The Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics at University of Cambridge. At the forefront of discovery in physics since 1874.
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ALT Peering through the heart of the LHCb detector’s immense dipole magnet, we glimpse the SciFi subdetector used to track the paths of charged particles produced in collisions of either protons or lead ions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. Here it is transformed into a starry sky by the countless reflective stickers used to precisely align the subdetector, yielding a shimmering reminder of this gigantic machine’s astonishing sensitivity. As lead ions fly through the suspended beryllium beampipe towards their collision point, they embark on a journey to recreate the conditions found just a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, enabling us to better understand the type of matter (quark-gluon plasma) that filled the early Universe. By probing this fleeting moment with high-precision measurements of the tiny particles produced in LHC collisions, we trace the evolution of matter in the wake of the Big Bang.
ALT Ella Wood at LHcB
ALT Physicist Jim Al-Khalili
ALT This photo of the crystalline phase of 4-n-heptyloxybenzoic acid was taken through the eyepiece of a polarised optical microscope while characterising the phase diagram of the nOBA (4-n-alkoxybenzoic acid) homologues. In this series, the lower homologues (n = 1, 2) are non-mesogenic, while intermediate chains (n = 3 to 6) show nematic liquid crystal behaviour, and longer chains (n ≥ 7) additionally exhibit smectic phases. The image doubly captures this year’s theme “Big and Small”. We observe the “small” microscale sample section that has been magnified, revealing the “big” visual display. Equally, the “big” patterns that we see directly result from the “small” nanoscale molecular interactions and alignment.
ALT Photo of Izzy Sargent
ALT Bacterial Art in Bloom: The swimmers, the builders, and the living tapestry What happens when two flawed microbes are forced to live together? In this vibrant biofilm image, two defective strains of Bacillus subtilis unite to build a thriving community: glowing magenta “swimmers” (which can move but lack sticky glue) and glowing green “builders” (which produce the protective matrix glue but cannot move). Overlaid with standard light microscopy, the image captures their microscopic spatial dance. Through localized growth and spatial crowding, the two populations drive the colony to fold and buckle into stunning 3D patterns across the surface.
ALT A Division of Microscopic Labor: How single bacteria team up to build a community Even simple microscopic bacteria work as a team to build complex living communities. In this vibrant snapshot of a day-old Escherichia coli colony, different jobs are assigned to distinct zones: glowing green highlights the “builders” weaving a protective glue to anchor the colony, while magenta marks the “swimmers” forming an outer ring prepared for movement. A closer look reveals individual cells chaining, dividing, and jostling against one another. As single microbes crowd, push, and cooperate at the microscopic level, they create striking, ring-like patterns that lay the template for multicellular biofilm development.
ALT Abhirup Mookherjee
ALT An artistic impression of the proposed scheme. Atoms in an initial state (left-hand panel) pass through a first matter-wave lens, which sorts them by their momentum (central panel). This information is written into an additional degree of freedom; measuring it together with position after the second lens gives a final image that records a snapshot in phase space (right-hand panel).
ALT An image showing students learning in a classroom. Text above the photo reads: "Women scientists almost entirely omitted from exam boards’ compulsory learning material for UK schools".
ALT First Prize winning image: Winter Wonderland
ALT Picture of Zofia Dziekan
ALT The two-dimensional surface that the scientists created out of tiny robots. Due to non-reciprocal interactions between the robots, this active material acts as a time crystal. Credit: Veenstra, Binysh et al.
ALT Professor Sarah Bohndiek portrait beside a quote announcing her 2026 Rosalind Franklin Medal. The quote reads: “It’s an incredible honour to receive the Rosalind Franklin Medal, which recognises the importance of bringing physics into medicine. I am particularly pleased that our research on medical device equity is acknowledged. For my team, deepening our understanding of light and sound interactions in tissue is vital to create better diagnostics for the future.”
ALT Head-and-shoulders portrait of a man next to a teal graphic quotes which reads: "I’m delighted to have been awarded the Katharine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize. As well as being the first woman to be awarded a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge, Katharine Burr Blodgett was as much an inventor as a physicist. I continue to be excited by the ability of physics research to create inventions which help solve big problems like cancer, and to generate wealth and growth for the UK.” Professor Russell Cowburn FRS, 2026 IOP Katharine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize
ALT Smiling man wearing glasses beside a quote that reads: "I am deeply honoured to receive the James Joule Medal and Prize. Understanding the fundamental physics of energy materials is essential if we are to develop more efficient solar technologies and better batteries for a sustainable energy future. This award above all recognises the creativity, dedication and extraordinary work of the students, postdoctoral researchers, colleagues and collaborators with whom I have had the privilege to work.” Professor Akshay Rao, 2026 IOP James Joule Medal and Prize
ALT Cavendish Quantum Colloquium poster announcing Professor Nicola Marzari presenting "Materials from First Principles: From Pseudogaps to Autonomous Discovery" on Wednesday 14 October at 4:15pm, showing the smiling speaker at a lectern and a QR code for event details.
ALT Royal Academy of Engineering profile announcing Dr Loubna Bouarfa FREng, showing her hexagon headshot and listing roles: Founder of FactTrace.ai; Affiliated Lecturer, University of Cambridge; and Board of Advisors member, Oxford Internet Institute.
ALT World-leading researchers from academia and industry who attended the three day long conference at Cambridge outside the Ray Dolby Centre.
ALT Prof Eleuterio F. Toro during one of the sessions.
ALT Prof Nikos Nikiforakis and Dr Maria Chrysanthou from the Laboratory for Scientific Computing delivering one of the sessions.
ALT Two colleagues posing by a large office window, Amir Yacoby on the left and Mete Atature on the right, standing next to a tall red-and-green indoor plant with a campus building visible outside.
ALT Smiling Amir Yacoby standing before a chalkboard, paired with a quote that reads: “I find new people and environments enormously stimulating, and I look forward to working with colleagues across the Cavendish and the wider University, including those well beyond my immediate field. I hope the people I meet here will help shape the questions we ask and the directions we take. The Dolby family’s generosity creates an exceptional opportunity to pursue that spirit of discovery alongside the next generation of physicists.”