Welcome to the Department of Physics
We apply the transformative power of physics to the foremost scientific problems; educate the next generation of leading physicists; and promote the public understanding of physics.
Our commitment
We are committed to equality for all our employees and our students. Our goal is to be as diverse as the community around us and for everyone in the department to value that diversity. We are on a programme of continuous improvement to help us achieve that aim.
Featured news

27 March 2021
Coldest recorded cloud temperature measured by satellite
A new paper led by Dr Simon Proud, research fellow at the Department of Physics and the National Centre for Earth Observation, describes a unprecedentedly cold temperature measured atop a severe thunderstorm cloud in the Pacific by an Earth-...
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15 March 2021
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10 March 2021
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8 March 2021
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3 March 2021
Study here
We are training the next generation of physicists
Our three and four year undergraduate degrees follow a broad and demanding curriculum and graduates from all over the world come here for their doctoral studies.

Research
Over 100 academics lead research spanning the breadth of physics
We gaze into the far reaches of the cosmos, address pressing questions about the Earth's climate and explore the strange world of quantum mechanics.

Enterprise
Our experts can help your business
We work with companies to share expertise, develop new ideas, provide services and commercialise research. We welcome working with new business partners.

Alumni
Alumni, Donors and Friends
Stay connected with us, hear about our latest research, and network with colleagues by joining our vibrant alumni community.

Outreach
Sharing our research with you
We run events and lectures to share the exciting research that we do with the public and we work with schools to help inspire the next generation of scientists.

Upcoming events
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24 Apr 2021 - 10:00am
Morning of Theoretical Physics 'Hydrodynamics and Equilibration'
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29 Apr 2021 - 5:00pm
21st Hintze Lecture: Professor Sandra Faber
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20 May 2021 - 5:00pm
61st Cherwell Simon Lecture - Prof Fabiola Gianotti (Director Gen. at CERN)

Facilities and buildings
The Beecroft Building for Physics
State of the art working space for theorists and high-tech laboratories for experimentalists
Our stunning new building provides us with the very highest quality offices, meeting rooms and collaboration spaces but this belies the true extent of the building which goes below ground as far as it goes above.
The basement levels contain exceptionally high specification laboratories with ultra stable conditions for precision science at the atomic level.
The building was opened by Sir Tim Berners-Lee on 17th September 2018.