By Adeline G, Year 12

On 6th May, NHEHS hosted the Astrophysics and Computer Science Conference, a day celebrating the wonders of space and technology. Over 60 students attended, from 6 different schools.

The day began with a couple of talks from two PhD students, who are currently studying at Imperial College. Their expertise spanned the massive and minute problems of physics: one spoke about cosmology and the rate of expansion of the universe, and the other talked about subatomic particle collisions. Both talks revealed fascinating insights into how scientists go about testing theories using computational models, and what the modern scientific process looks like.

After this, we were launched into a series of challenges. Teams were made up of both computer scientists and physicists, all battling together for a LEGO prize. The physicists puzzled over orbital problems, while the computer scientists crunched through planetary data. Finally, there was a challenge to protect the ISS from damaging space debris – the solutions to which were varied and innovative, involving lasers, shields and magnets!

This was an inspiring day of learning about physics beyond the classroom (and Solar System!), and how computer science techniques can be applied to test theories. Thank you so much to Mr Jenkins and the Physics Reps for organising such an enriching and fun day!