"The community around Physics at Krea is close-knit, with active participation from both students and faculty. The combination of research opportunities and patient, approachable faculty is great for identifying and pursuing your interests."

Joan Adithi Franklin

SIAS Cohort of 2023

Physics at Krea

How do we understand nature in all its dimensions, on scales ranging from the tiniest subnuclear constituents of matter to the largest, namely, the cosmos? Physics, among the natural sciences, provides us with the most fundamental conceptual frameworks to get insights into the working of nature. Its principles provide the basis for almost every branch of science and engineering, and its ideas are applied even in fields as varied as economics, finance, and environmental science. Being a subject of such fundamental significance, a knowledge of the methods, techniques, and applications of physics will enrich your perspective and outlook in whatever area you choose to pursue in future.

Classical physics, built using the ideas of Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein, is often sufficient to deal with macroscopic phenomena such as the motion of celestial bodies or dynamics of fluids. But many important but subtle phenomena such as magnetism, stability of solids, and emission of radiation by atoms are beyond the scope of classical physics. To understand such phenomena, we make use of quantum theory which is universal in its application to all objects, small and big. The physics undergraduate programme at Krea covers fundamentals of classical and quantum physics, and their applications.

Connections between physics and other disciplines are also highlighted. These include the physical laws underlying chemical reactions, physics in biomedical instrumentation as well as in neural networks, the interplay between geometry and physics, the physics of sound and light in art, and even the impact of physics (particularly relativity and quantum theory) on philosophy.

The physics faculty at Krea are engaged in cutting-edge theoretical and experimental research across a wide variety of areas. These include complex systems, condensed matter physics, gravitation, nuclear physics, particle physics, quantum optics, and quantum information and computing.

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