Vision:

• To develop the department as a Center for Studies in Materials Science and Technology.
• To investigate Physics and Engineering courses.

Mission:

To start the courses in the emerging areas (as per UGC guidelines) like Nanotechnology, Computational Physics etc., so as to develop it as an advanced center of Materials Science and Engineering.

Goal:

• To achieve academic excellence and overall developments of the students to meet the International standards.

• To cater the needs of nearby industries by producing trained manpower to enhance productivity.

• To offer the analytical and consultancy services to the industries.

• To use the knowledge of Physics for Industrial development.

• To develop entrepreneurship qualities of the students.

The Department of Physics was established in 1964 with spectroscopy and electronics specializations for M.Sc. (Physics) course and with an intake capacity of only 10 students. The number of specializations grew subsequently to the present six and the student intake to 70. The department has always placed equal emphasis both on teaching and research. The number of Ph.D. students produced in the department is approaching 200.
The total research grant received by the department from various funding agencies is over Rs. 5 crores and the number of research publications in renowned journals is about to touch the 1000 mark. It is noteworthy that university wise this department ranks 6th in materials science research in India during the years 1996-2006. The department has started M. Tech. in Energy Technology since 2005 to enable integration of science and technology.
The major research areas of the department are materials science, aerogels, fuel cells, supercapacitors, electrochromic materials, water purification, nanomaterials, thick and thin film devices, space sciences, Earth sciences, ferrites and ME composites, holographic interferometry, etc. The major facilities for advanced studies available in the department include: Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, FT-Raman spectrometer, precision LCR meter, helium cryostat, high pressure autoclaves, PID controllers, versastat-II, Keithley electrometer, X and G band microwave setup, riometer, lasers, holographic interferometer to name a few. All the cabins/rooms and laboratories in the department are equipped with computer and internet facilities. The department has its own book-bank with a collection of more than 400 text/reference books.
The Vision of the Department is to develop it as a Centre of Excellence in Materials Science and Technology, by submitting the DST FIST (Phase II) and UGC projects. It is planned to start the courses in the emerging areas like Nanotechnology, Mathematical Modelling Computational Physics and Computer Simulation. Industry-Departmental joint research projects will be undertaken. The department will take up joint research projects in the field of Nanomaterials with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL, DRDO, Pune) and BARC, Mumbai.
It is creditable to the department that the students of this department carry the beacon of light from here to other departments and research institutions in India and abroad. The history of the department dictates that it has ever remained flourishing and will remain so in future.

• UGC - DRS (SAP) Programme (1999-2004): Rs. 51 lacs

• DST - FIST Sponsored Department (Dec. 2002 - Dec 2007) : Rs. 60 lacs.

• UGC - DRS (SAP) Programme IInd phase (2005-2009): Rs. 48 lacs

• UGC- ASSIST Programme (2005-2010): Rs. 75 Lacs

• UGC Infrastructure Programme: 20 Lacs with 5 Meritorious fellowships per year

• UGC - DRS (SAP) Programme IIInd phase (December 2009 submitted): Rs. 1.56 crores

  Research Areas :

 Thrust Area : “Development of materials for Advanced Technologies”

• Electrochemically oxidized high Tc superconductors and heterostructure

• Transparent monolithic silica aerogels

• Nanocrystalline ferrites and magnetoelectric (ME) composites

• Theoretical studies of Nonlinear Optical Phenomena in the bulk media and optical fibers.

• Holographic Interferometer studies on surface deformation in thin film optical materials.

• Nanocrystalline V-VI compound thin films

• Electrochromic materials

• Solar Cell Materials

• Supercapacitors

• Nanocomposite synthetic metals

• Fuel cells

• Thick film micro strip elements

• Sensor materials.

• Superhydrophobic coatings,

• Composite Aerogels.

• Carbon nanotubes

• Water purification

• Transparent conducting oxides

Subject Specializations (M.Sc. part II level)

• Energy Science

• Materials Science

• Modern Optics (Spectroscopy)

• Solid State Physics

• Space Science

• Theoretical Physics

  Academic Programmes Offered : 

• M. Sc.
• M. Phil.
• Ph. D.

  Course Structure :(Papers)

M. Sc. (Physics): 4 Semester Course (Academic Flexibility, Credit System)

M. Sc. I (Sem. I & II)
04 core Theory Papers
02 Practical (Lab) Courses

M. Sc. II (Sem. III & IV)
01 core, 01 Elective & 02 Special Theory Papers
01 (Lab Course) + 01 Project
Theory Elective Courses: Pertaining to Spectroscopy, Instrumentation, Devices, Computers, Energy Science,

Interdisciplinary subjects;
CORE COURSES ARE COMPULSORY.

M. Phil (Physics): Two Semester Course (Selection through Entrance Exam. After M. Sc. (Physics))
3 Theory Papers plus Dissertation. Total Intake : 15.

Ph. D. (Physics): Minimum Four Semesters
03 Theory Papers (for non-M. Phil Candidates) Plus Thesis

• Scanning electron microscope (3 nm resol. 3 lakh magnification) with EDS

• Quartz Crystal Microbalance

• FT Raman Spectrophotometer

• Precision LCR meter (100 MHz – 1 MHz)

• UV-VIS Spectrophotometer (single beam 200nm – 1100nm)

• Surface Profiler

• Semiconductor characterization system, Keithley, SCS-4200

• Departmental Workshop for fabrication work and mechanical repair of instruments

The Department has organized the National Science Day Celebrations on many occasions. Department invite the public and students to observe the planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and to observe the Lunar and Solar eclipses. The department has a Seismological Laboratory where the study of seismic waves (Earth Quake) is being carried out.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and FT-Raman facility is being availed by the researchers working in other colleges and Institutes in the University and off the University. The department receives the reasonable funds out of it. Recently one project on Energy Audit has been sanctioned to the faculty members of the department funded by DAE.

The laboratories are equipped with the following major equipment

• Scanning electron microscope (3 nm resol. 3 lakh magnification) with EDS
• Quartz crystal microbalance
• FT Raman spectrophotometer
• Spectroscopic Reflectometer
• Solar testing unit
• Spin coating unit
• Autoclaves
• PID controllers
• Solar radiometer
• Isononde
• Satellite scintillation measurement unit
• Proton magnetometer
• UIF/VLF magnetomete
• P-R Radar
• Night airglow GPS
• Spray pyrolysis units and computerized spray pyrolysis unit
• Versastat-II model potentiostat
• Keithley electrometer
• Auto scanning potentiostat
• Thermal conductivity meter
• 8.5 digit precision voltmeters
• Holography unit
• Surface profiler
• Gas chromatograph
• Computerized gas sensor unit
• Super capacitor testing unit
• AMEL potentiostat
• Contact angle meter
• Liquid CO2 aerogels drying system
• UV-VIS spectrophotometer
• High temperature furnaces
• Precision LCR meter (20 Hz)
• Helium cryostat
• 10 K close cycle helium gas generator
• Electron microscope
• Pyrolytic gasifier Systems
• Solar PV systems

International

• Poitiers University, Poitiers, France
• Hanyang University, South Korea.
• National Space Science Center, Brazil
• Gifu University, Japan
• Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Korea.
• University of Yangon Myanmar.
• Institute of chemical Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
• NOAA, Boulder, Colorado USA.
• STP Laboratory, Japan.
• Hahn-Meitner Institute, Germany.
• Cambridge University, UK.
• University Claude Bernard – Lyon.
• CNRS, France.
• University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
• Mie University, Japan
• NIMS, Japan
• National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan
• Seoul National University (S. Korea)
• Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Norway
• Electrochemical Research Institute, Chaugaon, S. Korea
• Chonnam National University, Korea

National

• National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Delhi
• Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIGM), Mumbai
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai
• Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai
• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
• MST Facility Centre, IUC, Indore
• Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata
• Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Pune
• Goa University, Goa
• DRDE, Gwalior
• BAM University, Aurangabad
• University of Pune, Pune

Head,
Department of Physics,
Email: physics@unishivaji.ac.in