Physics
Physics has been taught at the University of Sydney for more than 140 years. The School of Physics is one of the largest departments of physics in Australia with a strong research performance over a range of research fields. The School also has many research collaborations with other departments, as well as nationally and internationally. Research in the School is supported by national and international grants, industry agreements and the School’s Science Foundation for Physics.
University of Sydney Advantage
The School of Physics offers a vibrant research environment with some 23 research and teaching staff, 80 postdoctoral research staff and over 100 research students. The School is also home to five Federation Fellows Professors Marcela Bilek, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Ben Eggleton, Bryan Gaensler and Peter Robinson; for two of these, Eggleton and Robinson, the impact of their research has lead to their Fellowships being renewed. These fellowships represent one third of those held at the University, which itself has more of these prestigious research leaders than any other university. They form part of a $3 billion plan to establish Australia as a world-class research hub.
As one of just eight highly prestigious Centres of Excellence established by the Australian Research Council, the Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS at the School of Physics), focuses on the science and applications of nonlinear photonics. This field provides a wealth of topics for theoretical and experimental investigation by students. CUDOS is a national research consortium aiming to be amongst the top five research groups in the world in this field, and has established state-of the-art laboratory facilities in the School to pursue this goal, as well as strong collaborative links with leading Australian and international groups.
Facilities
Excellent computing and laboratory facilities exist within the School. Graduate students are encouraged and supported to attend local conferences and most have the opportunity to attend an international conference during their candidature. The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) and the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) are operated by the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. MOST is a 1.6 km long radio telescope, located near Canberra, and is being redeveloped as Australia’s prototype for the $2 billion next generation international radio telescope known as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). SUSI represent cutting edge optical interferometry, allowing the resolution of the surfaces of distant stars.
Areas of Research
Research at the School consists of a vibrant program of theoretical, experimental and observational physics. The research program is very broad, encompassing a range of topics from elementary particles to the universe at large. As well as pure research, the School has a strong emphasis on practical physics applications including novel materials, plasma fusion and environmental sustainability. Research at the School is grouped into broad areas, including:
Applied and Plasma Physics
Research projects in these areas are a stimulating mix of fundamental physics and practical applications, including materials physics, millimetre wave sources, plasma processing, energy physics, solar energy, vacuum glazing, the physics of sport, the health effects of electromagnetic radiation and nature’s use of physical micro-structures to produce colour. Research in plasma theory focuses on topics such as particle acceleration and heating, non-linear wave processes and complex dusty plasmas.
Biophysics
The Biophysics Group is involved in modelling of biomolecules using a variety of simulation methods on fast supercomputers. Our aim is to understand the function of proteins and especially those that have medical and pharmacological significance. The current areas of focus are ion channels and protein interactions.
Brain Dynamics
The Brain Dynamics group is an interdisciplinary team with backgrounds in physics, engineering, mathematics, IT, psychology, physiology, medicine, and other areas. Physiologically-based models of brain activity are applied to understanding the connections between physiology and stimuli, on the one hand, and resulting brain activity and experimental data, on the other.
Integrated Sustainability Analysis
The Centre for Integrated Sustainability Analysis (ISA) develops leading-edge research and applications for environmental and broader sustainability issues, bringing together expertise in environmental science, economics, technology, and social science.
Complex Systems
Complex Systems draws together researchers with interests in complex natural or artificial systems - brain dynamics, space and solar physics, plasma theory and astrophysics. The research in these areas is primarily theoretical and computational, with strong interactions with experimentalists, observers, and industry.
Condensed Matter Theory
Research in condensed matter theory focuses on ab initio investigations of materials and surface science phenomena. First-principles electronic structure calculations are used in conjunction with high performance computing to probe chemical reactions at interfaces and explore the energetics, atomic, electronic, and magnetic properties of polyatomic systems. Our goal is to acquire a detailed understanding of the fundamental science required to engineer and design complex materials.
High Energy Physics
High energy physics probes the subatomic world by observing the collisions of particles accelerated to extreme energies, either naturally (as in cosmic rays) or using giant accelerators. The School’s high energy research program involves participation in overseas collaborative experiments (at CERN in Europe and KEK in Japan) and Australian-based programs involving simulations, development and testing, and the analysis of results.
Institute of Medical Physics
The Institute of Medical Physics provides a focus for all research and teaching activities within the School that are related to medical physics. Research activities include radiation dosimetry, applications of PET/CT, proton treatment planning, brachytherapy verification, radiobiology and bio-acoustics.
Institute of Photonics and Optical Sciences (IPOS)
The mission of IPOS, which incorporates CUDOS, is to demonstrate all-optical processing applications and devices for ultra-high bandwidth optical telecommunications systems. These derive from fundamental research in the most exciting and vibrant areas of photonics science: nonlinear optical materials, photonic crystals, micro-structured optical fibres and micro-photonics.
Quantum Information Theory
The Quantum Information Theory group is formulating the rules for how information is carried by quantum systems. We explore the implications of these rules for future quantum technologies such as quantum computing, as well as for our understanding of the universe.
Space and Solar Physics
Space physics research in the School ranges from the Earth’s ionosphere, to the Sun’s surface and on to the outer boundaries of the heliosphere and solar system. It includes the solar corona and solar wind, the ionospheres and magnetospheres of Earth and the other planets, and the “space weather” that results from violent events on the Sun.
Sydney Institute for Astronomy
Representing one of the largest astronomy groups in Australia, the staff and students at SIfA pursue a broad range of observational and theoretical astrophysics, as well as the development of cutting edge instrumentation. The research program includes studies of the extreme environments of pulsars and black holes, the interstellar medium and cosmic magnetism, the seismology of stars and stellar lifetimes and the evolution of galaxies and cosmology. These programs use national observing facilities such as the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT), the Parkes radio telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), plus many facilities around the world and in space. The School also manages its own major instrumental programs at the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) and the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI).
Sydney University Physics Education Research (SUPER) Group
The SUPER group undertakes research into physics education, aiming to understand the complex ways in which students go about understanding physics. In collaboration with educational researchers around Australia and overseas, the program aims to encourage the implementation, inside and outside the University, of the findings of research in physics education.
Academic Programs offered
- Honours
- Graduate Diploma in Science (GradDipSc)
- Master of Science (MSc)
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)