From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the
University of Manchester is one of the largest and most active
physics departments in the UK, taking around 250 new undergraduates and 50 postgraduates each year, and employing more than 80 members of academic staff and over 100 research fellows and associates.
[1] The department is based on two sites: the
Schuster Laboratory on Brunswick Street and the
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in
Cheshire , international headquarters of the
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) .
[2]
According to the
Academic Ranking of World Universities , the department is the 9th best physics department in the world and best in Europe.
[3] It is ranked 2nd place in the UK by Grade Point Average (
GPA ) according to the
Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2021, being only behind the
University of Sheffield .
[4] The University has a long history of physics dating back to
1874 , which includes 12
Nobel laureates ,
[5] most recently
Andre Geim and
Konstantin Novoselov who were awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their discovery of
graphene .
[6]
[7]
Research groups
The
Lovell Telescope at
Jodrell Bank Observatory , part of the
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in Cheshire.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy comprises eight research groups:
Astronomy and
Astrophysics
Biological Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Nonlinear Dynamics and
Liquid Crystal Physics
Photon Physics
Particle Physics
Nuclear Physics
Theoretical Physics
Research in the department of Physics has been funded by the
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) , the
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
[8] and the
Royal Society .
Notable faculty
Sir
Andre Geim was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for the discovery of
graphene with
Konstantin Novoselov
As of 2015
[update] the department employs 53
Professors , including
Emeritus Professors.
[9]
Notable alumni and former staff
History
Sir
Bernard Lovell (1913-2012): founder of the
Jodrell Bank Observatory .
[16]
The department has origins dating back to 1874 when
Balfour Stewart was appointed the first
Langworthy Professor of Physics at
Owens College, Manchester . Stewart was the first to identify an electrified atmospheric layer (now known as the
ionosphere ) which could distort the
Earth's magnetic field . The theory of the ionosphere was postulated by
Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1839, Stewart published the first experimental confirmation of the theory in 1878.
[17] Since then, the department has hosted many award-winning scientists
[17] including:
Hans Bethe ,
[18] awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967
Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett ,
[19] awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1948
Niels Bohr ,
[20] awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922
Sir
William Lawrence Bragg ,
[21] discovered
Bragg's law and awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1915
Sir
James Chadwick ,
[22] awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935
Sir
John Cockcroft ,
[23] awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951
Rod Davies ,
[24] Professor of Radio Astronomy
Richard Davis , Professor of Astrophysics
Samuel Devons ,
Brian Flowers, Baron Flowers ,
[25]
Sir
Francis Graham-Smith ,
[26]
Astronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990
Henry Hall ,
[27] who built the first
dilution refrigerator
[17]
Sir
Bernard Lovell ,
[28]
[29] creator of the
Lovell Telescope at the
Jodrell Bank Observatory
Henry Moseley ,
[30] creator of
Moseley's law
Nevill Francis Mott ,
[31] awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977
Ernest Rutherford ,
[32] awarded the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 for splitting the atom
Sir
Arthur Schuster ,
[33]
Balfour Stewart ,
[34] first
Langworthy Professor of Physics
Sir
Joseph John "J. J." Thomson ,
[35] studied Physics at
Owens College, Manchester aged 14, went on to run the
Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge and was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics.
In 2004, the two separate departments of Physics at the
Victoria University of Manchester and the
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) were merged to form the current Department of Physics and Astronomy at the
University of Manchester . The department was known as the School of Physics and Astronomy until a 2019 reshuffle.
Emeritus professors
The department is also home to several Emeritus Scientists, pursuing their research interests after their formal retirement including:
References
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^
"REF 2021: Physics" .
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^
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^
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^
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