The Department of Physics at the University of Johannesburg hosts a dynamic assembly of staff and students. The Department has expanded dramatically over the last few years and the Faculty is very proud of having grown this Department into a lively and diversified research-driven division. Research and lecturing staff are based on two satellites at the Auckland Park and Doornfontein campuses, offering a wide variety of courses to students interested in fundamental and applied Physics.
On the Doornfontein Campus of UJ the Department offers courses from first- year to Bachelor of Technology (BTech) level to the Faculties of Art, Design and Architecture; Engineering; Health and Science. The courses are service- oriented with emphasis on vocational training. Specialised Physics practicals are also offered to the Optometry, Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Departments. The Department of Physics on Doornfontein campus boasts excellent graduate laboratories used by learners from secondary schools, as well as by distance learning Universities in South Africa. This bears testimony to the high standard of training on this satellite campus of the Department. Research on this campus is currently geared towards Science Education, Nuclear Physics and Laser Optics.
Traditional Physics degree content leading to postgraduate research is the pillar of strength for this Department on the Auckland Park Campus of UJ. Here, groups and individuals practice research over a wide front of experimental and theoretical Physics. Areas of specialization include High- energy Physics (nuclear and particle – experimental, theoretical and phenomenology); condensed matter and Physics at extreme high pressure; Astrophysics including research into active galactic nuclei, extragalactic evolution, stellar structure, equation of state and transport properties of compact astrophysical objects, and astroseismology; atmospheric Physics of solar radiation; low temperature Physics and highly correlated electron systems; theoretical Physics including nuclear structure and reaction theory, high-energy nuclear collisions and quark-gluon plasma, and magnetism of chromium and its alloys.
The Department takes pride in its modern and leading-edge experimental research and characterization facilities across various platforms in solid state physics, as well as in the presentation of a broad portfolio of physics courses serving the scientific, technological, medical, education, and engineering communities of South Africa. The Department strives towards national and international recognition – by training independently thinking and innovative physicists and scientists, by teaching relevant and modern Physics in our programs, by delivering multi-faceted and internationally competitive research, and by building leading- edge experimental facilities and computational networks.
The staff from the Department participates nationally and internationally in joint and collaborative research that involves postgraduate students in every step. They actively communicate research through publication in high-impact journals and subject-specific forums such as workshops and conferences. Staff aims to transfer knowledge of Physics, whether in pursuit of an understanding of nature or as enrichment in the development of technology, through undergraduate service courses and core components of degree and diploma studies majoring in Physics.
The Department proactively seeks to interact with the community in order to put their knowledge in Science in general and in Physics in particular, in order to the benefit of enquiring minds that seek an understanding of nature, and to introduce learners and students to the endless ways in which Physics empowers the mind.