Fergusson College (Autonomous), Pune

About the Department

Physics department is one of the largest and oldest departments in Fergusson College. Introduced as part of the Natural Sciences in 1894, it was established as a separate subject in 1903 in the College and affiliated to Bombay University before the University of Pune was established. Physics Department at Fergusson College has the honour of hosting the Physics Department of the University of Pune till the University Department had its own premises. The first separate Post Graduate section was introduced at the College in 1969. The department has produced a large number of graduate and post graduate students since its establishment.

Housed in a spacious building just next to the College Main Building it is a land mark in itself. With four dedicated laboratories and four classrooms with a capacity of more than 100 students each, it offers courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The post graduation centre offers Materials Science, Electronic Instrumentation, Atmospheric Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Semiconductor Physics, Vacuum Technology and Thin films, Renewable Energy Sources, Lasers and Applications and Physics of Nanomaterials as elective courses at the PG level. Presently we conduct two divisions for the PG class. One division is grant-in-aid and the other is on self financed basis. Faculty members are actively involved in the syllabus framing and restructuring at the University level for both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Physics department is also recognized as a research center in Applied Physics since 2010 by the Savitribai Phule Pune University. Some teachers are recognized guides for the M. Phil. and Ph. D. degrees. Many research projects funded by the UGC, BRNS, BCUD-SPPU and ISRO are completed and some are still ongoing. Results of the research carried out in the department are published in many international journals, seminars and conferences.

Student’s Achievements

• The students of this department have successfully recorded a glorious hat trick of being the toppers in M. Sc. (Physics) with gold medal at the University level (2009-2012, (B. Sc. (Physics) (2016)).
• They have also won prizes at the Zonal, State and National level competition of ‘AVISHKAR’ in basic sciences, since its inception.
• In addition, they continue to excel at Indian Physics Association (IPA) and other extra-curricular competitions held every year.

Other activities

Physics department encourages many student centric, extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. These help students in developing leadership qualities. These are mainly conducted by the students and staff of the department.

Astro Club

The Astro Club is an activity started in 1997. Apart from weekly lectures, problem solving sessions and documentary screening, students also organise Physics/Astronomy exhibitions, seminars, workshops, sky observations, Space Week and Asteroid hunt program. "Frontiers in Physics" is a unique annual seminar organised by the students exclusively for the students with speakers from national and international institutions. Students also publish "Dimensions" a special science bulletin each term.

Physics Forum

Physics forum is a platform which provides opportunity to students to arrange lectures and demonstrations of some physics experiments. The forum also runs a wallpaper activity, white board activity, Guest Lectures and Demo sessions.

Annual Exhibition

This is an exhibition for popularizing Physics among school children. The annual Physics Exhibition ‘Eureka’ exhibits some models and projects to explain some complex concepts in Physics in a simple way. This is an event visited by many school children. This activity also includes Debates, Quiz competitions and Film screenings.

Indian Physics Association

The Indian Physics Association (IPA, Pune chapter) activities like quiz, lecture, competitions, etc. are conducted in the department every year.

Co-curricular Activities conducted by the Department

First Term

Guest lectures, Film screenings, Popular talks, Industrial visits for PG students.

Second Term

Guest lectures, Film screenings, Popular talks, Study tours for UG students, Annual exhibition, SET/NET Coaching for PG students.

Students Strengths

Research Center and Laboratories

Physics department is a recognized research center in Applied Physics. Research in Materials Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nano Science and Gas Sensors is carried out in the department.

• There are four M. Phil. guides and three Ph. D. guides in the department.
• There are separate spacious laboratories for the FY / SY and TY B. Sc.
• A separate well equipped laboratory is available for the PG classes.
• There are four research laboratories in the department.

List of research equipments procured through various funding agencies: