The Tasmanian Branch has had an active year. Arrangements for five visiting speakers, the annual quiz and teachers’ seminar, as well as many professional matters, have kept the Committee very busy.

A Branch Web site, linked to the national AIP site, has been set up. It includes information about the Branch and, as far as possible, our current programme. Speakers’ abstracts have been placed there. The address is "www.phys.utas.edu.au/physics/AIP_TasBranch".

The Branch was pleased with the award of the Massey Medal to Tasmanian graduate Professor Don Melrose of Sydney University. At the other end of the career path, the Branch supported a student, Duncan Galloway, to attend the ASA conference. Several Branch members attended the successful national AIP Congress in Perth. They have suggested that some organisational issues, including the non-university location should be taken up for policy discussion at the national level.

The Committee dealt with many matters relating to the profession, Branch management and promotion of physics. We contributed to the revision of the CES Job Guide for Physicist.

Last December the annual AIP/RACI seminar for year 11/12 teachers was held in Burnie, organised by local RACI members and teachers. Three Committee members attended and contributed to the programme. The Committee is organising the 1998 seminar in Hobart on 7-8 December. As usual, the Branch contributed $100 to the annual Science Talent Search for schools and we were represented at the prize giving. We have also promised regular financial support to the Royal Society of Tasmania for its programme of discovery and support of outstanding Tasmanian science students in the Olympiads and other international competitions.

The Branch did not make a submission to the Science and Technology Awareness Programme of DIST, but the AIP’s "Switched on Science" proposal will be taken up in the University here.

As usual the annual Physics Quiz for teams of year 11/12 students was a great success, thanks particularly to Andrew Klekociuk. A report was published in the recent ANZ Physicist. Some photographs will soon appear on our Web site. Despite all this activity in promoting physics in schools, numbers of students interested in physics continue to decline. The analysis of this decline and development of proposals to reverse it must be a high priority for the 1999 Committee.

Our first speaker this year, on 30 March, was Professor Guenter Nimtz from Cologne, who spoke about Superluminal evanescentmode propagation. The reality of faster than light communication fascinated his late afternoon audience, although the process is unlikely to be of practical use over everyday distances.

On 27 April, the ASA’s Selby Fellow, Dr David Dearborn, from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory spoke on The evolution of light elements in the galaxy in the afternoon. That night, for a well attended public lecture, his topic was Ancient Andean Astronomy, presenting his search for the horizon markers of the Inca.

We had two "Women in Physics" lecturers in 1998: On 19^th May, Dr Christine Davies’ lecture Gluons and gigaflops gave an insight into the laws and interactions of fundamental particles. On 13^th August in Hobart and on 14^th in Launceston, Dr Rachel Webster spoke on Gravitational lensing - using distortions to map the universe. Both lecturers also gave interesting additional talks to first year physics students in Hobart and were superb at presenting their topics at a level that informed students; however student attendances at the public lectures were very small. The causes and remedies for this must be addressed in 1999.

The 1998 XXII International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (ICGTMP98) was held in Hobart and the Branch was honoured to be able to host a major public lecture on 14^th July, Beyond the Big Bang by Professor Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University. In a most informative way he presented his understanding of the inflationary phase of the universe and its links to the formation of galaxies.

Our activities this year have been well reported in the ANZ Physicist. The efforts of the contributors are much appreciated.

Although not an AIP function, members of the Branch will attend the lecture Belief in God in an age of science by Rev Dr John Polkinghorne KBE ScD FRS, after our Branch Annual Meeting and Dinner on 20^th November.

The 1998 Committee was: -

Branch Chair Dr Ian Newman

Vice Chair Dr Gary Burns

Secretary Dr Stephen Newbery

Treasurer Dr John Humble

Committee members Dr Elizabeth Chelkowska

Mr Stuart Corney

Professor Bob Delbourgo

Dr Marc Duldig

Dr Jo Jacka

Dr Andrew Klekociuk

Mr Graham Sorell

We held 8 Committee meetings during 1998. I thank all Committee members for their support and actions for the Branch; members all contributed time and effort in their own ways to the above programme. I also thank those who have offered their services for 1999 and I look forward to another active and interesting year.

Ian A Newman

Chair, AIP Tasmanian Branch 20 November 1998