Course Information & Syllabus
Department Of Physics
Objectives & Mission:
To inculcate in the minds of the students a strong fascination for learning science, physics in particular
To motivate them to take up a scientific career, either academic or Research and Development, and groom them worthy citizens of India.
to provide knowledge about the recent developments in physics
To create required skills for doing experimental physics
To have a better understanding of physics through problem solving
Courses offered:
The department was offering physics education with a two year B.Sc Degree course 1956, which was converted to a three year B.Sc Degree course in 1957. It became a Post-Graduate department in 1958. It was the first to have the PG physics course in Madurai. The department now also offers the B.Sc , M.Sc and M.Phil courses under the Self-finance scheme.
Course highlights:
In addition to the basic core papers, papers on Energy Physics, Microprocessors and microcontrollers, programming in C++, and numerical methods are also offered at the B.Sc Level. Students are also trained on computers.
In M.Sc., elective papers on advanced microprocessors, Instrumentational methods of analysis, advanced solid state physics are offered. In the fourth semester students have to do a project.
Research Activities:
The Department became a recognized Research center in 2004 with two staff as research guides. The Research activities are carried out in the fields of Crystallography, Non-Conventional energy sources, Environmental studies and thin films. More than 75 papers have been published in National & International journals by the staff & students of the department.
The department has successfully carried out one major research projects funded by CSIR. One UGC minor project, one CSIR project and one DST project are under progress.
As on April 2009, One student has been awarded Ph.D . Now one full time student and 15 part time students are pursuing their Ph.D program.
Besides, many number of M.Phil students of MKU, BDU, and MSU are guided by our staff.
DST –FIST program:
The PG Department received a sum of Rs 21.6 lakhs under the DST-FIST program during the year 2008. This fund is for the restructuring of PG education & Research in Physics. Some of the instruments bought under FIST are: High vacuum unit, High Temperature Furnace, Glass Fusing furnace, Ultrasonic interferometer for solids, Microwave bench, spin coating thin film unit, solar water heating system, Keithley multimeter.
Department library:
The Department has an excellent library with over 7000 books; the collection includes many classic works written by famous scientists and Nobel laureates. These are sources of inspiration for both students and teachers, and motivate them to gain a scientific temper. Some of the books are now out of print but are frequently referred to by teachers and research scholars.
Laboratory:
The Department has a well-equipped laboratory. Besides the usual instruments and apparatus, it has a LAN with 10 nodes , a Thin Film Setup. Students are regularly trained on C++ Programming and numerical methods.
Students go to various research institutes to carry out their Project work. These include, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (Kodaikanal), Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (Tirunelveli), IGCAR (Kalpakkam), CECRI (Karaikudi), IUCAA (Pune) , Nuclear Science Center (New Delhi) and The Madurai Kamaraj University, to name a few.
Physics Club:
Interesting articles and recent development in physics are given as topics for paper presentation and students are encouraged to present Power point presentations of their chosen topic.
In addition, quiz, model display competitions are also conducted to bring out their talents.