, we talk about what over half a century of working at the cutting edge of science has taught him, and where he sees the Cavendish laboratory going in the future.