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MIT Department of Physics

April 09, 2024

The MIT Department of Physics has over 120 faculty members, is often cited as the largest physics department in the United States, and hosts top-ranked programs.[1][2][3][4] It offers the SB, SM, PhD, and ScD degrees. Fourteen alumni of the department and nine current or former faculty members (two of whom were also students at MIT) have won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Building 6C is located at the core of the MIT Physics Department. Laboratories are often distributed throughout campus depending on their research areas.

Academics edit

Undergraduate academics edit

There are two paths to earning a bachelor's degree (SB) in physics from MIT. The first, "Course 8 Focused Option", is for students intending to continue studying physics in graduate school.[5] The track offers a rigorous education in various fields in fundamental physics including classical and quantum mechanics, statistical physics, general relativity, electrodynamics, and higher mathematics.

The second, "Course 8 Flexible Option" is designed for those students who would like to develop a strong background in physics but who would like to branch off into other research directions or more unconventional career paths, such as information theory, computer science, finance, and biophysics. A significant part of the student's third and fourth undergraduate years are left open for relevant electives and graduate classes, which then form a specialization. Both tracks have a strong emphasis on laboratory instruction, with the third year often reserved for two "Junior Lab" courses. Most students partaking in undergraduate research or a research-oriented internship.[6]

Graduate academics edit

The department offers doctoral degrees in the following divisions: astrophysics, atomic and optical physics, biophysics, experimental condensed matter physics, theoretical condensed matter physics, experimental nuclear/particle physics, theoretical nuclear/particle physics, plasma physics, and quantum computing.[7]

Research edit

The department is divided into four main research areas, namely a) astrophysics, b) atomic, biophysics, condensed matter, and plasma physics, c) experimental nuclear and particle physics, and d) theoretical nuclear and particle physics. A large amount of research is conducted the department's 17 affiliated labs and centers, a list which includes the Research Laboratory of Electronics, the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, the Center for Theoretical Physics, the Condensed Matter Theory Group, the MIT–Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, and LIGO.[8]

Notable faculty edit

The Nobel laureates in the faculty are:

Notable alumni edit

See also Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni for a longer list
Nobel laureates
Other major physics discoveries
Breakthrough Prizes in Fundamental Physics
In government
Astronauts

Fictional alumni edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Largest Physics PhD-Granting Departments in the U.S." Largest Physics PhD-Granting Departments in the U.S. American Institute of Physics. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Best Physics Schools, 2018". US News. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  3. ^ "2019 Best Colleges for Physics in America". Niche. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Top Universities for Physics in 2019". Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Prospective Physics Students". MIT Department of Physics. MIT. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Prospective Physics Students". MIT Department of Physics. MIT. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  7. ^ "MIT Department of Physics". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  8. ^ "Affiliated Labs and Centers". MIT. Retrieved 16 July 2019.

External links edit

  • MIT Department of Physics website
  • MIT OpenCourseWare: Physics


April 09, 2024
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This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information April 2016 The MIT Department of Physics has over 120 faculty members is often cited as the largest physics department in the United States and hosts top ranked programs 1 2 3 4 It offers the SB SM PhD and ScD degrees Fourteen alumni of the department and nine current or former faculty members two of whom were also students at MIT have won the Nobel Prize in Physics Building 6C is located at the core of the MIT Physics Department Laboratories are often distributed throughout campus depending on their research areas Contents 1 Academics 1 1 Undergraduate academics 1 2 Graduate academics 2 Research 3 Notable faculty 4 Notable alumni 5 Fictional alumni 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksAcademics editUndergraduate academics edit There are two paths to earning a bachelor s degree SB in physics from MIT The first Course 8 Focused Option is for students intending to continue studying physics in graduate school 5 The track offers a rigorous education in various fields in fundamental physics including classical and quantum mechanics statistical physics general relativity electrodynamics and higher mathematics The second Course 8 Flexible Option is designed for those students who would like to develop a strong background in physics but who would like to branch off into other research directions or more unconventional career paths such as information theory computer science finance and biophysics A significant part of the student s third and fourth undergraduate years are left open for relevant electives and graduate classes which then form a specialization Both tracks have a strong emphasis on laboratory instruction with the third year often reserved for two Junior Lab courses Most students partaking in undergraduate research or a research oriented internship 6 Graduate academics edit The department offers doctoral degrees in the following divisions astrophysics atomic and optical physics biophysics experimental condensed matter physics theoretical condensed matter physics experimental nuclear particle physics theoretical nuclear particle physics plasma physics and quantum computing 7 Research editThe department is divided into four main research areas namely a astrophysics b atomic biophysics condensed matter and plasma physics c experimental nuclear and particle physics and d theoretical nuclear and particle physics A large amount of research is conducted the department s 17 affiliated labs and centers a list which includes the Research Laboratory of Electronics the Plasma Science and Fusion Center the Center for Theoretical Physics the Condensed Matter Theory Group the MIT Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms and LIGO 8 Notable faculty editThe Nobel laureates in the faculty are Charles Townes 1964 Samuel C C Ting 1976 Steven Weinberg 1979 Jerome I Friedman 1990 Henry Kendall 1990 Clifford Shull 1994 Wolfgang Ketterle 2001 Frank Wilczek 2004 Rainer Weiss 2017 Notable alumni editThis list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items August 2008 See also Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni for a longer listNobel laureatesEric Cornell PhD 1990 Bose Einstein condensate Richard Feynman SB 1939 quantum electrodynamics Murray Gell Mann PhD 1951 quarks Henry Kendall PhD 1955 deep inelastic scattering Robert Laughlin PhD 1979 fractional quantum Hall effect William D Phillips PhD 1976 laser cooling Burton Richter SB 1952 PhD 1956 J psi particle Adam Riess SB 1992 high Z supernova search team John Robert Schrieffer SB 1953 BCS theory William Shockley PhD 1936 transistor George Smoot SB 1966 PhD 1970 cosmic microwave background radiation Carl E Wieman SB 1973 Bose Einstein condensate Rainer Weiss SB 1965 PhD 1962 LIGO Andrea Ghez SB 1982 supermassive black hole in galaxyOther major physics discoveriesGerald Guralnik SB 1958 Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson Carl Richard Hagen SB amp SM 1958 PhD 1962 Higgs mechanism and Higgs bosonBreakthrough Prizes in Fundamental PhysicsAlan Guth SB amp SM 1969 PhD 1972 theory of inflation Cumrun Vafa SB 1981 string theory Andrew Strominger PhD 1982 string theory Charles L Bennett PhD 1984 WMAP Charles Kane PhD 1989 topological insulators Eugene Mele PhD 1978 topological insulatorsIn governmentSolomon J Buchsbaum PhD 1957 chair of White House Science Council under Bush and Reagan Shirley Ann Jackson SB 1968 PhD 1973 chair of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission president of RPI second black woman to earn a physics PhD in the U S Lucas Papademos SB 1970 prime minister of GreeceAstronautsRonald McNair PhD 1976 Challenger astronaut Jerome J Apt PhD 1976 John M Grunsfeld SB 1980 Timothy Creamer SM 1992 Neil Woodward SB 1984 Fictional alumni editGordon Freeman from Half Life video games has a doctorate in theoretical physics from MIT Tony Stark from Iron Man received degrees in physics and electrical engineering from MIT at age 19See also edit nbsp Education portalPhysical Science Study Committee a leader in modernization of science teaching in the 2nd half of the 20th century References edit Largest Physics PhD Granting Departments in the U S Largest Physics PhD Granting Departments in the U S American Institute of Physics 14 April 2014 Retrieved 15 July 2019 Best Physics Schools 2018 US News Retrieved 15 July 2019 2019 Best Colleges for Physics in America Niche Retrieved 15 July 2019 Top Universities for Physics in 2019 Quacquarelli Symonds Retrieved 16 July 2019 Prospective Physics Students MIT Department of Physics MIT Retrieved 16 July 2019 Prospective Physics Students MIT Department of Physics MIT Retrieved 16 July 2019 MIT Department of Physics web mit edu Retrieved 2020 01 02 Affiliated Labs and Centers MIT Retrieved 16 July 2019 External links editMIT Department of Physics website MIT OpenCourseWare Physics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title MIT Department of Physics amp oldid 1206079176, 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