Every two years the physics laboratories of the world are called to open their doors and allow the public to record what they see inside. This is the Global Physics Photowalk.
On 25–26 September 2015, hundreds of amateur and professional photographers went behind-the-scenes at eight of the world’s leading physics laboratories. The participants photographed anything and everything during these visits, from state-of-the-art accelerators and detectors in all their beauty and complexity, to the scientists at work in the laboratories. These images were shared with the world through a global competition. The top 24 photos were judged in two categories: a jury competition — facilitated through a panel of international judges, and a people’s choice competition — conducted via an online popular vote.
For the first time, the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) participated. The SUPL Photowalk was organised by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale (CoEPP) in conjunction with the Interactions Collaboration and with assistance from the Stawell Gold Mine. The response to the callout for interest was phenomenal, with dozens of amateur and professional photographers from across the state registering to participate. The SUPL Photowalk allowed space for up to six people to visit the site and take images of the underground physics laboratory in its very early stages of development. Participants were selected via a random process. The final photographers were Stuart Brown, Mark Killmer, Julie Madders, Rajat Malhotra, Molly Patton and Paul Tucker.
Photowalk participating laboratories:
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, Germany
- European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Illinois, USA
- High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba, Japan
- National Laboratory of Frascati (INFN-LNF) in Frascati, Italy
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California, USA
- Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) in Victoria, Australia
- TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada
This permanent exhibition showcases winning entries, top photos from each participating lab and images taken during the SUPL Photowalk.
CoEPP would like to acknowledge the support of the following organisations that made the Photowalk and associated exhibition at Stawell possible:
Interactions Collaboration
Newmarket Gold/ Stawell Gold Mines
Northern Grampians Shire Council
CoEPP is supported by the Australian Research Council through its Centres of Excellence scheme