Physics research project

You undertake a project, involving original research in one of the School's research themes, which encompass a diverse range of "cutting-edge" topics, including: optical physics (involving atoms, electrons, x-rays and light), condensed matter physics, materials physics & nanotechnology, quantum computing and information theory, electron microscopy and electron diffraction, digital image processing, x-ray and synchrotron science, gravitational wave physics, biophotonics, particle physics, astro-particle physics and cosmology, biomedical imaging and ultracold atomic gases. A full list of projects will be made available to you prior to commencing their MSc program.

The research project may be experimental, computational or theoretical in nature, or it may involve a combination of these research paradigms. You will be assigned an academic supervisor (or supervisors), who will oversee the research project and provide mentoring. You will be required to undertake a comprehensive literature review and report their preliminary results via a seminar. The major outcomes of the project will be communicated in the form of a thesis. You will also be required to defend their research outcomes via an oral examination. Your project will most likely be continued into the second year of the MSc program; hence PHS4000 will lay the foundations for a substantial ongoing research project in the second year of the degree.

As part of their research training, you will be affiliated with one of the School's research groups (aligned with their research project) and will be required to attend weekly group meeting, seminars and colloquia. Opportunities will also be provided to you to receive training in specialist areas associated with their research project, e.g., technical computing, visualisation of data, specific experimental techniques, etc.