Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
As fascinating as physics can be, it can also seem very abstract, but behind each experiment and discovery stands a real person trying to understand the universe. Join us at the Cavendish Laboratory on the first Thursday of every month as we get up close and personal with the researchers, technicians, students, teachers, and people that are the beating heart of Cambridge University’s Physics department. If you want to know what goes on behind the doors of a Physics department, are curious to know how people get into physics, or simply wonder what physicists think and dream about, listen in!Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Cavendish Laboratory profiles • physicists, technicians, students’ career paths • interdisciplinary science • astrophysics/radio astronomy, particle physics/CERN, quantum optics • materials, nanotech, machine learning • biomedical/biological physics • outreach, communication, art–science links • industry, entrepreneurshipThis podcast is a monthly, interview-led series from the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge that focuses on the people behind physics research, teaching, and technical work. Across episodes, guests describe how they entered physics (often via non-linear routes) and what day-to-day life looks like in a major university department, from undergraduate teaching labs and cleanroom facilities to highly specialised research groups.
A recurring thread is the diversity of roles that make physics happen. Alongside academics and postdoctoral researchers, the podcast features laboratory technicians, managers, and students, highlighting practical expertise in building experiments, maintaining equipment, and supporting large numbers of learners. Several conversations also examine communication and public engagement, including outreach initiatives, science education platforms, and creative formats for explaining complex ideas to non-specialists.
Scientific topics span a wide range of contemporary physics and adjacent fields. Listeners will encounter astrophysics and cosmology (including radio astronomy, galaxy evolution, and early-universe questions), particle physics connected to major international collaborations, and quantum and optical physics involving ultracold atoms and quantum materials. There is also coverage of condensed matter theory, soft matter, biological physics at the intersection of chemistry and biology, and biomedical physics aimed at improved medical imaging and clinical translation. Technology and computation feature prominently, including high-performance computing, software architecture and security for telescope systems, and machine-learning approaches to designing materials and chemicals.
The podcast frequently returns to how research connects to society: spin-outs and patents, collaborations with industry, sustainability-focused programmes, and the work of standardising methods and datasets. Another consistent theme is interdisciplinarity, including sustained conversations between physics and art—through fellowships and collaborations that use sound, performance, installation, and storytelling to explore scientific questions and human experience. Personal challenges and motivations—setbacks, perseverance, representation, work–life balance, and even combining elite sport with doctoral research—are used to illuminate what it means to build a life in physics.
