Physics

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The Department of Physics began its journey with the establishment of the University in 1986. At that time, the department consisted of nine expatriate faculty members, one Omani lecturer, six technical staff members, and one coordinator, and it did not yet have a fully equipped research
laboratories.
After three decades of development, the department has grown to include 33 faculty members, about three visiting consultant professors, one lecturer, 14 technical staff members, and a coordinator. The department currently houses more than 12 research laboratories, 10 teaching laboratories, three workshops, and several preparation rooms for teaching laboratories.
The teaching laboratories are equipped with modern instruments and equipment, while the research laboratories feature advanced, state-of-the-art facilities to support the needs of Master’s and PhD students.
Initially, the department focused on teaching undergraduate physics majors, in addition to offering service courses for students from other colleges, such as the College of Agriculture, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, and the College of Medicine.
At that time, each course was offered at most once per year. Over the years, however, the department began offering the most active courses every semester to meet the needs of hundreds of students from other colleges.
The annual intake of physics major students has also increased from fewer than 10 at the department’s establishment to more than 40 at present.

At the same time, the department’s research output has grown steadily following the establishment of new research laboratories and the upgrading of existing ones. This growth has been further supported through the availability of various research grants provided by the university and external funding bodies.

Graduates of the physics program, who receive a high-quality education, are employed in both the public and private sectors, where they contribute actively to society and national development. Their contributions to the progress and development of the country are widely recognized.

The department has also sought to diversify its academic programs to meet the evolving needs of society. These efforts will continue in line with development priorities and societal aspirations.

The Department of Physics has been constantly providing quality education at the undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels. The Department is teaching about 40 courses at the undergraduate level and 20 courses at the MSc level. The curriculum for the physics degree covers the fundamental concepts of physics and mathematics, practical training in laboratories and workshops, computational techniques and research-oriented project work. E-learning and computational techniques are being encouraged in many courses. The flexibility of the degree program permits a student to earn a major in Physics together with a minor in other subjects. A minor could be selected from other departments within the College of Science (Earth Science, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Mathematics) and from the College of Economic and Political Science. In addition, the Department offers physics minor in Astronomy, Medical Physics and Applied Nuclear Science. This gives students the opportunity to choose courses they enjoy and provides graduates with access to a wide variety of occupations and professional scientific careers.

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The outstanding performance of the past physics graduates has established a reputation that enables new graduates in gaining employment in the academic, industrial, commercial and government sectors. Employment prospects for the graduates in Physics from different degree plans based on past data range from public to private sectors.

There are several active research groups within the Department, which have been producing a steady stream of research publications of international caliber and which maintain strong research collaborations with international institutions. All staff members are highly committed and they work together to achieve our common goal: The development of students’ minds and skills as well as providing a basis for their personal, social and cognitive development.

The Department has a number of excellent laboratories with advanced facilities for teaching and research and it shares other facilities within the College and the University. It ensures a good deal of practical training in laboratories and workshops. General and specialized teaching laboratories housed here are in the fields of Electronics, Modern Physics, Nuclear Physics, Thermal Physics, Mechanics, Lasers and Optics and Computational Physics. Students receive first-hand training in Electronics, Metal and Wood Workshops.

The departmental research facilities include Mössbauer spectroscopy, Faraday and VSM systems for magnetic measurements, four point probe for electrical resistivity measurements, surface science ultra-high vacuum (UHV) instrument equipped with XPS, AES, UPS and SPA-LEED, AFM, STM, MFM, vacuum coating and sputtering systems, state of the art station for the characterization of ferroelectric liquid crystals, LRC-meter for dielectric studies, surface tension apparatus, electrical characterization tools using IVT and CVT in addition to computational facilities including the high performance computing [HPC].

Mutatis mutandis, the common goal of the Department is the development of students’ minds and skills creating a sustainable basis for their personal, social and cognitive development. In parallel, the Department is committed to enhance its research activities comparable to the international level.