Information for the speakers

Seminar details

Unless otherwise stated, weekly seminars take place on Wednesdays at 4-5pm.

Please aim your talk to be no more than ~45 minutes long (beyond this the audience tends to lose its attention span). It also allows time for questions and discussion at the end.

The audience is mostly composed of astronomy staff, postdoctoral researchers and postgraduate students. Please aim your talk at the postgraduate level.

Getting to the University of Southampton

By rail
Fast trains from London and Bournemouth/Weymouth stop at Winchester, Southampton Central and Southampton Airport Parkway. Trains from Portsmouth and Bristol/South Wales stop at Southampton Central.

By bus or coach
National Express provides regular services from central London, Heathrow, Birmingham, Bournemouth and the North. Southampton coach station is at Western Esplanade, in the city centre. Our own Uni-link buses connect the University's Southampton campuses with the city centre and both train stations - Southampton Central and Southampton Airport Parkway.

By car
Southampton is just 75 miles (120km) from London and 21 miles (35km) from the Channel ports. The M3, M27 and A34 provide fast, direct access while the A36 is the main route to the West Country, Bristol and Wales.

From the M3 -- Exit at junction 14, following signs for Southampton (A33). Follow the A33 into Bassett Avenue and follow the map/signs to University campuses.

From the M27 (west or east) -- Leave the M27 at junction 5 (Southampton Airport) and follow the map/signs to University campuses.

Visitor parking -- There is a pay and display car park on Highfield Campus, which is sited in the vicinity of Buildings 1 and 16. Please note that it can fill up very quickly during the morning.

By air
Southampton International Airport is a few minutes away from the Southampton University campuses by bus or taxi (off junction 5 of the M27). There is a full UK domestic service, as well as flights to mainland Europe and the Channel Islands.

Travelling to/from the airport/Southampton Airport Parkway station or to Southampton Central station

By bus
The University of Southampton runs a very efficient bus service, uni-link, between the city centre (Southampton Central station) and the airport/Southampton Airport Parkway. The bus runs every ~7 minutes at rush hour and every ~15 minutes otherwise. It takes about 15 minutes to commute from the airport/city centre to/from the campus (out of traffic rush). A one-way ticket will set you back £ 2 and all-day pass is £ 3 (purchase from the driver using bank notes or spare change). The bus also stops in front of the Highfield House Hotel and the Elizabeth House Hotel, where most visitors are accommodated (ask the driver for these stops, which are located between the city center and the campus).

From the airport -- The bus is called U1C (i.e. going towards "City Centre") and leaves from the departures entrance door of the airport (1 min walk from the train station).

From the Southampton Central station (and National Express terminal) -- The bus is called U1A (i.e. going towards "Airport") and leaves from the bus shelter just outside the south side entrance of the station (i.e. the side of platform 1, facing the Toys R' Us store).

From/to the University Interchange -- In each direction, the bus makes a major stop at the University Interchange (see the Uni-Link logo on the map above), which is a brand new bus shelter with wooden structure. If you leave from the University, you want to take the U1A or U1C, depending if you go towards the airport or the cite centre.

By taxi
Taxis in Southampton are normally required to be pre-booked by phone, with the exception of taxi ranks at the airport and the Central Station. A ride from each place to/from the campus usually costs about £ 10. There are a couple of companies; a good one is Aero Taxis (tel: 023 8001 0203). The ride takes about 10 minutes (out of traffic rush).

Finding us on campus

The School of Physics and Astronomy is situated in the Highfield campus of the Southampton University. Our building number is B46 and located in the lower left corner of the campus (marked by the red circle with the approximate walking path from the Uni-Link terminal in orange).

Accommodation

We usually accommodate our guests at the Highfield House Hotel (119 Highfield Lane, Southampton, SO17 1AQ; 023 8055 4223) or the Elizabeth House Hotel (42-44 The Avenue, Southampton, SO17 1XP; 023 8022 4327). Both are located within walking distance from the department: Highfield House is 10-15 min away (map here) and Elizabeth House is 15-20 min away (map here).

Email addresses and phone numbers

For email addresses and phone numbers, visit our contact page.

The seminar organisers are Mari Kolehmainen (room 4053) and Dimitrios Emmanoulopoulos (room 4083).