Millimeter-Waves: The Vision for the Future - From Electrons to Volcanoes

How can the same sort of light be used to interact with objects as different in size and scale as an electronand a volcano? What can you tell by looking at electrons anyway? How can nuclear fusion solve the 21stcentury energy crisis? How do state of the art security scanners work and what can they see? How do youobserve how a volcano is changing underneath cloud or smoke? What technology is used to build car radarfor cruise control or collision avoidance? How can we see how stars form in the outer reaches of the galaxyor understand what the Universe looked like after the Big Bang?Millimetre wave technology, a significant but little known area of Physics research, lies at the heart of ourability to do all of this and more. This project aims to convey the incredible range of imaging and sensingprovided by mm-wave technology to as wide a cross section of the public as possible, targeting audiencesthat would not normally be associated with science outreach. Our proposal seeks to deliver a high impactmajor public education program on technologies and applications associated with these very high frequencymicrowaves - in the mm-wave and sub-mm-wave regime. This area of the electromagnetic spectrum hasseen substantial funding from the research councils and is central to many topical areas of science andsociety. The program will build on a previous highly rated PPE project where a substantial amount oflecture material, demonstration equipment, video footage, teaching material, interactive exhibits and schoolworkshops were developed and enhanced over a 2 year period.There are three principal aims to this project: (1) a fresh remit to reach non 'self-selecting' audiences usingstate of the art research imagery and live demonstrations of mm-wave radar; (2) introduce the majorscience research topic and industrial application of magnetic resonance; (3) deliver a stand-alone interactiveexhibition of all this material to achieve long term sustainability in our outreach mission.

It was clear from the previous PPE that there was a lot of interest in security imaging and concerns over safety (of the imaging), privacy and cost versus the benefits of the enhanced security. In discussions, audiences' views were often highly polarised. With the recent controversies associated with mm-wave and X-ray backscatter imaging equipment being installed in UK and European airports this is a topic that will attract a great deal more attention, where an informed public debate is likely to be helpful. There is a great deal more scope to increase the number of talks and debates in this area with a substantial body of video imagery collected. A number of teachers also felt this topic (and associated imagery) was entirely suitable for their classes. But the range of mm-wave applications mean talks and demonstrations can be adapted to cover a large range of topics relevant to society ranging from climate change (measuring ozone), future energy resource (fusion) , transport (car radar), understanding new materials and biomolecules (magnetic resonance) or health (MRI). It was also clear both from internal and external evaluation that the workshops were being enthusiastically received by schools and playing a positive role in encouraging young people to think positively about science, particularly as they were being delivered by real scientists. IMPACT ON OUTREACH IN MM-WAVES AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE As part of our initial evaluation process we took some of our exhibits to the International MM-Wave and Infrared and THz conference held in Cardiff in 2007 and showcased in the main Exhibition Hall along with professional stands from commercial companies. This is the major international conference in mm-waves and was the first time the conference had been held in the UK for 10 years. All quotes in this section are taken from 23 interviews of random visitors to our stand conducted by our independent evaluator when we were not present. There were no negative comments: The link between science and ethical considerations are brilliantly made and relevant to everyone. It is unique to have such a professional set-up that is not selling a product. I expect most people underestimate the resources that go into something like this. It looks wonderful. Imagine how impressed potential industrial sponsors would be! Indeed, in relation to the last comment, the imaging radar developed for the program and showcased at the conference subsequently allowed a number of proof of principle experiments to be demonstrated, which led to a 1.5M contract from DSTL in collaboration leading UK Electronics group (ERA Technology). Scientific peers are particularly well placed to appreciate new methods, new applications and new demonstrations of physical phenomena. IMPACT ON OUTREACH IN ST ANDREWS AND LOCAL AREA The previous project also had a very effective role in providing outreach training not only to David Macfarlane but also to the entire mm-wave group (6 PDRAs and 3 PhD students) as well as Honours students undertaking summer projects or Final Year Honours projects within the group. In this project, outreach training will be available through collaboration between the University of St Andrews and Dundee Science Centre. Indeed the previous PPE grants allowed outreach projects to be established as acceptable Final Year Honours projects for the first time, despite some initial concerns from colleagues. These have proven to be an outstanding success and students have gone on to be teachers or popular science educators. One student described her project as the most enjoyable and best thing she had ever done at University . Our new project aims to capture some of this enthusiasm for such projects and see if we can use this as a mechanism to sustain the activity over long periods after the grant has finished.