Soils support agricultural and natural ecosystems and regulate environmental interactions between the hydrosphere and atmosphere. It is the quality of our soils that affect productivity, the environment, health and ultimately sustainability. However, challenges such as those presented by lack of plant nutrient supply, soil acidification, physical degradation, soil contamination, and loss of soil biodiversity are problems at a global scale that threaten the sustainability of the environment and society. As well as the threats the importance of maintaining a quality soil that regulates environmental interactions will be explored, such as soil as a sink for carbon affecting climate interactions or understanding how a rich soil biodiversity can contribute to food production affecting food security. To do this, this unit of study is concerned with exploring the key pedology, soil chemistry, soil physical and soil biological processes that drive these challenges to soil quality. Time will be spent investigating how the quality of the soil can be assessed, using the indicators of the mentioned soil processes, and how the resulting data can be aggregated and communicated in a meaningful way. Working with case studies, the students will identify problems that are assessed using soil quality or function analysis with the aim of identifying management options. The management options will be evaluated to determine their adoptability and implement ability. By investigating the case studies using soil quality or function analysis students will develop their research and enquiry skills. Assessing and developing adoptable management strategies the students will develop their skills in synthesising material from multiple sources and enhance their intellectual autonomy. By producing reports and presenting seminars the students will develop their communication skills.

This unit provides students with an overview of current debates and approaches to understanding and quantifying interactions between the biosphere, oceans and atmosphere, as used around the world, and the consequences of those interactions for climate. The unit considers climate change on a variety of timescales.

Chemistry underpins many advances in technology, industry and medicine. It is a broad scientific discipline that impacts on, and is influenced by, other scientific fields. Research in this field occurs in areas as diverse as the design of new drugs and tools for biomedicine, the development of new functional materials, novel approaches to quantum computing and investigating how to communicate chemistry to students and non-scientists. In this unit you will attend cutting-edge research seminars covering the wide breadth of the discipline and learn about state-of-the art research in different sub-discipline areas. You will learn how to critically analyse research presentations and apply this skill to assist you in presenting your own research to a scientific audience. By doing this unit you will develop an understanding of the principles and concepts from a range of chemistry subdiscipline areas. You will develop an ability to analyse and critique what makes a good research presentation. This will assist you in the development and communication of your own research ideas.

Chemistry, like all sciences, requires an individual not only to perform experimentation and data analysis but also needs us to be able to communicate our findings to others. This unit will expand our consideration of successful communication from oral presentations to written media. You will attend cutting-edge research seminars covering the wide breadth of the discipline and learn about state-of-the-art research in different subdiscipline areas. You will discover how discipline experts communicate the results of their research to others and through critical reflection upon the research papers referred to in the seminars, you will develop an understanding of how successful scientists write about their work. Further from this, you will also critically reflect on how this impacts your own research ideas and, through peer-peer discussions, gain an appreciation of the subjectivity surrounding successful and impactful communication. By doing this unit, you will develop scientific writing skills that will be useful in the writing of your research thesis, any future publications or indeed any scientific writing platform.

This unit provides both a conceptual and an empirical foundation for the analysis of relationships between society, the environment and natural resources. In our recent past the rapid rate of global environmental change has necessitated a breakdown of traditional disciplinary boundaries in research and social scientists are increasingly called upon to work alongside natural scientists in unraveling the complexities of the human-environmental nexus. Students will examine a number of environmental issues and consider a variety of social science academic perspectives about environmental management.

This unit of study gives an overview of basic spatial data models, and enables students to understand the use of data from a variety of sources within a geographical information system (GIS). The analysis of spatial data, and its manipulation to address questions appropriate to planning or locational applications, will be addressed, as will the development of thematic maps from diverse data layers.

This unit of study explains the major coastal processes and systems of relevance to coastal zone management. These include beaches, barriers and dunes; estuaries and inlets; and coral reefs. The interactions between these processes and systems that are of most relevance to coastal management are highlighted, including coastal hazards such as beach erosion. Anthropogenic impacts are also analysed. This unit includes an introduction to numerical modeling of coastal processes and systems using state-of-the-art modeling tools. The unit is presented in lectures and field excursions, the latter enabling each system to be examined first hand.

This unit of study will introduce students to current research undertaken in various disciplines of marine science in Australia. It will be a multi-institutional unit taught at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) with contributions from the four University partners of SIMS. Lectures and tutorials will be taught by leading marine science researchers. Topics will cover physical and biological oceanography, climate change, molecular ecology, aquaculture, marine biology and marine geosciences. In practical classes, students will analyse and interpret remote-sensing data from the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), which provides comprehensive information on the biological and physical processes of Australia's coastal and oceanic waters.

Differential equations and the notion of convergence are ubiquitous within the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. Analysis has, thus, far reaching applications, and it is a major discipline in its own right. The origins of many major areas such as topology, functional and harmonic analysis have their roots in real and complex analysis. Analysis makes unexpected appearances in other areas such as number theory, where it played a key role in a recent breakthrough on arithmetic progression of prime numbers by Fields medalist Terrence Tao. Analysis deals with any kind of limit process, notions of distance, measure, continuity or differentiability. It makes up a crucial part of diverse areas in mathematics. The fields of application of analysis that you will encounter in this unit may include partial differential equations, differential geometry, harmonic analysis, topological groups, optimal control, scattering theory, ergodic theory, differential topology or mathematical physics. The selection of topics in this unit is guided by their relevance for applications and current research. In this unit, you will gain an understanding of the systematic, abstract foundations of a branch of analysis and develop tools needed to get to the present frontiers.

Differential equations and the notion of convergence are ubiquitous within the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. Analysis has, thus, far reaching applications, and it is a major discipline in its own right. The origins of many major areas such as topology, functional and harmonic analysis have their roots in real and complex analysis. Analysis makes unexpected appearances in other areas such as number theory, where it played a key role in a recent breakthrough on arithmetic progression of prime numbers by Fields medalist Terrence Tao. Analysis deals with any kind of limit process, notions of distance, measure, continuity or differentiability. It makes up a crucial part of diverse areas in mathematics. The fields of application of analysis that you will encounter in this unit may include partial differential equations, differential geometry, harmonic analysis, topological groups, optimal control, scattering theory, ergodic theory, differential topology or mathematical physics. The selection of topics in this unit is guided by their relevance for applications and current research. In this unit, you will gain an understanding of the systematic, abstract foundations of a branch of analysis and develop tools needed to get to the present frontiers.

Geometry, as one of the most ancient branches of pure mathematics, arose from the necessity and desire to describe and thoroughly understand the surrounding world and the universe. The development of geometry substantially contributes to the evolution of mathematics as a whole subject through the concepts and notions of axiom and manifold, which lays the foundation of modern mathematics. Despite the abstract appearance of modern geometry, the objects and problems of modern geometry can usually be traced back to practical situations. A good example is the recent breakthrough in image identification technology, which is rooted in differential geometry. From both a research and an educational perspective, geometry provides perfect opportunities for the implementation and interaction of ideas and techniques from other branches of mathematics like algebra, analysis, topology and probability, and other subjects like chemistry, finance and physics through topics including financial derivatives, Einstein Equations and black holes, which have attracted enormous public attention in recent years. You will learn to approach questions initially through intuition and then make this rigorous using mathematical tools. Through the selection of topics in this unit, you will train your mathematical imagination to discover the geometric framework of a complex problem.

Geometry, as one of the most ancient branches of pure mathematics, arose from the necessity and desire to describe and thoroughly understand the surrounding world and the universe. The development of geometry substantially contributes to the evolution of mathematics as a whole subject through the concepts and notions of axiom and manifold, which lays the foundation of modern mathematics. Despite the abstract appearance of modern geometry, the objects and problems of modern geometry can usually be traced back to practical situations. A good example is the recent breakthrough in image identification technology, which is rooted in differential geometry. From both a research and an educational perspective, geometry provides perfect opportunities for the implementation and interaction of ideas and techniques from other branches of mathematics like algebra, analysis, topology and probability, and other subjects like chemistry, finance and physics through topics including financial derivatives, Einstein Equations and black holes, which have attracted enormous public attention in recent years. You will learn to approach questions initially through intuition and then make this rigorous using mathematical tools. Through the selection of topics in this unit, you will train your mathematical imagination to discover the geometric framework of a complex problem.

Topology is the mathematical theory of the "shape of spaces". It gives a flexible framework in which the fabric of space is like rubber and thus enables the study of the general shape of a space. The spaces often arise indirectly: as the solution space of a set of equations; as the parameter space for a family of objects; as a point cloud from a data set; and so on. This leads to strong interactions between topology and a plethora of mathematical and scientific areas. The love of the study and use of topology is far reaching, including the use of topological techniques in the phases of matter and transition which received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. This unit introduces you to a selection of topics in pure or applied topology. Topology receives strength from its areas of applications and imparts insights in return. A wide spectrum of methods is used, dividing topology into the areas of algebraic, computational, differential, geometric and set-theoretic topology. You will learn the methods, key results, and role in current mathematics of at least one of these areas, and gain an understanding of current research problems and open conjectures in the field.

Topology is the mathematical theory of the "shape of spaces". It gives a flexible framework in which the fabric of space is like rubber and thus enables the study of the general shape of a space. The spaces often arise indirectly: as the solution space of a set of equations; as the parameter space for a family of objects; as a point cloud from a data set; and so on. This leads to strong interactions between topology and a plethora of mathematical and scientific areas. The love of the study and use of topology is far reaching, including the use of topological techniques in the phases of matter and transition which received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. This unit introduces you to a selection of topics in pure or applied topology. Topology receives strength from its areas of applications and imparts insights in return. A wide spectrum of methods is used, dividing topology into the areas of algebraic, computational, differential, geometric and set-theoretic topology. You will learn the methods, key results, and role in current mathematics of at least one of these areas, and gain an understanding of current research problems and open conjectures in the field.

In his book on Applied Mathematics, Alain Goriely states There is great beauty in mathematics and great beauty in the world around us. Applied Mathematics brings the two together in a way that is not always beautiful, but is always interesting and exciting. In this unit you will explore classic problems in Applied Mathematics and their solutions or investigate an area of Applied Mathematics that is currently the focus of active research. You will delve deeply into powerful mathematical methods and use this mathematics to investigate and resolve problems in the real world, whether that is in computation, the social sciences or the natural sciences. You will learn how the synergies between mathematics and real world problems that are found throughout Applied Mathematics both drive the creation of new mathematical methods and theory, and give powerful insights into the underlying problems, resulting in new ways of seeing the world and new types of technology. By doing this unit you will grow in your appreciation of the links between mathematical theory and its practical outcomes in other disciplines and learn to use mathematics in deeply profound ways in one or more areas of application.

In his book on Applied Mathematics, Alain Goriely states "There is great beauty in mathematics and great beauty in the world around us. Applied Mathematics brings the two together in a way that is not always beautiful, but is always interesting and exciting. "In this unit you will explore classic problems in Applied Mathematics and their solutions or investigate an area of Applied Mathematics that is currently the focus of active research. You will delve deeply into powerful mathematical methods and use this mathematics to investigate and resolve problems in the real world, whether than is in computation, the social sciences or the natural sciences. You will learn how the synergies between mathematics and real world problems that are found throughout Applied Mathematics both drive the creation of new mathematical methods and theory, and give powerful insights into the underlying problems, resulting in new ways of seeing the world and new types of technology. By doing this unit you will grow in your appreciation of the links between mathematical theory and its practical outcomes in other disciplines and learn to use mathematics in deeply profound ways in one or more areas of application.

Deterministic and stochastic systems lie at the heart of applied mathematics. They are dynamical models of the real world, whose reach is widespread and growing rapidly. Interest in such models grew from the discovery of chaos in simple models of atmospheric circulation, at almost the same time as astonishingly well-ordered and predictable behaviour was observed in models of particle physics. These starting points led to the development of new tools in applied mathematics, which turned out to be profoundly effective at describing emergent behaviours and change. The Economist magazine has stated that "The equations of a good theory are taken to represent physical reality because they can be used to make predictions". This unit will present a toolbox for describing and predicting outcomes. The tools also allow for methods of checking how parameters in a model could be changed to compare predictions to observations. You will learn how profound mathematical theory is applied to produce tools that are universal, adaptable and far-reaching. You will adapt and apply this fundamental theory to these to explore classical and current applications of mathematics to real world problems. You will use methods, developed to study classical areas, as springboards for new tools for innovative applications such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Deterministic and stochastic systems lie at the heart of applied mathematics. They are dynamical models of the real world; whose reach is widespread and growing rapidly. Interest in such models grew from the discovery of chaos in simple models of atmospheric circulation, at almost the same time as astonishingly well-ordered and predictable behaviour was observed in models of particle physics. These starting points led to the development of new tools in applied mathematics, which turned out to be profoundly effective at describing emergent behaviours and change. The Economist magazine has stated that "The equations of a good theory are taken to represent physical reality because they can be used to make predictions". This unit will present a toolbox for describing and predicting outcomes. The tools also allow for methods of checking how parameters in a model could be changed to comparepredictions to observations. You will learn how profound mathematical theory is applied to produce tools that are universal, adaptable and far-reaching. You will adapt and apply this fundamental theory to these to explore classical and current applications of mathematics to real world problems. You will use methods, developed to study classical areas, as springboards for new tools for innovative applications such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Stochastics examines phenomena in which chance plays a central role. The theory of stochastic phenomena has applications in engineering systems, the physical and life sciences and economics, to give just a few examples. Applications of stochastic processes arise particularly naturally in finance where there are fluctuations in stock prices and practitioners are required to solve different types of optimisation problems in stochastically driven systems. For this reason, it is particularly important that mathematicians in general and especially mathematicians specialising in problems in the financial industry are equipped with tools to analyse and quantify random phenomena. This unit will expose you to critical topics in the theory and application of stochastic processes and analysis in mathematical finance. You will learn how to identify problems that require the application of stochastic theory, how to rigorously describe such problems using appropriate mathematical frameworks and how to tackle and solve the problem once it has been phrased in terms of stochastic theory. Along the way, you will also gain a deep knowledge about diverse topics in finance and the relevance of mathematical analysis in the financial industry.

An individual's health literacy has a major impact on their health and wellbeing across their life. Health literacy comprises the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of an individual to gain access to, understand, and use information to promote and maintain good health. People of lower health literacy commonly engage less frequently with the healthcare system, presenting later with illnesses, have lower adherence to medical advice and treatments, and higher mortality rates. In this unit you will learn about health literacy, how it can adversely impact populations, its measurement and applications in healthcare, and an understanding of approaches to increase health literacy. You will develop skills to use within the healthcare system and with external partners to increase levels of health literacy.

In this unit normally undertaken as part of the Masters of Medical Physics degree or the Graduate Diploma in Medical Physics, introduces the concepts and nomenclature of the structure of the human cell, tissues, anatomical structure and physiology. The organisation and function of major organ systems that constitute the human body are covered. Examples of pathology of diseases commonly encountered in the practice of medical physics such as cancer, will be included. Basic principles of cell and molecular biology and molecular imaging will also be introduced. The course has been designed specifically for physics students with no prior knowledge of the field.

In this unit normally undertaken as part of the Masters of Medical Physics degree or the Graduate Diploma in Medical Physics, both theoretical and practical aspects of the major topics in radiotherapy physics are covered. These topics include radiation beam production and modification, calibration and characterisation, principles of treatment planning, dose calculation and reporting, and the physics of brachytherapy.

In this unit normally undertaken as part of the Masters of Medical Physics degree or the Graduate Diploma in Medical Physics, the physical principles underlying the physics of imaging in diagnostic radiology, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and functional imaging modalities are covered. Advanced techniques, such as multi-modality imaging, are also introduced.

This unit is normally undertaken as part of the Master of Medical Physics or the Graduate Diploma in Medical Physics. Nuclear properties and models, and the main types of radioactive decay (alpha, beta, and gamma decay) are covered. There is also a brief introduction to nuclear reactions. This UoS also includes fundamentals of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and magnetic resonance imaging.

This unit is normally undertaken as part of the Master of Medical Physics degree or the Graduate Diploma in Medical Physics. Sources of radiation, interaction of radiation with matter, physical, chemical and biological effects of radiation in human tissue, physical principles of dosimetry, internal and external dosimetry, radiation units and measurement are covered.

This unit is normally undertaken as part of the Master of Medical Physics degree or in the Graduate Diploma in Medical Physics. Physical and biological aspects of the safe use of ionising radiation, physical principles and underlying shielding design instrumentation, international and legislative requirements for radiation protection are covered. Factors affecting dose response of tissue are considered along with radiobiological models describing characteristic behaviour.

This unit of study will introduce the student to the physics associated with diagnostic and therapeutic applications in Nuclear Medicine. This will cover the use of radionuclides for imaging in single photon (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET), tomographic image reconstruction and kinetic analysis of imaging data. Internal radionuclide dosimtery will be addressed using standard (MIRD) models as well as by voxel-based estimators.

This unit of study introduces contemporary topics from Ecological Economics and Sustainability Analysis, such as metrics for measuring sustainability; planetary boundaries and other natural limits; comparisons between ecological and environmental economics; valuing the environment; intergenerational discounting; global inequality with a focus on the climate change debate; and links between theories of well-being, human behaviour, consumerism and environmental impact. This unit includes guest lecturers from industry and academia. The lectures for this unit include interactive activities and group-exercises on a range of concepts related to Ecological Economics. The unit sets the scene for the more detailed and specific units PHYS5032, PHYS5033, and PHYS5034.

This unit of study offers a practical introduction to quantitative analysis techniques including multiple regression, uncertainty analysis, integration, structural decomposition, and dynamic systems modelling, with a strong emphasis on demonstrating their usefulness for environmental problem-solving. This unit will show students how mathematics can be brought to life when utilised in powerful applications to deal with environmental and sustainability issues. Throughout the unit of study, example applications will be explained, including climate modelling, ecosystem trophic chain analysis, linking household consumption and environmental impact, identifying socio-demographic drivers of environmental change, and the uncovering the effect of land use patterns on threats to species.

This unit of study will provide students with practical skills for carrying out environmental footprinting calculations: for individuals, companies, organisations or nations. In particular, this unit will provide a comprehensive introduction to input-output analysis for identifying impacts embodied in regional, national and global supply chains. This unit focuses on contemporary environmental applications such as emissions, energy-use, water, land, loss of animal and plant species; and also social applications such as employment, poverty and child labour. The unit first explores national and global economic and environmental accounting systems and their relationships to organisational accounting. Second, it presents cutting-edge techniques enabling the global analysis of environmental and social impacts of international trade. Third, it offers hands-on practical activities for mastering the input-output techniques conceived by Nobel Prize Laureate Wassily Leontief, and provides a step-by-step recipe for undertaking boundary-free environmental and social footprinting for sectors and organisations. Students will walk away from this unit equipped with useful skills needed to calculate footprints, and prepare sustainability reports for any organisation, city, region, or nation, using organisational data, economic input-output tables and environmental accounts. Students will also benefit from enrolling in PHYS5034 for a sound understanding of the role of input-output analysis within the field of Life-Cycle Assessment.

This unit of study covers philosophy, techniques, applications and standards of Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). It introduces methods from engineering (Process Analysis) and economics (Input-Output Analysis), and discusses current popular LCA tools. The unit places importance on practical relevance by including real-world case studies and business applications as well as global standards such as the GHG Protocol for accounting for scopes -1, -2 and -3 emissions and ISO standards. The unit of study will culminate with practical exercises using software tools to provide students with hands-on experience of preparing a comprehensive Life-Cycle Assessment of an application of their choice. Students will also benefit from enrolling in PHYS5033 for a sound understanding of input-output analysis as the basis of hybrid LCA methods.

The electromagnetic force is the only one of the four fundamental forces of nature that is compatible with the four realms of mechanics (classical, quantum, relativistic and relativistic quantum mechanics) and therefore, the study of electrodynamics is fundamental to understanding how the laws of physics may be unified, but also to identify gaps in our knowledge. Drawing upon the foundations of classical electromagnetism and optics laid in the undergraduate physics major, this unit provides an advanced-level treatment of topics in electrodynamics and photonics underlying cutting-edge modern research. Starting with the mathematically elegant covariant formalism of the Maxwell equations, from which special relativity derives, the unit covers topics such as the origin of radiation from relativistic particles and from atoms, which are important in astrophysics and particle physics as well as optical and quantum physics. This then introduces the theme of light-matter interactions, which reveals how light can be manipulated and controlled, leading to fascinating phenomena such as optical tweezers, topological insulators and metamaterials. The unique properties and applications of confined electromagnetic waves and their nonlinear interactions are studied in depth, followed by the physics of laser light. The unit is completed with the contemporary research topic of quantum optics. In studying these topics, you will learn advanced theoretical concepts and associated mathematical methods in physics, including tensor calculus, Greens function method, multipole expansion in field theory, and coupled mode theory. Assessment for this unit includes the preparation of a literature review. By doing this unit, you will be able to synthesise your knowledge of physics and gain new insights into how to identify and apply relevant aspects of physics-based concepts and techniques to solve modern research problems.

Modern astrophysics covers a vast range of scales, from processes within the Solar System which allow for direct testing, to processes that take place in distant places and times, such as the formation of galaxies. Nonetheless, the same physics underpins all of these situations: the plasma of the solar system meets the interstellar medium, which provides the building blocks for galaxies. This unit provides an advanced-level treatment of three major topics in astrophysics: the formation and evolution of galaxies, the structure and morphology of galaxies, and the physics of plasma in our Solar System. You will learn about the behaviour of gas and plasma throughout the Universe, and their effect on phenomena from galaxy structure to space weather. Assessment for this unit includes the preparation of a topical review for presentation to the class. By doing this unit, you will learn how to synthesise your knowledge of physical concepts and processes, and how these concepts and techniques are used to solve modern research problems.

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity represents a pinnacle of modern physics, providing the most accurate description of the action of gravity across the cosmos. To Newton, gravity was simply a force between masses, but Einstein's mathematical language describes gravity in terms of the bending and stretching of space-time. In this course, students will review Einstein's principle of relativity, and the mathematical form of special relativity, and the flat space-time this implies. This will be expanded and generalised to consider Einstein's principle of equivalence and the implications for particle and photon motion with curved space-time. Students will explore the observational consequences of general relativity in several space-time metrics, in particular the Schwarzschild black hole, the Morris-Thorne wormhole, and the Alcubierre warp drive, elucidating the nature of the observer in determining physical quantities. Building on this knowledge, students will understand Einstein's motivation in determining the field equations, relating the distribution of mass and energy to the properties of space-time. Students will apply the field equations, including deriving the cosmological Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric from the assumption of constant curvature, and using this to determine the universal expansion history and key observables. In a computational assignment, students will also implement the integration of geodesics through specific space-times. Students will obtain a complete picture of our modern cosmological model, understanding the constituents of the universe, the need for inflation in the earliest epochs, and the ultimate fate of the cosmos.

Our current understanding of the basic building blocks of matter and interactions between them is called the Standard Model of Particle Physics (SM). This most fundamental description of Nature incorporates three of the four basic interactions which govern how the Universe works, the electromagnetic, weak and strong interactions. This unit investigates the mathematical underpinnings of the SM, a quantum field theory constructed upon fundamental notions of symmetry including Lorentz and local gauge invariance. It also explores the notion of spontaneous symmetry breaking, the Higgs field and the way that fundamental particles acquire mass. The interplay between theory and experiment, which has driven the SM's development, is highlighted. Finally, limitations of the model and possible extensions which could overcome them are discussed. You will learn how the SM is constructed based on symmetry principles, quantum fields and their space-time derivatives; how to derive equations of motion for the fields using the Action Principle; and how predictions for physical observables such as cross sections and decay rates can be calculated starting from the SM Lagrangian density. By studying examples of both recent and historically significant measurements confirming or challenging the SM, you will gain experience in reading and interpreting the scientific literature. This will include analysis of a current research paper for the final assignment. Through this unit you will develop an appreciation of humankind's most contemporary and successful attempt to describe Nature in terms of fundamental laws.

Quantum Field Theory (QFT) is the basic mathematical framework that is used for a consistent quantum-mechanical description of relativistic systems, such as fundamental subatomic particles in particle physics. The tools of QFT are also used for the description of quasi-particles and critical phenomena in condensed matter physics and other related fields. This course introduces major concepts and technical tools of QFT. The course is largely self-contained and also covers Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms for classical fields, elements of group theory and the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics. The main topics include the second quantization of various free fields using the canonical quantization formalism. Interacting theories and the perturbation theory are introduced within the more advanced path integral quantization formalism. The main focus is on the development of quantum electrodynamics. The last part of the course deals with the advanced concepts related to topological solutions in quantum field theory and their implications for non-perturbative quantum effects. By completing this course, you will obtain knowledge of major concepts and tools of contemporary fundamental physics, that can be employed in a wide range of physics and physics-based research, starting from the description of profound effects in condensed matter physics and ending by the understanding of basic building blocks of the Universe.

Modern nanofabrication and characterisation techniques now allow us to build devices that exhibit controllable quantum features and phenomena. We can now demonstrate the thought experiments posed by the founders of quantum mechanics a century ago, as well as explore the newest breakthroughs in quantum theory. We can also develop new quantum technologies, such as quantum computers. This unit will investigate the latest research results in quantum nanoscience across a variety of platforms. You will be introduced to the latest research papers in the field, published in high-impact journals, and gain an appreciation and understanding of the diverse scientific elements that come together in this research area, including materials, nanofabrication, characterisation, and fundamental theory. You will learn to assess an experiment's demonstration of phenomena in quantum nanoscience, such as quantum coherence and entanglement, mesoscopic transport, exotic topological properties, etc. You will acquire the ability to approach a modern research paper in physics, and to critically analyse the results in the context of the wider scientific community. You will also prepare a brief topical lecture, and present it to the physics honours class. By doing this unit you will develop the capacity to undertake research, experimental and/or theoretical, in quantum nanoscience.

Potentially the greatest challenge facing humanity is how to feed 10 billion people in a hot world. How do we reverse trends which suggest that essential resources are becoming scarce, consumers sicker and traditional systems of food production are breaking down? This is the situation that faces us in the 21 Century. This unit explores the imperatives and challenges of ensuring an adequate supply of safe water and nutritious food in the face of changes in the environment, human population and global markets. Factors influencing trends in supply and demand include environmental degradation, climate change, energy scarcity, technology, changes in population and the patterns of global prosperity, growing urbanisation, and increased consumption. The unit will consider the underlying policy, economic and market-driven forces that play an important role in affecting both supply and demand. The needs of low-, middle- and high-income nations will be compared and the role of international, national and regional mechanisms will be discussed. Placing emphasis on the relevance to Australia, the unit will explore available interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral actions across a range of organisational levels such as communities, governments, NGOs and international agencies.