The UC Davis Physics Department

Physics/Geology Building

The Department of Physics provides a dynamic and diverse environment for the training of graduate students and undergraduates as well. With our three core research areas (condensed matter, high energy physics, and cosmology), smaller programs in nuclear physics, high energy astrophysics and computational science, the opportunities for the motivated student are almost endless. Our undergraduates go on to top graduate schools and desirable positions in industry. Our graduate students go on to prestigious postdoctoral positions and excellent industry placements.

The vitality of our research programs is reflected in (and in part due to) our rapid recent growth; 22 of our 47 faculty have been hired in the last ten years. Indeed, our cosmology group, now one of the leading centers in the world for cosmolgy, has grown in the past seven years from just one member to eight.

Students benefit not just from interaction with the teaching and research faculty, but also from the 11 Emeritus Professors, 5 adjunct faculty, 6 lecturers, 8 research physicists, and 20 post-doctoral physicists, not to mention their fellow 139 graduate students, and 140 undergraduates majoring in physics and applied physics. Students enjoy access to research facilities on campus and worldwide. Professors and students in our department are highly collaborative across areas of physics, promoting new avenues for discovery.

UCD arboretum

The department continues to grow in exciting ways. Last year (2004-2005), we completed searches for faculty in high energy theory to complete our High Energy Frontier Theory Initiative, condensed matter theory, and nanoscale biological physics, in conjunction with both the Division of Biological Science and the Organized Research Unit on Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology (NEAT). This year, we plan a search in weak gravitational lensing. Our department's research in these areas addresses some of the most exciting and fundamental questions in science today: What are the most fundamental interactions of matter, and what is the source of mass? What is the nature and origin of the universe and how did it evolve from the Big Bang? What are the properties of complex microscopic systems, in uniquely controlled or novel quantum states? Can we predict how to make novel materials and can we use the spin of the electron to make electronic devices?

Our department has traditionally emphasized connections to the development of innovative technology; and indeed, graduates in all of our core disciplines have the materials science expertise, computational skills, and theoretical analysis skills that are much in demand in industry, particularly in Silicon Valley. Recent interdisciplinary initiatives, such as CSE, NEAT, and the new LSST project, will increase greatly the opportunities for physics graduate students to pursue interdisciplinary research.