"Krea has offered me the opportunity to explore all my interests in the same place, and has changed the way I approach problems and come up with impactful solutions".

Aishwarya Sivaramakrishnan

Cohort of 2022
Passionate about creating measurable social impact in the field of education, and dreams of moving to Germany and owning a library

Physics at Krea

How do we understand nature in all its dimensions, from matter ranging from the tiniest subnuclear constituents to the largest, namely, the cosmos? Physics provides us the most fundamental conceptual frameworks for such insight. Its principles provide the basis for almost every branch of science and engineering, and its ideas are applied in economics, finance, and environmental science. A subject for which each of us has a natural curiosity and flair, physics will enrich your perspective and outlook in whatever discipline you choose to pursue.

No other discipline has impacted philosophy as physics has, especially relativity and quantum theory. Classical physics describes nature using the ideas of Newton, Einstein, and Maxwell. This formalism is often sufficient to deal with macroscopic phenomena such as the motion of celestial bodies or dynamics of fluids. But many subtle and important phenomena such as the magnetism, stability of solids, and emission of radiation by atoms are beyond the scope of classical physics. To understand such phenomena, we go to quantum theory, universal in its application to all objects, small and big.

The Approach

The Krea physics curriculum will incorporate and engage notions of both classical and quantum physics. Students will explore the empirical nature of the subject and the historical contexts that led to the development of key concepts in mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, relativity and quantum theory. Exciting elective courses will be offered in frontier areas such as quantum information, quantum optics, gravitational waves, and many body theory, in addition to interdisciplinary courses offered in conjunction with faculty experts in other fields.

Students will actively participate in the learning process in the physics major. They will develop a close understanding of the discipline and the need for mathematics to succinctly express perceived laws of nature, and will be encouraged to use theoretical concepts to understand and explain natural phenomena. In addition to performing standard experiments in the laboratories, students will plan and build equipment for experiments, participate in academic workshops, and attend seminars and virtual reality modules. These activities will require students to collaborate, be ethical in collecting and presenting data, accommodate co-learners from diverse backgrounds and abilities, and develop leadership qualities.

Gaining exposure to eminent scholars working on questions yet to be answered in the realm of physics, students will make strides in conceptual understanding, analytical aptitude, ability to solve problems, clarity and precision in communication, and scientific inquiry. The capstone thesis, expected of all Krea students, will require delving deep into analysing important open problems, applying the concepts and methods of physics in other domains, and/or performing experiments. This requirement allows the student to employ the entire spectrum of skills and subjects taught in the major and at Krea.

Programme Details