News From Student Sections

UK: Southampton OSA Chapter
Bounces Back After University Fire

by David Banks, Co-President, Southampton OSA student chapter

Every degree involves the occasional setback; perhaps a poor performance in an exam, an essential piece of equipment breaking down, or an experiment that just refuses to work. Or maybe your department burns down, taking your lab, office, and manufacturing and analysis capabilities with it. Unfortunately this is exactly what happened to a large number of students and staff at the University of Southampton when a major fire destroyed the Mountbatten clean room complex and much of the adjacent office block early on Sunday 30 th October 2005.

It was remarkably fortunate that not a single person was injured by the blaze and a lot of equipment was subsequently rescued from the building. Even so the consequences for everyone affected, especially the PhD students based in the complex, many of whom are OSA chapter members, have been dramatic. Thanks to a rapid response from university management at all levels, academic life for those affected is gradually returning to normal; every student and staff member now has a desk or office to call their own, and alternative technical facilities to replace those lost are being negotiated as I write. A rebuild of the complex is on schedule for completion in late 2007.

But this is an OSA newsletter, and so I should really be reporting on how the OSA student chapter at Southampton has been affected. Sadly I cannot report that we escaped unscathed; about 90% of our Lightwave Outreach equipment was being stored in the complex at the time of the fire, and was lost. Much of this equipment had been custom-made over several years and so the task of rebuilding at first appeared extremely daunting. However, thanks to a very generous donation from the OSA Foundation, a fantastic effort from our Lightwave officers, Hazel Hung and Chris Holmes, and invaluable first-hand experience from previous Lightwave officers, Francesca Parmigiani and Hannah Foreman, the rebuild is proceeding quickly. We participated in our first Outreach event since the fire on Saturday 25 th of March, a full report on which appears elsewhere in this issue.

Despite the losses, the fire also presented us with a great opportunity to rethink and redesign our entire Outreach show. As such, alongside existing demonstrations covering mirrors, lenses, the spectrum, communicating with light, and the eye, sections explaining waves, holograms, transmitting voices using light and invisible light (Infrared) are being developed. A secret agent theme is being incorporated into every section, complemented by activity sheets, to further enhance the appeal of the show for younger children. Once the rebuild is complete, young scientists will be able to transmit their voice using a diode laser, guide light using a jet of water, and send secret messages to friends using an array of IR diodes and an IR camera.

If you would like to know more about our student chapter at Southampton you can visit our website at www.orc.soton.ac.uk/OSA. Here you'll find more information about our Outreach activities alongside images of the events we've had to keep spirits high in the wake of the Mountbatten fire. These include our annual Arctic Barbeque (so-called because it's always cold when we have it in November), a Chinese New Year meal, and the (very English) Winchester pub crawl around the drinking venues of the former capital of England . Upcoming events include invited speakers from University College Cork in Ireland and the National Technical University of Athens, and an international food festival where we'll celebrate the international nature of the chapter by asking members to bring examples of their national dishes to a grand picnic for the entire department. Southampton 's OSA student chapter is still very much alive!

The Southampton OSA Student Chapter is located in Southampton, Hampshire , United Kingdom .

Figure 1: Mountbatten before and after - The Mountbatten complex before and after the fire. On the left is the clean room facility that was completely destroyed and has since been demolished; on the right is the partially damaged office block, the future of which is still undecided. Photo courtesy of Dave Evans.

Figure 2: Building 47 - The new temporary office block that is housing displaced staff and students of the Optoelectronics Research Centre until the rebuild of the Mountbatten complex is completed in 2007. Photo courtesy of Dave Evans.

Figure 3: Southampton 's OSA committee - For individual pictures and roles in the committee see our website: www.orc.soton.ac.uk/ OSA.

Figure 4: Guiding light with water - The new Tyndall box allows the demonstration of using a jet of water to guide a diode laser beam. By adding a few drops of milk to the water, the laser beam becomes strikingly visible in the box.

Figure 5: Infinite reflections - Our very own hall of mirrors. Constructed from three large mirrors, the new infinity mirror replaces a similar display that was always a big favourite with the kids.

Figure 6: The Arctic BBQ - Despite the fire having only happened 4 days previously, spirits were high at the annual Arctic barbeque in November. The BBQ attracted somewhere between 50 and 70 OSA student members and staff. We were too busy cooking to count!