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Examinations in May

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , , , on May 5, 2025 by telescoper

In the Irish language, the month of May is called Bealtaine after the old Celtic festival that marks the mid-point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. May Day is Lá Bealtaine, one of the so-called Cross-Quarter Days that lie halfway between the equinoxes and solstices. The Bank Holiday associated with this day is not May 1st, as it is throughout Europe, but the first Monday of May, which this year means today. I’m therefore officially off work, though I have quite a few things to do so will be working from home for most of today.

This Bank Holiday offers a bit of a breather before the end of teaching term (Friday May 9th) and the start of the Examination period (Friday May 16th). There are just four more days of teaching, and I have just a couple more lectures to do. In a normal week I would have a Particle Physics tutorial this Monday afternoon, but instead I have offered to do one next Monday (12th) to go through the last assignment which is due in on Friday. The examination for Particle Physics is on 27th May, which is one of the last of the year; this is a final-year module so for many students it will be their last examination at Maynooth.

My Computational Physics students are working on their projects which are due in on Friday 9th; that gives me about a week to grade them before the examinations start. The Computational Physics written examination is on Monday May 19th and if all goes to plan I will have the projects marked before I embark on the examination scripts. Instead of formal teaching sessions, the computing lab, together with demonstrator assistance, is at the disposal of the students for their projects during this time. I anticipate plenty of last-minute acitivity in Thursday’s session!

Anyway, on Friday I have to give a Departmental Colloquium as well as my final Particle Physics lecture. Then, to mark the end of teaching, I’m going to the National Concert Hall to listen to some music. The next morning I’ll have to get up very early for the Darkness Into Light, which involves a 5km walk ending at sunrise.

After next week attention will turn to examinations. For me that’s not only in Maynooth. I haven’t mentiond it on here before but I have agreed to act as External Examiner for undergraduate Physics programmes at Imperial College, London, for the next few years. The meeting of the Examination Board there is not until July, which is long after ours in Maynooth so there will be no clash, but I have been doing some work (vetting papers, etc) alongside my own work. The examinations at Imperial take place roughly alongside ours, but there are so many more students there than at Maynooth that a longer time is needed for grading the scripts so the end of the process is much later.

In the past, I’ve been External Examiner in a number of UK universities. The last was Cambridge, in fact, where my term ended in 2017 while I was still working in Cardiff. I haven’t done any since moving to Ireland: being Head of Department, especially during lockdown, did not allow me the time. My term as External at Imperial will last until I retire, so this is the last such job I’ll be doing.

There’s quite a lot of work involved with being an External Examiner, but I always find it interesting to see how other institutions run their programmes. As well as providing feedback and, if necessary, advice to the Institution I always pick up interesting ideas from them too. Imperial’s Physics programmes are much broader than ours, so there’s a huge difference in scale, but I’m sure there will be things to learn. I mean in general terms, of course. All the details are confidential, for obvious reasons.

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Wyn Evans for Chancellor of Cambridge University!

Posted in Biographical, Education, Harassment Bullying etc with tags , , , , on May 4, 2025 by telescoper

I thought I’d post a quick follow-up to this post about the campaign by Prof. Wyn Evans to be the next Chancellor of Cambridge University. When I posted that item, Wyn was seeking enough nominations to stand for election. I’m very glad to pass on the news that he got over 100 nominations, more than twice the number required to stand for election. He is therefore an official candidate for the election that will take place in July. I am a graduate of Cambridge University and have registered to vote in the forthcoming election.

P.S. This all reminds me that a mere 40 years ago I was preparing for my finals at Cambridge. I still have the papers I sat then and will share them on the anniversary for old times’ sake. The first papers were on Wednesday 22nd May 1985.

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The Spanish Power Outage

Posted in Barcelona, Biographical, Euclid with tags , , on April 28, 2025 by telescoper

The first I knew about today’s massive failure of electricy grids across the Iberian peninsula was at 4 o’clock this afternoon, when I tuned in to a regular Euclid telecon and found that the expected speaker wasn’t able to give their presentation because there was no power in Spain. I was subsequently shocked to discover the scale of the outage, the cause of which remains unknown (at least to me). I’ve often thought that Ireland’s power grid was a bit unstable but I’ve never known the whole country to be shut down!

It all reminded me of the 2003 power blackout in the North-Eastern USA and Canada.

There has been speculation about an “unusual atmospheric phenomenon” being the cause, but that seems somewhat implausible. Indeed, nothing I’ve read so far about the cause of this event makes much sense.

This time last year I was in Barcelona, and today’s events got me thinking what it would have been like to be there without any power. The apartment I was living in was all-electric so there would have been little I could do – no light, no cooking, no air conditioning, no internet, no TV, no radio. I was on the top floor and the lift was powered by electricity so I would have had to use the stairs to get in or out. It would have been an interesting experience to see the city in total darkness from my balcony.

Had I been in the Department of Physics when the power went off I probably would have had to walk home, as the Metro would not have been running and with all the traffic lights off the roads would be even more chaotic than usual. That would have meant a walk of an hour or so, which would have been annoying, but feasible. Come to think of it, people actually on the Metro when the failure happened would have been stuck in a tunnel which must have been very unpleasant.

Anyway I hope all my friends and colleagues in Spain are not too badly inconvenienced and that this very weird event doesn’t lead to any serious issues. I understand the power supply to hospitals is secure, which is a relief. I must admit though I am very curious to learn the cause of this catastrophic failure. Was it human error? Deliberate sabotage? Or was it really an “unusual atmospheric phenomenon”? No doubt there will be a full investigation and we’ll find out in due course.

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Quasimodo Sunday

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , , , , on April 27, 2025 by telescoper

One of the useless facts stored in the increasingly inaccessible recesses of my memory is that the first Sunday after Easter is sometimes called Quasimodo Sunday, not for Hunchback of Notre Dame, but from the start of the traditional introit to the roman liturgy for this day: Quasi modo géniti infántes… (“in the manner of newborn babes”).

This year in Maynooth University Quasimodo Sunday is the last day before the students return after a short Easter break for the remaining two weeks of teaching of the Spring Semester. It’s just less than two weeks of teaching, actually, because Monday 5th May is a public holiday. This will be a very busy period as we have not only to finish teaching our modules, but also to complete grading any remaining assessments ahead of the examinations that start on 16th May. I have just four lectures and two tutorials remaining in Particle Physics but I have one assignment still to correct (which I intend to do this afternoon) and there will be one more due in at the end of term (Friday 9th May). In Computational Physics the only item on the agenda for students is the project work also due in on 9th May, at which point I will have reports from 32 students to grade. Then there’s the examinations…

I also have another important job to do over the next couple of weeks, which I can’t write about here. I had hoped to start on it a few weeks ago but that plan was stymied by a bureaucratic delay, so I actually only got started last Friday. It looks like I’ll have to do it alongside everything else during the next two weeks. I won’t post about it until it’s finished, but I’m optimistic that it will turn out well.

Oh, and I’m giving a Colloquium in the Department of Physics on 9th May too. It’s all go.

The weather was mostly rather grim over the Easter break but has improved today and the forecast for the next few days is good. I propose to mow the lawn before starting on my grading tasks. I have let the grass grow for a while, resulting in a splendid crop of dandelions which, among other things, are good for the bees. Dandelions are generally thought of as weeds but the I find the splashes of yellow colour all around very easy on the eye and do not share the desire that some people have to destroy them on sight. In fact there seem to be more around than I’ve noticed in previous years. I’ll let the ones at the back of my house carry on for a while, but I’m sure others will soon grow in the front after I mow the lawn.

Update: mowing was hard work because the grass was still rather wet.  I gave it a rough cut and will go over it again in a couple of days when what’s left will hopefully be dry.

As well as dandelions, there are quite a few cowslips here and there:

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An Event at the Museum

Posted in Biographical, Maynooth with tags , , , , , on April 25, 2025 by telescoper

I forgot to mention in my post about Brian Schmidt’s lecture that the following day (on Tuesday 15th April) there was an event in the National Museum at Maynooth in which he met some of our graduate students and talked to them about their work.

I wasn’t able to attend owing to teaching commitments but I gather it was a very enjoyable occasion. There is a news item with some nice pictures here.

It’s worth mentioning that the National Museum – part of St Patrick’s Pontifical University which shares the Maynooth campus with Maynooth University – has a very interesting Science collection, including a large group of scientific instruments mostly associated with Nicholas Callan. The museum now has the largest collection of scientific instruments on public display in Ireland, most of which were manufactured in Ireland between 1880 and 1920. It also contains a collection of ecclesiastical artifacts from the past three centuries. It’s quite strange to see the juxtaposition of microscopes, electrical devices and surveying instruments with rosaries and religious vestments! You can find the opening hours of the museum here.

More importantly, outside the Museum, staff took the opportunity of his visit to teach Brian the rudiments of hurling, a sport which transcends both science and religion:

I’m told they didn’t put any windows out.

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When you’re invited to a conference in the US…

Posted in Biographical, Politics on April 22, 2025 by telescoper

I’ve been hearing and reading lots of stories over the last month or so of people being denied entry to the United States like this one in the Guardian about a French researcher who was travelling to a conference. It seems that immigration officials are likely to confiscate and search phones and laptops for evidence of unacceptable opinions. And that’s just the start – you’re liable to be detained and deported if the goons at the border don’t like the cut of your jib.

Ireland is one of several countries (including France, Germany and Denmark) officially advising those travelling to the USA to use a burner phone instead of their usual mobile and leave their normal laptop behind. That goes for tourists just as much as people on business or travelling to meetings.

A more sensible alternative (for those of us who have the choice) is not to go there. It’s worth neither the hassle nor the risk. You can probably give your talk remotely anyway. For the indefinite future, this will be my response if I’m invited to travel to a conference in the USA:

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Good Friday Morning

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , , , on April 18, 2025 by telescoper

Good Friday has a slightly strange status in Ireland. It is a Bank Holiday, meaning that the banks are shut, but it’s not a statutory public holiday so many people still go to work. This differs from the UK and Northern Ireland for which it is a public holiday, which seems strange when you think about the Republic’s Catholic traditions.

Schools in Ireland are closed today, but that’s because they are on an Easter break anyway. In contrast, Easter Monday (21st April) is both a Bank Holiday and public holiday. Maynooth University is closed today, so I miss a Particle Physics lecture, and next week is the Easter break (including Easter Monday). We return on Monday 28th April for the remaining two weeks of teaching, apart from Monday 5th May which is a Bank Holiday and a public holiday. The last day of teaching is Friday 9th May, which also happens to be the day on which I’m giving a colloquium at Maynooth, and examinations start a week later, on 16th May.

The weather so far is consistent with today being a Bank Holiday:

Bank Holiday weather

I think I’ll wait for a gap in the rain before going out.

Oh.

It looks be spending most of the day indoors! It seems a good day to make a start on my reading list.

It’s been a very busy week, not only because of the very enjoyable visit by Brian Schmidt, but also because I wanted to clear my coursework grading before the Easter break. I managed to do the last of that yesterday, so I don’t have to do any of that either this weekend or during the Easter break. There are some more assignments due, but I will deal with them when we return after Easter.

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Supreme Prejudice

Posted in Biographical, LGBTQ+ with tags , , , , , , , on April 16, 2025 by telescoper

On reflection it was inevitable that the UK Supreme Court would make the decision that it did today, i.e. to decide to deprive trans people of the protections from discrimination that they should have under the 2010 Equality Act. After all, the Court did not consult with a single trans individual or organization representing trans people in the course of its deliberations, preferring instead to base its conclusions only on submissions from known transphobic groups. That alone renders the process indefensible.

That said, the Supreme Court had to twist itself in knots in its judgment to find some semblance of an argument. For example, the judgment claims that the definition of “sex” to be used in the context of the Equality Act is “biological sex” which is “binary”. I paraphrase, of course, but it doesn’t really matter that the argument about biology is wrong – ever heard of intersex people? – because they don’t use it anyway. In fact the judgment does not even attempt to define in biological terms what sex is nor what is a woman is. The definition asserted is “sex at birth”, which actually means what is written on a birth certificate. As a matter of fact, my birth certificate actually says “Boy”…

Whatever is written on an official document is not biological, but bureaucratic, and also non-binary. Intersex people sometimes have “intersex” written on their birth certificate, a fact that thus refutes the binary claim, but sometimes they are arbitrarily assigned “male” or “female” with potentially damaging consequences. I used intersex merely as an example. Very few things in nature are actually binary, and sex – whether it be genetic, hormonal , gonadal or whatever – is emphatically not one of them, particularly not in humans.

Here’s a helpful graphic.

Shoe-horning people into binary categories is wrong not only because it fails to accept scientific reality but also because of the harm it causes to human beings worthy of acceptance and respect. People who dismiss the non-binary nature of sex and gender often say words to the effect that “oh I know there are exceptions, but there aren’t many of them”. But:

  1. if there are so few then why are you so obsessed with them?
  2. one exception is sufficient to refute what purports to be a logical argument!
  3. it’s precisely because trans people are a small minority that means they deserve legal protection.

Today’s judgment looks set to cast an already beleaguered group entirely to the wolves. You can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a tidal wave of follow-up cases targetting trans people with the specific intention of stirring up more hostility. The Supreme Court actually acknowledges the existence of transphobic hate and offers some words to suggest that trans people will still have some legal protections. There can be no doubt however that the judges know that their ruling will be seen as a green light for bigots and their rich backers to engage in still more bigotry. I also fear a rise in the already appalling number of trans suicides that the UK Government is trying so hard to conceal. I think it goes without saying and contrary to the claims of those who brought the case, this ruling does absolutely nothing to protect cis women.

I can’t understand the mindset of people that can look at the evidently complex and nuanced of human sexual identity and respond by putting on blinkers and insisting that it is what it clearly isn’t. Some people just seem to need their bigotry to survive in their joyless unimaginative lives. Whatever that mentality is the Supreme Court shares it. They didn’t listen to any contrary views. It was a foregone conclusion, a sham contrived by a group of reactionary duffers.

I have tried throughout this piece to refer to trans people rather than trans men or trans women. Obviously the ruling today was in response to a case brought by cis women who hate trans women. It will almost certainly lead to more trans women being harassed and victimized (as was the intention of the case). But there are at least as many trans men as trans women. Under the new ruling trans men will presumably be forced to use “women-only” lavatories and will run the risk of hostility should they do so. Trans women using “male only” toilets are likely also to be harassed. The Supreme Court knows this is what will happen, but apparently doesn’t care, and is content to go along with a trajectory set by far-right activists who won’t stop here.

It’s no consolation to my friends living on TERF Island, but at least in Ireland the law is a bit more progressive and better grounded in reality. It’s a grim day for trans people in the UK. All I can do is send a message of solidarity and point you to this list of resources for trans people and their allies. I know it’s only a gesture but I’m proud to share the Trans Pride flag here too.

Update: 27th April. The British Medical Association has just passed this resolution:

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That was the Dean’s Lecture that was..

Posted in Biographical, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , on April 15, 2025 by telescoper
Left to Right: John Regan, Neil Trappe, Brian Schmidt and myself

As it was foretold, last night we had a very special event in Maynooth in the form of a public lecture with the title The Universe from Beginning to End by Nobel Laureate Prof. Brian Schmidt. Brian actually arrived on Sunday and is still here today; he will be returning to Australia from Dublin this evening. It was really great of him to take the time to visit us here in Maynooth not just for the lecture but to chat informally with staff and students. He also did some interviews with the media, e.g. here and here.

The talk, which was for a lay audience, was extremely well attended. In fact we had to move it to a larger venue than we originally intended. I don’t know the official attendance figures but I would guess somewhere between 400 and 500 people came. The talk was excellent, and there were lots of very good questions from the audience afterwards which Brian dealt with very engagingly. The talk was recorded and if it becomes available publicly I will provide a link.

At the end I even found myself on the list to have dinner with Brian in a local restaurant. All in all, it was an excellent day.

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Time Passes

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , , , on April 10, 2025 by telescoper

I’ve been feeling very tired this week, probably as an after-effect my flying visit to Cardiff at the weekend. I need to learn to adjust the way I plan such trips in view of the fact that I’m getting on a bit. I tried to pack in a lot of visiting and walking about on Saturday which younger me would have managed fine, but I should have taken it easier. I was worn out when I returned to work on Monday and it has taken me several days to get back to normal. I definitely don’t have the energy I used to have. It’s not so much that I mind getting older, it’s just that I have to learn to accept that I need to be a bit less ambitious when I make plans, especially when that involves travelling. I don’t really understand what makes travelling so tiring, as it mostly involves sitting down, but I’ve always found it so, and it’s getting more and more noticeable as time passes.

Term time is passing too. This morning I gave my last 9am Computational Physics lecture of the Semester. This is only Week 9 of 12 teaching weeks, but lectures finish early for this module because for the last few weeks of term the students are working, in teams, on their projects which form an important part of the module. A week today we take a break for Easter (Good Friday being 18th April this year). There will then be a very welcome week off before we return for the last leg of term and, of course, the examinations followed by the marking thereof.

After this morning’s lecture, on the way back to the Department, I was talking to some students about the forthcoming May examinations. I was a bit taken aback to realize that I did my finals precisely 40 years ago. I went on from my undergraduate degree at Cambridge to a PhD DPhil at Sussex. It took me three years to complete that and become a postdoc. Now there’s only a three-year period between now and my retirement.

This week I had my Developmental Review, the first one I’ve ever had at Maynooth. In other places this is called an Annual Appraisal or some such name. I conducted quite a lot of these when I was at Sussex, and was on the receiving end at Cardiff a few times too, but the Developmental Review scheme has only just been implemented in Maynooth University and in any case I am now just an appraisee (reviewee), not an appraiser (reviewer). The idea of these reviews is that the reviewee agrees some goals in a meeting with the reviewer and in two years’ time we meet again and see how well I have managed. In my experience can be a useful process for people who want to advance their careers by getting promoted. In my case those I have neither the desire nor the possibly to get promoted so it’s all a bit futile. I’ll be retiring in the not-too-distant future anyway. There are one or two things I want to finish before I retire so I wrote them on the form. All staff have to go through the process, so that box is now ticked and I can now move on until my next review (which will definitely be the last!)

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