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Lá Saoire i mí Lúnasa

Posted in Biographical, Education, mathematics, Maynooth with tags , , , , on August 4, 2025 by telescoper

Today, Monday 4th August 2024, being the first Monday in August, is a Bank Holiday in Ireland. This holiday was created by the Bank Holiday Act of 1871 when Ireland was under British rule. While the August Bank holiday was subsequently moved to the end of August in England and Wales, it has remained at the start of August in Ireland.

We have had some proper Bank Holiday weather, in the form of Storm Floris. Although the worst of this passed to the West of Maynooth, the winds were powerful enough to blow one of my wheelie bins over.

As I mentioned last week, the first day of August marks the old pagan festival of Lughnasadh, named after the God Lugh, on which is celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. This coincides with the English Lammas Day, one of many Christian festivals with pagan origins. Traditionally this is the start of the harvest season and is celebrated accordingly, with rites involving the first fruit and bread baked from flour obtained from the first corn. It is also one of the cross-quarter days, lying roughly half-way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere).

I’m reminded that this time last year I was still on sabbatical. That seems like ages ago. When I resumed teaching last September I had to teach two modules I’d never taught before: a fourth-year Mathematical physics course on Differential Equations and Complex Analysis and a second-year Engineering Mathematics course. This time should be a bit easier as I get to do both of these again. Over the year I also had a final-year undergraduate project student and an MSc student. Both have been a pleasure to work with. The Masters course lasts a calendar year so that one isn’t quite finished, but the deadline for handing in their dissertation is close, next Monday (11th) in fact.

After I return to work tomorrow the next big item on the agenda is the repeat examination period, which starts on Wednesday August 6th. The fates have conspired to require me to be “on call” for four papers next Saturday (two of my own and two covering for a colleague): three of these are scheduled at 12.30 and the other one at 15.30 so I’l have to be by the phone all afternoon in case any matters arise. I also have three others scattered through the approximately ten days of the examination period.

After the repeat examinations are done, the marks uploaded, and the Examination Board has done its work, the next job will be to prepare for the new intake of students. This year’s Leaving Certificate results will be announced on Friday 22nd August, at which point we’ll see how many students (if any) we have studying Physics next academic year which, if all goes to plan, will be my antepenultimate…

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Maynooth University Library Cat Update

Posted in Maynooth with tags , , on July 14, 2025 by telescoper

Though not as warm as it has been over the last few days, today still found Maynooth University Library Cat in need of a siesta. There aren’t many students around these days so he’s not disturbed by so many people wanting to pet him, and was sound asleep in a shady spot when I passed by this afternoon.

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MSc in Theoretical Physics & Mathematics at Maynooth

Posted in Education, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , on July 1, 2025 by telescoper

Today is Consultation Day here at Maynooth University and, in the course of being consulted, I was reminded that this period, being immediately after undergraduate final results are released to students, is a potentially a good time to advertise our local postgraduate course to prospective applicants.

I therefore decided o use the medium of this blog to advertise the fact that the MSc in Theoretical Physics & Mathematics at Maynooth University is open to applications for entry in September 2025.

This postgraduate course is run jointly between the Departments of Physics and Mathematics & Statistics, with each contributing about half the material. The duration is one calendar year (full-time) or two years (part-time) and consists of 90 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). This is split into 60 credits of taught material (split roughly 50-50 between Theoretical Physics and Mathematics) and a research project of 30 credits, supervised by a member of staff in a relevant area from either Department.

This course is a kind of follow-up to the existing undergraduate BSc Theoretical Physics & Mathematics at Maynooth, also run jointly. We think the postgraduate course will appeal to many of the students on that programme who wish to continue their education to postgraduate level, though applications are very welcome from suitably qualified candidates who did their first degree elsewhere.

You can register your interest by scanning the QR code above or, if you prefer, simply following the link here. You can apply directly to the postgraduate application portal here.

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Maynooth University Library Cat Update

Posted in Maynooth with tags , , on June 16, 2025 by telescoper

It has been a nice day for Bloomsday, though I was forced to spend nearly all of it in my office on campus (including having a sandwich lunch there). Fortunately m’colleague Joost Slingerland sent me this picture of Maynooth University Library Cat basking in the warmth of the outdoors.

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The Test Final and Final Examination Board

Posted in Cricket, Education, Maynooth with tags , , , , , , on June 12, 2025 by telescoper

Had I not been obliged to attend this morning’s final Examination Board for Theoretical Physics programmes at Maynooth University, I would have been at Lord’s today watching Day 2 of the World Test Cricket final between Australia and South Africam where it is now the Tea interval. There certainly wouldn’t have been any cricket in Maynooth this morning, as there has been torrential rain all day so far, but the Exam Board went ahead and finished even before South Africa were all out in their first innings for 138, after late-order collapse, in response to Australia’s first innings total of 212.

As I already mentioned, today’s Examination Board we went through the results in the presence of our External Examiner. Since this is the end of the academic year, we also looked at the final grades of those students who are completing their studies this year in order to consider the classification of their degrees. Another (pleasant) duty of our Examination Board was to award prizes for the best performance, not just for finalists but for students at every stage, including the first year. These will be announced in due course.

But that’s not quite the end of it – there is an overall University Examination Board that covers all courses in the University to formally bring an end to the examination process. It is not until after all the Boards have done their business that the students get their marks. If all goes to plan, students will receive their final marks on Friday 27th June.

Soon after that, on Tuesday 1st July, we have a Consultation Day, where

Staff will be available in all Departments to discuss results with students. Students are entitled to see their examination scripts if they wish, these will be generally available on this day or at another mutually convenient time.

If I had my way we would actually give all students their marked examination scripts back as a matter of routine. Obviously examination scripts have to go through a pretty strict quality assurance process involving the whole paraphernalia of examination boards (including External Examiners), so the scripts can’t be given back immediately but once that process is complete there doesn’t seem to me any reason why we shouldn’t give their work, together with any feedback written on it,  back to the students in its entirety. I have heard it argued that under the provisions of the Data Protection Act students have a legal right to see what’s written on the scripts – as that constitutes part of their student record – but I’m not making a legalistic point here. My point is purely educational, based on the benefit to the student’s learning experience.

That’s one set of examination duties done and dusted, but not everything. Next Tuesday I am Internal Examiner for a PhD at Maynooth and, about a month from now, I have to travel to a foreign land to be an External Examiner. It’s all go…

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The Leaving

Posted in Biographical, Education, mathematics, Maynooth with tags , , , , , on June 4, 2025 by telescoper

Today is not only a significant date for me (in more ways than one), but it’s important for many young people in Ireland because the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations both start today, so the first thing I need to do is wish everyone starting their examinations the very best of luck!

Among other things, the results of the leaving certificate examinations are important for September’s university admissions. This year the grade inflation that occurred during the pandemic years will be reduced, though it is not yet clear how. Whatever happens is likely to have a big impact on student recruitment to third-level institutions.

In the system operating in England and Wales the standard qualification for entry is the GCE A-level. Most students take A-levels in three subjects, which gives them a relatively narrow focus although the range of subjects to choose from is rather large. In Ireland the standard qualification is the Leaving Certificate, which comprises a minimum of six subjects, with many students taking more than this. This gives students a broader range of knowledge at the sacrifice (perhaps) of a certain amount of depth; it has been decreed for entry into this system that an Irish Leaving Certificate subject counts as about 2/3 of an A-level subject for admissions purposes, so Irish students do the equivalent of at least four A-levels, and many do more than this. It’s also worth noting that all students have to take Mathematics at Leaving Certificate level.

One can choose to do Leaving Certificate subjects at Ordinary or Higher level and there’s quite a big difference between the two, especially in Mathematics (of which more below).

Overall I prefer the Leaving Certificate over the UK system of A-levels, as the former gives the students a broader range of subjects than the latter (as does the International Baccalaureate). I would have liked to have been allowed to take at least one arts subject past O-level, for example.

For University admissions points are awarded for each paper according to the marks obtained and then aggregated into a total CAO points, CAO being the Central Applications Office, the equivalent of the UK’s UCAS. This means, for example, that our main Science pathway at Maynooth allows students to study Physics without having done it at Leaving Certificate level. This obviously means that the first year has to be taught at a fairly elementary level, but it has the enormous benefit of allowing us to recruit students whose schools do not offer Physics.

There is however a big problem with Mathematics. It was decided some years ago that students would get 25 extra CAO points if they got a mark of at least 40% in Higher Mathematics. This has led to more students taking the subject, which is good, but there are signs that this may have led to a decline in standards. If, for example, the marking is such that a fixed proportion of students get the top grade but more weaker students take the examination, that means that standards fall at the top end. For more discussion, see here.

Anyway, our Theoretical Physics & Mathematics course requires a good result in Higher Mathematics for entry. Will changes to the marking of Higher Mathematics this year make it harder for students to make the grade? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Moreover, since the pandemic struck, students have been able to choose to answer questions from a limited range of sections on the mathematics examination papers. That means that students can get very high grades despite knowing nothing about a big chunk of the syllabus. That matters most for subjects that require students to have certain skills and knowledge for entry into University, such as Physics. I taught part of our first year Mathematical Physics course in Maynooth for about 5 years. It was noticeable how the fraction that were comfortable with basic differentiation and integration was falling. Will this trend accelerate? Again, we’ll just have to wait and see…

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Congratulations, Dr Gallagher!

Posted in Biographical, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , on May 26, 2025 by telescoper

This week is off to a good start! This morning my postgraduate research student Aoibhinn Gallagher passed a viva voce examination on her thesis Cosmological Structure Formation Using Wave Mechanics. There will be a few formalities to deal with, some minor corrections to make, various forms to fill in, and the result has to be approved by the examination board, and so on, but basically that’s a job well done. Congratulations, Dr Gallagher!

Left to Right: Dr John Regan (internal examiner), Aoibhinn Gallagher (PhD candidate), and Prof. Cora Uhlemann (external examiner).

P.S. You can get an idea of some of the content of Aoibhinn’s thesis here.

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Operation Marking Garden

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , , on May 21, 2025 by telescoper

Posts will be a little thin for the next ten days or so here as I am preoccupied with correcting examinations and other assessments. I am spending most of the time doing that at home to avoid interruptions. I’ve also taken the opportunity afforded by this fine spell to do some laundry which I can peg out to dry outdoors. I think this is called multi-tasking. Fortunately (barring yesterday’s thunderstorms), the weather has been nice enough to do the marking outside, in my little garden.

Yesterday evening’s thunderstorms

A few years ago I posted an item about red valerian which grows in profusion around here on verges and embankments. Red valerian (aka spur valerian, kiss-me-quick, fox’s brush, devil’s beard & Jupiter’s beard among other names) is not to be confused with True Valerian, which has white (or very pale pink flowers). I mentioned in that post It’s red valerian (aka spur valerian, kiss-me-quick, fox’s brush, devil’s beard & Jupiter’s beard among other names). I mentioned in that post that I’d like to have some in my garden. Well, it seems that the seeds I planted have grown, perhaps spurred on by the rain yesterday evening:

red valerian

It’s not exactly a profusion, but it’s a start.

UPDATE: 31/05/25 On my way into Dublin by train I saw Red Valerian and True Valerian together by the railway tracks.

Anyway, I spent this morning marking until I remembered a couple of things I had to do on campus. That’s only 20 minutes’ walk for me so I went there at lunchtime, getting a haircut on the way. I stayed for lunch in Pugin Hall and then came back to continue with my correcting duties.

When I took a break for tea I suddenly remembered (for some reason) that the debit card on my UK bank account was about to expire and I hadn’t updated the address since I sold my house in Cardiff. Strangely, I couldn’t update my details online but instead had to use the telephone banking service. One can change to another address in the UK using the online banking app, but can’t do that if you’re moving abroad. Although it took longer to do than I had anticipated it might, the person I spoke to was very helpful. Fortunately they hadn’t yet despatched a replacement card and/or PIN so all was well.

So there you are. Another exciting day in the life of an academic has passed.

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After Lectures and before Examinations

Posted in Education, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , on May 15, 2025 by telescoper

This morning I did my last teaching session of the Academic Year 2024-5, a revision lecture/tutorial on Computational Physics. It was optional, as this is officially a study break, and was at 9am, but I had about 30% attendance which wasn’t bad in the circumstances. As is often the case with optional sessions, I think the students who came were the keenest and probably therefore those who least needed last-minute tips for the examination, but that’s always the way.

The Examination Period starts tomorrow morning, but most of the students who turned up this morning have their first examination on Monday 19th May which happens to be Computational Physics.

Anyway, now that my teaching is over I thought I’d take the opportunity to wish all students the best for their examinations:

You shouldn’t really be relying on luck of course, so here are some tips (especially for physics students, but applicable elsewhere).

  1. Try to get a good night’s sleep before the examination and arrive in plenty of time before the start. Spending all night cramming is unlikely to help you do well.
  2. Prepare well in advance so you’re relaxed when the time comes.
  3. Read the entire paper before starting to answer any questions. In particular, make sure you are aware of any supplementary information, formulae, etc, given in the rubric or at the end.
  4. Start off by tackling the question you are most confident about answering, even if it’s not Question 1. This will help settle any nerves. You’re under no obligation to answer the questions in the order they are asked.
  5. Don’t rush! Students often lose marks by making careless errors. In particular, check all your working out, including numerical results obtained your calculator, at least twice
  6. Please remember the units!
  7. Don’t panic! You’re not expected to answer everything perfectly. A first-class mark is anything over 70%, so don’t worry if there are bits you can’t do. If you get stuck on a part of a question, don’t waste too much time on it (especially if it’s just a few marks). Just leave it and move on. You can always come back to it later.

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Last Remarks

Posted in Biographical, Education, Euclid, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff, Uncategorized with tags , , on May 11, 2025 by telescoper

On Friday (9th May), the last day of undergraduate teaching at Maynooth, I gave the last lecture in my module on Particle Physics. I actually finished the syllabus on Tuesday (6th) so the final one was more a revision class than a lecture. I used it to go through some past examination questions and (try to) answer some general points raised by the class.

What surprised me about this lecture was that, as has usually been the case, there was more-or-less a full attendance. Examinations in Maynooth start on Friday (May 16th), but the Particle Physics examination is not until May 27th, near the end of the examination period. I therefore expected that many students would be concentrating on their revision for their other modules, which have exams earlier in the season or finishing their projects (which are due in before the exams start). There were one or two absences, but most came anyway. In fact there was even an extra student, one of our MSc students. When I saw him at the back of the lecture hall I asked, jokingly, why he had come. He replied “I haven’t got anything better to do”. I wasn’t sure how to interpret that!

That lecture was at 11am. Later that day, at 3pm, I gave a Departmental colloquium (which had quite a big audience). The title was Euclid: The Story So Far and the abstract was

The European Space Agency’s Euclid satellite was launched on 1st July 2023 and, after instrument calibration and performance verification, the main cosmological survey is now well under way. In this talk I will explain the main science goals of Euclid, give a brief summary of progress so far, showcase some of the science results already obtained, and set out the time line for future developments, including the main data releases and cosmological analysis.

The audience for these talks is very mixed: experimental and theoretical physics staff, postgraduates and even some undergraduate students (including some who were in my lecture earlier) so it was quite a general talk rather than one I might give to an specialist astrophysics audience. If you’re interested you can find the slides here.

Having a quick cup of tea after the end of the talk and before I headed off to catch the train, I talked briefly with a student who is taking his final examinations at Maynooth this year. He told me that I had actually given the first lecture he attended when he had just started his first year and the colloquium was the last talk he would attend at Maynooth. That would be the case for quite a few students in the audience, I suppose, but it won’t be true for any in future: I am no longer teaching any modules taken by first year students, and I’ll be retired when the current first year students graduate…

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