Facilities
Major refurbishment of the Physics Building
The H H Wills Physics Laboratory is currently undergoing an expansive £45M investment programme that will have a major beneficial effect on all research groups within the department. In addition to creating a stunning new frontage, project "Phi" will deliver high-quality working space throughout the building, including a suite of high specification state-of-the-art research laboratories designed to ensure that Bristol maintains and enhances its cutting-edge capabilities and international reputation over the coming years. The refurbishment will include an upgrade of all existing infrastructure as well as the construction of new research facilities, such as a fully equipped clean room for nanoscience, a computerized mechanical workshop and a new materials synthesis and characterization laboratory.
Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information
The new £12M Centre for Nanoscience & Quantum Information, an adjunct of the H H Wills Physics Laboratory, opened in 2009. The building houses state-of-the-art specialised laboratories whose vibration and noise levels are amongst the lowest achieved anywhere world-wide, making the centre one of the finest (and quietest!) nanoscience facilities in the world. The building houses researchers from a range of scientific disciplines and university Schools, including Physics, and provides a purpose-designed environment in which inter-disciplinary research can be fostered and thrive through stimulating interactions and the exchange of ideas.
High Performance Computing Centre
A new £7M supercomputer facility, the mission of the High Performance Computing Centre (HPC) is to help establish Bristol University as a world class centre for research into advanced computing systems. The HPC facility is housed in a unique machine room within the H H Wills Physics building designed to make use of advanced remote management equipment and is fitted with leading-edge air-conditioning, which uses energy-efficient, water-cooled racks. Staff and students within the School of Physics have free access to the machine, known as "BlueCrystal" for their theoretical modelling or high-powered data analysis.
Helium liquefier
The AirLiquide helium liquefier was the first of its kind in a British university and is capable of producing 15 litres of liquid helium an hour. This capacity owes much to its design of static gas turbines that are no bigger than a match and spin at ~10,000 revolutions per second. This investment allows the facility to keep pace with the ever increasing demand of liquid cryogens, not only from Physics but other scientists within the university as well as local colleges and schools.
e-Science Access Grid
The Access Grid is a video-conferencing suite within Physics providing the facility to hold effective meetings between remote participants. The suite is particularly useful for organizing joint graduate lecture courses with external participating universities and institutes.