Physics

About the Department

With its inception in 1968 with Pre-degree (Two Batches) and Subsidiary course for B.Sc. Mathematics, the Department of Physics became a full-fledged undergraduate department in 1980 and since then the department has grown tremendously. In 1998 it became a Post Graduate Department specializing in Electronics. It attained the status of a Research centre in 2018 with key areas including Material science and Astrophysics. The department also has to its credit a state-of-the-art Research Lab that was established in 2016 with the support of DST-FIST programme, (Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Higher Educational Institutions of Department of Science and Technology DST).

The Department of Physics consists of seven faculty members and two non-teaching staff who focus on guiding students in achieving academic excellence, instilling scientific temper and improvement of overall personality. All the permanent faculty members are PhD holders. The Department extends personal care to students hailing from socially and economically weaker sections of society. Adding laurels to the department the UG and PG students have bagged top university ranks for the past three consecutive years.

The Department received DST-FIST support for the years 2014 -2019 and is funded by DBT Star college scheme for UG students from 2017 onwards. While all the classrooms are ICT enabled, the department’s well-furnished smart seminar room, with a seating capacity of one hundred facilitates seminars and workshops. The department’s fully equipped research lab caters to research in Material Science, Nano Science and Astronomy & Astrophysics. The lab includes major equipment such as UV-Vis spectrophotometer, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer, Source meter, vacuum coating unit, dip coating unit, etc. A dedicated computer lab is also set up for theoretical research purposes and postgraduate student projects in addition to the UG computer lab. Solar panels with a power output of 3 KVA was installed in the department in 2015. More than three hundred books, e-books, journals and video library (NPTEL) are available in the department library. Wi-Fi and internet facilities are provided to UG, PG students and research scholars. The department also functions as a Nodal Centre of Virtual Lab.

Advanced learners are encouraged to avail KSCSTE funded student projects and slow learners are supported by remedial classes and Scholar Support Programmes (SSP). UGC-supported add-on courses on (i) Electronics Tinkering (ii) Web Development and (iii) Python Programming were offered by the department from 2008 to 2016 and a computer lab with 25 computers was set up for the same.

Each year the department conducts competitive exams like IAPT, NGPE exam for Undergraduate Students in association with the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) and NET & JAM Model Exams for PG & UG Students respectively, in association with the Academy of Physics Teachers (APT). The Department also organizes International and National Seminars & Workshops for teachers, research scholars and students with the support of UGC, IUCAA, Pune, APT Kerala and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of the college.

Annually, the department conducts awareness classes and related Workshops in association with the Energy and Environment Conservation Club. In short, the department conducts all types of training and sessions for the holistic development of the students and includes career guidance classes, sessions on personality development and interview skills etc.

Over the years, the department’s graduating students have found placements in various institutions/industries through campus placements conducted by the institute in association with industry majors that include, TCS, Infosys, Sutherland, ICICI Prudential etc. Additionally, our students have been placed as faculty in various schools and colleges and several have gone on to earn PhDs from Universities in India and overseas.

Programmes offered:

• PhD in Physics
• M Sc with Electronics Specialization
• B Sc (Hons) with,
  • Major: Physics,
  • Recommended Minors*: Mathematics and Chemistry/ Statistics (* students have the freedom to choose any minor offered by the college),
  • Specialisation: Computational Physics
  • Skill Enhancement Courses (SECs):
    • Essential Machine Learning for Physicists
    • Electrical Circuits and network skills
  • Value Addition Courses (VACs):

Physics for Resilience: Strategies in Disaster Management

• Multi-disciplinary Courses(MDC)

Observational Astronomy

Add-on Courses:

(i) Electronics Tinkering

(ii) Web Development

(iii) Python Programming.

For any further queries e-mail us: physics@stxaviersaluva.ac.in