Physics

Welcome to the Department of Physics

The Department of Physics (DP) trains Physicists, with different sensitivities. It strives to endow its graduates with knowledge and, above all, with skills that will enable them to be useful in scientific research, in the application of knowledge, in the transposition of models and concepts for the various domains of life, society and economy.

It does so by applying the usual training formats, some more oriented to physical models and concepts, others seeking to polarize students to physical-based engineering approaches, which can be applied in many domains - sharing, in most of the cases, sensors, systems and processes, on the one hand, and information, data science and emerging concepts, on the other.

The DP is responsible for eight courses. There are 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycles in the areas of Physics, Physical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering and Biophysics and a 3rd cycle in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The DP conducts research in the fields of space science (from the Earth and space, in instrumentation, astronomy and astrophysics), biophysics, biomedical and biological systems, condensed matter (namely soft matter, nanoparticles, nonlinear optics and quantum fluids) and ionizing radiation and particles. In some of these areas, the connection with international organizations (in particular, with ESA, ESO and CERN) is intense, creating very rich training contexts and exquisite levels of competence and professionalism that many MSc and PhD students benefit from.

Over time, our graduates have become scientists, typically at the University, in Portugal or elsewhere, have taken on responsibilities in hospitals, companies, institutes and consultancies, or set up their own companies. In most cases, they still deal with concepts, models and physical systems; in others they decided to capitalize on their analytical, abstraction, modelling and systems complexity apprehension skills, that they further developed and applied.

At all times, conceptual and disciplinary interfaces and transpositions have always challenged the curiosity of Physicists. We wish you can enjoy such an environment, during the best years of your life, in a Faculty of Sciences that is a puzzle of sciences and scientific cultures in interaction.

September 7, 2018

José Manuel Rebordão
Head of Department