Mr Lewis Tunstall

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2010 Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship

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“Far beyond the reach of human senses lies the unfamiliar subatomic realm; a place where particles flit in and out of existence.”

Lewis Tunstall, a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide, is the inaugural winner of the Fulbright South Australia Scholarship. The South Australia Scholarship is supported by the South Australian Government and South Australian based universities, and was launched in 2009.

Through his Fulbright, Lewis will have the opportunity to study particle physics at the University of California, Berkeley for a year.

“In an attempt to understand the inner workings of the Universe at subatomic scales, physicists have developed the most successful theory of all time: The standard model of particle physics,” Lewis said.

“Despite the great success of this theory, there exist a small number of unresolved issues where the theoretical predictions don’t match the experimental results.”

Lewis’s research aims to establish a solution to one such problem. A major part of this research will involve the application of sophisticated mathematical techniques and their relation to experiments.

Many of the techniques he will use have been pioneered by Professor Mary Gaillard at the University of California. Being able to work with Professor Gaillard and her group will greatly enhance Lewis’s success in his research. It will also lead to increased links between the theory group at UC Berkeley and the University of Adelaide. Success in his research will help to boost Australia’s emerging reputation in fundamental science.

Lewis has an honours degree in Science from the University of Adelaide. Apart from his academic life he plays lead guitar in a rock band, and enjoys painting, drawing and reading.

“I scarcely imagined that playing guitar in a rock-n-roll band would lead me to pursue a career in theoretical physics. From a young age I was always fascinated with how things worked, and I pestered my parents with questions about why things were the way they are.”

“Surprisingly the band led me to physics. I found out that a major musical influence of mine had based an album on a physics book, so I borrowed the book and my interest in the area was born.”