Postgraduate Opportunities with the Space Physics Group

Studies in Physics, and more particularly in space physics, provide skills and experience which are in demand in a wide variety of areas such as:

Development and use of instrumentation

Electronics, communications and instrumentation industries; medicine; engineering, including aerospace; physics research including radiation and biophysics; astronomy; exploration geophysics.

Computation and mathematical modelling

Applied physics based industries including exploration geophysics, minerals processing, telecommunications, medical physics; defence, including simulation and modelling; astronomy; physics research; almost all of engineering; teaching.

Image processing

This is an important, developing field, which is the core of research in the Space Physics Research Group and relates to signal analyses in widely different areas such as astronomy, exploration geophysics, medical physics, defence, image development in commerce and advertising, animation.

Where are the jobs?

All graduates and postgraduates from the Space Physics Research Group have readily found employment. In fact, most had several job offers before completion of their project work. Here are some of the positions they were offered or have accepted:

Research in exploration geophysics, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Research in magnetospheric physics, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Research in magnetospheric physics, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Research in solar physics, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Research in aeronomy, Lindau, Germany
Research in space physics, San Francisco, USA
Research in marine detection systems (defence), Sydney, NSW, Australia
Research in radar remote sensing (defence), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Microwave technique development (defence), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Mathematical modeling and simulation (defence), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Research in magnetospheric and ionospheric physics, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Ionospheric prediction and commercial applications, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Lecturing in physics, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Lecturing in physics, Windhoek, Namibia
Defence strategy analysis, Canberra, Australia
Merchant banking, software and applications, Canberra, Australia
Research and development, mining systems and exploration, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
Research in space physics, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Image processing for astronomy, Canberra, Australia
Research in soil mechanics, Canberra, Australia
Research in atmospheric physics, Townsville, Qld, Australia
Research in laser physics, Armidale, NSW, Australia
Research in astrophysics, London, United Kingdom
Research in magnetspheric physics, Leicester, United Kingdom
Medical physics radioimaging, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Research in radioimaging, medical physics, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Medical physics research, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Research in theoretical astrophysics, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Research in environmental engineering and monitoring, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Software research and development, Singapore

How do I apply for enrolment?

For details on how to apply for enrolment as a postgraduate student in the Space Physics Research Group in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, contact the Research Higher Degrees Office at the University of Newcastle. Scholarships are available on a competitive basis. These scholarships are normally tenable for 3 years in the case of a PhD student. In addition, MSc and PhD students often find casual teaching work as laboratory demonstrators or tutors, typically 6 hr/week during semester.

Postgraduate Project Areas

There are research opportunities in a number of exciting areas, encompassing theoretical, analytical and experimental projects. Examples include:

Mathematical modelling of plasma instability processes in the Earth's magnetosphere and comparison with spacecraft data
Observations and subsequent modelling of geomagnetic pulsations recorded using ground magnetometer arrays or ionospheric sounders. Many of our experimental projects involve travel to field locations (Antarctica, northern Australia, etc) and analytic projects involve access to comprehensive spacecraft databases.
Opportunities exist for new projects in Antarctic ionospheric physics (imaging riometer, all sky imager, radar and magnetometer arrays)
Modeling wave propagation in the magnetosphere.

For information on possible projects, contact Prof. B.J. Fraser, Prof. F.W. Menk or Prof. C.L. Waters.

What background do I need?

To enrol as an MSc/PhD student in the Space Physics Research Group you require a good honours degree in Physics, or Mathematics or Engineering with a comprehensive physics content. Areas of importance are plasma physics, electromagnetism, electronics (for those with an experimental leaning), and scientific computing. We have a blend of Australian and overseas students in our team, and have had students from China, Ukraine, Germany, Vietnam, India, Singapore, and the UK work in our group. Several female students have undertaken projects in our group, leading to employment in research groups in astrophysics, medical physics and in industry.

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