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Tag archives: travel
Konnichiwa Japan
An area of tranquility at the University of Tokyo (Courtesy: Michael Banks)
By Michael Banks
Suitcases packed, Matin Durrani and I will be travelling to Japan over the weekend for a week-long road trip that will see us heading to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kamioka.
It’s a busy schedule that includes meeting with senior policy-makers and visiting a number of high-profile institutes.
The main purpose of our visit is to gather material for a special report on Japan that will be published in February 2018 (for this year’s reports on China and the US see here and here).
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Building bridges with the west
Physicist Fuchun Zhang, director of the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Sciences.
By Michael Banks in Beijing, China
It’s my final day in Beijing and keeping up with the daily weather reports, it is still raining. But that is better than the snow that was forecast only a couple of days ago.
My time in Beijing has been short, but packed full of interesting discussions with researchers.
Yesterday I headed to the Beijing Institute for Nanoenergy and Nanosystems. Today, I visited the theoretical condensed-matter physicist Fuchun Zhang, who is director of the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Sciences (KITS).
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A blue energy dream
Zhong Lin Wang, director of the Beijing Institute of Nanoeergy and Nanosystems.
By Michael Banks in Beijing, China
I was told that it wouldn’t rain much in Beijing, a city known for its dry air – and pollution.
But since I arrived here last night courtesy of the bullet train, all I have seen is drizzle. The wet weather also made it a challenge during rush hour, but I finally made it to the Beijing Institute for Nanoenergy and Nanosystems (BINN).
I met with BINN’s director, Zhong Lin Wang, who has been in the US for more than 39 years, most of which has been spent at the Georgia Institute of Technology. While he is still affiliated to Georgia Tech, he came back to China in 2012 to establish BINN.
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Shanghai round-up
NYU Shanghai is the first Sino–US joint-venture university
By Michael Banks in Shanghai, China
It’s been a busy three days in Shanghai and now I’m on my way to Beijing to continue reporting for the China special report, which will be published in June.
As I mentioned in previous blog posts, Shanghai has thrown up some interesting stories. I heard about plans for a new 12 m telescope and also received a progress update on the construction of a new X-ray free electron laser in the city.
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China outlines free-electron laser plans
Zhentang Zhao, director of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics.
By Michael Banks in Shanghai, China
There was a noticeable step change in the weather today in Shanghai as the Sun finally emerged and the temperature rose somewhat.
This time I braved the rush-hour metro system to head to the Zhangjiang Technology Park in the south of the city.
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Chinese astronomers pin their hopes on LOT
Lei Hao from the Shanghai Astonomical Observatory.
By Michael Banks in Shanghai, China
It was a cold, rainy day here in Shanghai, so coming from the UK, I felt right at home.
Jumping into a Shanghai taxi to avoid the downpour, I headed to the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, belonging to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to meet astronomer Lei Hao.
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China bound
Courtesy: Shutterstock/ArtisticPhoto
By Michael Banks
I am heading to China tomorrow for a five-day trip in what promises to be a fascinating update on some of the physics that is being carried out in the country.
The purpose of my journey is to gather material for an upcoming special report on China, which will be published later this year.
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Physics in the US: no longer business as usual
New rules: citizens of seven countries have been barred from the US. (Courtesy: CBP)
By Matin Durrani
Over the last couple of years here at Physics World, we’ve been publishing special reports examining the state of physics in different nations around the world, including Brazil, China, Japan, India, Korea and Mexico.
When we decided in September last year to publish our next special report in 2017 on the US, it seemed reasonable to expect that Hillary Clinton was going to be elected president. For science, a Clinton presidency would pretty much have been “business as usual” and so, probably, would have been the tone of our special report.
But now that Donald Trump is in the White House, it looks as if we’re entering a period where the US is as far removed from “business as usual” as you could imagine.
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Read all about it
By Michael Banks
The 71-year-old theoretical physicist Paul Frampton, who was arrested in Argentina in 2012 with 2 kg of cocaine in his luggage, has released his own version of events.
The British-born physicist was in Argentina after thinking he had struck up a correspondence on the Internet with Czech-born lingerie model Denise Milani.
However, when he arrived, Milani was nowhere to be seen and Frampton was apparently asked by someone else to carry a suitcase for her, which turned out to contain the drugs.
Despite protesting his innocence, Frampton was sentenced in November 2012 to 56 months in jail in Buenos Aires, some of which he spent under house arrest.
Now, in a 45-page e-book – Tricked!: the Story of an Internet Scam – Frampton outlines “the true story of an adventure that I would rather not have had”. According to the book’s blurb, it provides an “important lesson” that is “essential reading for everybody who uses the Internet”.
It could be the best £3.83 you ever spend.
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