Hello, my name is Malcolm Fairbairn and I am reader in physics at King’s College London. My research lies at the interface between particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology.  In particular I spend my time worrying about the nature of dark matter and dark energy and how we can make links between what is happening at the LHC and in the early Universe.  I am a theorist, which means I don’t do experiments or use telescopes, I make calculations using pencil and paper and also by writing computer programs.

I also teach undergraduates.  This blog is about a telescope we are going to build on the roof of the physics department here at KCL.  We are right in the middle of London, here (look for the little dome next to where it says “dept of electrical and electronic engineering”) so it’s going to be interesting.  Why is it going to be interesting?  Well because people usually build telescopes in dark places like here!  However, our telescope is not for research but for teaching.

This blog will be about the whole process of installing the telescope, getting it to work and then seeing what we can do with it in the most polluted light environment in Western Europe.

I may also post things about my research and about anything else that comes into my mind.  I am of course happy to answer any questions people have about physics, so feel free to contact me via this blog.

So I only found out that I got funding for this project last week, so now I’ve got to go and get my own key for the roof and timetable the first meetings with people.  The problems start here!