The Department of Physics offers undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate training, with a wide range of options for specialization.
The emphasis of both the undergraduate curriculum and the graduate program is on understanding the fundamental principles that appear to govern the behavior of the physical world, from phenomena in the small-scale domain of subatomic particles to the large-scale structure of the universe, spanning a spatial range stretching from 10-18 m to 1026 m. At each level of structural organization, active and exciting areas of investigation abound. Topics range from the basic constituents of matter (elementary particles), atomic and nuclear structure, through thermonuclear plasmas, physics at extremely low temperatures or extremely high pressures, to the evolution of stars, the large-scale structure of the universe, and the mystery of gravity.
The department has extensive facilities for experimental research, as described in the section on graduate study. Many of these are accessible to interested undergraduates in the context of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. Students are encouraged to enrich their curriculum by taking advantage of this opportunity.
An undergraduate degree in physics provides an excellent basis not only for graduate study in physics and related fields, but also for professional work in such fields as astrophysics, biophysics, engineering and applied physics, geophysics, management, law, or medicine. The undergraduate curriculum offers students the opportunity to acquire a deep conceptual understanding of fundamental physics. The core departmental requirements begin this process. The student then chooses one of two options to complete the degree. The focused option is designed for students who plan to pursue physics as a career. The flexible option is designed for those who are interested in other, perhaps nontraditional, career paths. Either option provides a considerable amount of time for exploration through electives. Students proceed at the pace and degree of specialization best suited to their individual capacities. Both options lead to the same degree: the Bachelor of Science in Physics.
This option—which includes three terms of quantum mechanics, 36 units of laboratory experience, and a thesis—is ideal preparation for a career in physics. In the second year, students take 8.03 Physics III, 8.033 Relativity, 8.04 Quantum Physics I, and 8.044 Statistical Physics I, and 8.223 Classical Mechanics II. Important skills for experimentation in physics may be acquired by starting an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) project.
In the third year, students normally take laboratory subjects 8.13 and 8.14 Experimental Physics I and II, along with 8.05 and 8.06 Quantum Physics II and III. Students should also begin to take the restricted elective subjects, one in mathematics and at least two in physics. The mathematics subjects 18.04 Complex Variables with Applications, 18.075 Advanced Calculus for Engineers, and 18.06 Linear Algebra are particularly popular with physics majors. Topical elective subjects in astrophysics, biological physics, condensed matter, plasma, and nuclear and particle physics, allow students to gain an appreciation of the forefronts of modern physics. Students intending to go on to graduate school in physics are encouraged to take the theoretical physics sequence 8.07 Electromagnetism II, 8.08 Statistical Physics II, and 8.09 Classical Mechanics II.
An important component of this option is the thesis, which is a physics research project carried out under the guidance of a faculty member. Many thesis projects grow naturally out of UROP projects. Students should have some idea of a thesis topic by the middle of their junior year. A thesis proposal must be submitted before registering for thesis units and no later than Add Date of the fall term of the senior year.
A relatively large amount of elective time usually becomes available during the fourth year and can be used either to deepen one's background in physics or to explore other disciplines.
This option is designed for students who wish to develop a strong background in the fundamentals of physics and then build on this foundation as they prepare for career paths that may not involve a graduate degree in physics. In the past, many students have found an understanding of the basic concepts of physics and an appreciation of the physicist's approach to problem solving an excellent preparation for careers in business, law, medicine, or engineering. This option should be even more attractive today in light of the growing spectrum of nontraditional, technology-related career opportunities.
The option begins with the core subjects 8.01, 8.02, 8.03, 8.044, 8.04, and either 8.21 or 8.223. Students round out their foundation material with either an additional quantum mechanics subject (8.05) or a subject in relativity (8.20 or 8.033). There is an experimental requirement of 8.13 or, with the approval of the department, a laboratory subject of similar intensity in another department, an experimental research project or senior thesis, or an experimentally oriented summer externship. An exploration requirement consists of one elective subject in physics.
Students following this option must complete a focus requirement—three subjects forming one intellectually coherent unit in some area (not necessarily physics), subject to the approval of the department and separate from those used by the student to satisfy the HASS requirement. Areas of focus chosen by students in the past include astronomy, biology, computational physics, nanotechnology, history of science, science and technology policy, philosophy, and science teaching. Some students may choose to satisfy their experimental and exploration requirements in the same area as their focus; others may opt for greater breadth by choosing other fields to fulfill these requirements.
Students can satisfy the departmental portion of the Communication Requirement by taking two of the following of subjects: 8.06, 8.13, 8.225, or 8.287J. The department and the Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement may accept substitution of one of the department's two required CI-M subjects with a CI-M subject in another department if it forms a natural part of the student's physics program.
Although students may choose this option at any time in their undergraduate career, many make this choice during their sophomore year in order to have enough time to craft a program that best suits their individual needs. Specific subject choices for the experimental and focus requirements require the written approval of the associate department head for education.
The Physics Department participates in the junior-year exchange program with Cambridge University, in the United Kingdom, through the Cambridge-MIT Exchange (CME). Students with broad interests and a desire to experience a different educational environment are encouraged to explore this unique opportunity. Interested students should consult the Year or Term Away section of the chapter on Undergraduate Education in Part 1, then contact the department's CME coordinator, Professor Thomas Greytak.
The Minor in Physics provides a solid foundation for the pursuit of a broad range of professional activities in science and engineering. The requirements for a Minor in Physics are 18.03 or 18.034, plus any five Course 8 subjects beyond the General Institute Requirements.
Students should submit a completed Minor Application Form to Physics Academic Programs, Room 4-315. The Physics Department's minor coordinator is Sean Robinson. For more information on minor programs, see Undergraduate Education in Part 1.
The Minor in Astronomy, offered jointly with the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, covers the observational and theoretical foundations of astronomy. For a description of the minor, see Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs and Minors in Part 3.
Additional information concerning degree programs and research activities may be obtained by writing to Professor Krishna Rajagopal or to Physics Academic Programs, Room 4-315, 617-253-4841.
The Physics Department offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science in Physics, Doctor of Philosophy, and Doctor of Science.
Students intending to pursue graduate work in physics should have as a background the equivalent of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Physics from MIT. However, students may make up some deficiencies over the course of their graduate work.
The requirements for the Master of Science in Physics are the General Degree Requirements listed under Graduate Education in Part 1. The master's thesis must represent a piece of independent research work in any of the fields described below, and must be carried out under the supervision of a department faculty member. No fixed time is set for the completion of a master's program; two years of work is a rough guideline. There is no language requirement for this degree.
Candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science are expected to enroll in those basic graduate subjects that prepare them for the general examination, which must be passed no later than in the seventh term after initial enrollment. No specific subjects of study are prescribed, except for the requirement of two subjects in the candidate's doctoral research area and two subjects outside the candidate's field of specialization (breadth requirement). Half of the breadth requirement may be satisfied through a departmentally approved industrial internship. The doctoral thesis must represent a substantial piece of original research, carried out under the supervision of a department faculty member.
The Physics Department faculty members offer subjects of instruction and are engaged in research in a variety of fields in experimental and theoretical physics. This broad spectrum of activities is organized in the divisional structure of the department, presented below. Graduate students are encouraged to contact faculty members in the division of their choice to inquire about opportunities for research, and to pass through an apprenticeship (by signing up for Special Problems in Graduate Physics) as a first step toward an engagement in independent research for a doctoral thesis.
The Astrophysics Division of the department has a varied program of instrument development and ground-based and satellite observations across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, with principal emphasis on the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. Theoretical work emphasizes high energy phenomena, stellar evolution, galactic structure, solar oscillations, and cosmology. Other areas of study include interplanetary and astrophysical plasmas, gravitational radiation, and the cosmic microwave background. See also the listing for Haystack Observatory in the section on Interdisciplinary Research and Study in Part 3.
Research activities in the Division of Nuclei and Particles include the broad fields of nuclear reaction and heavy ion physics, intermediate-energy nuclear structure physics, and high-energy fundamental particle physics. The experimental research in these areas is based on MIT's 1 GeV Bates Linear Accelerator and on the accelerators at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, CERN (Geneva), the electron-positron collider at DESY (Hamburg, Germany), and the Gran Sasso underground laboratory at Frascati (Italy). Further information appears in the section on Interdisciplinary Research and Study in Part 3 under Laboratory for Nuclear Science.
The large and dynamic program in Condensed Matter, Atomic, and Plasma Physics provides students with a wide spectrum of research opportunities. Current topics in condensed matter include electron transport and critical phenomena in one, two, and three dimensions, mesoscopic physics, and high temperature superconductivity. Atomic physics in the division involves ultra-high resolution laser spectroscopy, the trapping and cooling of atoms with lasers, and Bose-Einstein condensation. There are strong plasma programs in magnetically confined fusion and free electron lasers. Several faculty are applying the techniques of modern physics to current problems in medicine and biology. Extensive facilities are available on campus for the preparation and characterization of advanced materials and for work with high magnetic fields, low temperatures, and sub-micron structures. Scattering studies are being carried out at the Advanced Proton Source at Argonne National Laboratory and the NIST Center for Neutron Research in Gaithersberg, Maryland.
The chief emphasis of Nuclear and Particle Theory research at the Virgil Elings Center for Theoretical Physics is on understanding the fundamental particles of nature, as revealed by their interactions and by their decay, and on the characteristic quantum modes of motion systems composed of strongly interacting particles such as atomic nuclei. Work is also conducted on theoretical astrophysics as well as on the properties of other forms of matter. In all of this research, close contact is maintained with experimentalists, both within MIT and elsewhere.
The Virgil Elings Center for Theoretical Physics houses a fairly large group of theorists including professional staff, postdoctoral fellows, senior visitors, and graduate students engaged in research in theory. Opportunities for communication and collaboration are maximized within the center; lively interaction among the many specialists in the various areas of interest is characteristic of this MIT group and is one of the major sources of the center's strength.
Much of the research in the department is carried out as part of the work of various interdisciplinary laboratories and centers, including the Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Spectroscopy Laboratory, Center for Materials Science and Engineering, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Microsystems Technology Laboratories, and the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. These facilities, most of which are described under Interdisciplinary Research and Study in Part 3, provide close relationships among the research activities of a number of MIT departments and give students opportunities for contact with research carried out in disciplines other than physics.
Additional information on degree programs, research activities, admissions, financial aid, teaching and research assistantships may be obtained by writing to Professor Krishna Rajagopal, Room 4-315, 617-253-4841.
Edmund W. Bertschinger, PhD
Professor of Physics
Department Head
Krishna Rajagopal, PhD
Professor of Physics
Associate Head for Education
Raymond C. Ashoori, PhD
Professor of Physics
Ulrich Justus Becker, PhD
Professor of Physics
John Winston Belcher, PhD
Class of 22 Professor of Physics
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
George Bernard Benedek, PhD
Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Physics and Biological Physics
William Bertozzi, PhD
Professor of Physics
Wit Busza, PhD
Francis L. Friedman Professor of Physics
Claude Roger Canizares, PhD
Bruno Rossi Professor of Physics
Associate Director for MIT, Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Vice President for Research and Associate Provost
Deepto Chakrabarty, PhD
Professor of Physics
Division Head, Astrophysics
Min Chen, PhD
Professor of Physics
Janet Conrad, PhD
Professor of Physics
Bruno Coppi, PhD
Professor of Physics
Mildred Spiewak Dresselhaus, PhD
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics
Institute Professor
James Ludlow Elliot, PhD
Professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and Physics
Director, George R. Wallace, Jr. Astrophysical Observatory
Edward Henry Farhi, PhD
Cecil and Ida B. Green Career Development Professor of Physics
Director, Center for Theoretical Physics
Michael Stephen Feld, PhD
Professor of Physics
Director, George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory
Peter H. Fisher, PhD
Professor of Physics
Division Head, Particle and Nuclear Physics
Daniel Freedman, PhD
Professor of Mathematics and Physics
Thomas John Greytak, PhD
Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics
Alan Harvey Guth, PhD
Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Jacqueline N. Hewitt, PhD
Professor of Physics
Director, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Erich Peter Ippen, PhD
Elihu Thomson Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics
Roman Wladimir Jackiw, PhD
Jerrold Zacharias Professor of Physics
Robert Jaffe, PhD
Professor of Physics
Otto and Jane Morningstar Professor of Science
John Dimitris Joannopoulos, PhD
Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics
Director, Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies
Paul Christopher Joss, PhD
Professor of Physics
Mehran Kardar, PhD
Professor of Physics
Marc Aaron Kastner, PhD
Donner Professor of Science
Dean, School of Science
Wolfgang Ketterle, PhD
John D. MacArthur Professor of Physics
Director, MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms
(On leave, spring)
Stanley Benedict Kowalski, PhD
Professor of Physics
Patrick A. Lee, PhD
William and Emma Rogers Professor of Physics
Division Head, Atomic, Biological, Condensed Matter and Plasma Physics
(On leave)
Leonid S. Levitov, PhD
Professor of Physics
J. David Litster, PhD
Professor of Physics
June Lorraine Matthews, PhD
Professor of Physics
Nergis Mavalvala, PhD
Cecil and Ida B. Green Professor of Physics
Richard G. Milner, PhD
Professor of Physics
Director, Laboratory for Nuclear Science
Ernest J. Moniz, PhD
Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Physics
Director, Energy Studies
John William Negele, PhD
William A. Coolidge Professor of Physics
Miklos Porkolab, PhD
Professor of Physics
Director, Plasma Science and Fusion Center
David Edward Pritchard, PhD
Cecil and Ida B. Green Professor of Physics
Saul Alan Rappaport, PhD
Professor of Physics
Robert Page Redwine, PhD
Professor of Physics
Director, Bates Laboratory
Paul Schechter, PhD
William A. M. Burden Professor of Astrophysics
H. Sebastian Seung, PhD
Professor of Computational Neuroscience and Physics
Washington Taylor IV, PhD
Professor of Physics
Max Tegmark, PhD
Professor of Physics
Samuel C. C. Ting, PhD
Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Physics
Alexander van Oudenaarden, PhD
Keck Career Development Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Physics
(On leave, spring)
Xiao-Gang Wen, PhD
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics
Frank Wilczek, PhD
Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics
Boleslaw Wyslouch, PhD
Professor of Physics
Barton Zwiebach, PhD
Professor of Physics
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Adam Burgasser, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
(On leave)
Isaac Chuang, PhD
Associate Professor of Electrical and Engineering and Computer Science and
Physics
Eric Hudson, PhD
Class of 1958 Career Development Associate Professor of Physics
Scott Hughes, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
Young Sang Lee, PhD
Mark Hyman Jr. Career Development Associate Professor of Physics
Hong Liu, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
Leonid Mirny, PhD
Associate Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Physics
Christoph M. E. Paus, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
Gunther Roland, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
Gabriella Sciolla, PhD
Cecil and Ida B. Green Career Development Associate Professor of Physics
Sara Seager, PhD
Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and Physics
Iain W. Stewart, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
Bernd Surrow, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
(On leave, spring)
Senthil Todadri, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
Vladan Vuletic, PhD
Lester Wolfe Associate Professor of Physics
(On leave, fall)
Allan Adams, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Jan Egedal-Pedersen, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Joseph Formaggio, PhD
Class of '56 Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics
(On leave, fall)
Nuh Gedik, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Markus Klute, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
John McGreevy, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
(On leave, fall)
Jocelyn Monroe, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Steven Nahn, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Robert Simcoe, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Marin Soljacic, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
Joshua Winn, PhD
Class of '42 Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics
Martin Zwierlein, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physics
(On leave, spring)
Peter Dourmashkin, PhD
Stephen Steadman, PhD
George S. F. Stephans, PhD
David Kaiser, PhD
Andrew Neely, BS
William Sanford, BS
Eli Sidman, BS
Matthew Strafuss, BS
Regina Yopak, BS
Thomas William Donnelly, PhD
Earl S. Marmar, PhD
Frank E. Taylor, PhD
Richard J. Temkin, PhD
Michel Baranger, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Ahmet Nihat Berker, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Aron Myron Bernstein, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Robert J. Birgeneau, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Hale Van Dorn Bradt, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Bernard Flood Burke, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
George Whipple Clark, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Eric Richard Cosman, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Peter Theodore Demos, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Thomas H. Dupree, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Anthony Philip French, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Jerome Isaac Friedman, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Institute Professor, Emeritus
Jeffrey Goldstone, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Lee Grodzins, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Kerson Huang, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Karl Uno Ingard, PhD
Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Physics, Emeritus
Ali Javan, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Arthur Kent Kerman, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
John Gordon King, PhD
Francis Friedman Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Vera Kistiakowsky, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emerita
Daniel Kleppner, PhD
Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics, Emeritus
George Fred Koster, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Benjamin Lax, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Walter Hendrik Gustav Lewin, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Earle Leonard Lomon, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Stanislaw Olbert, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Louis Shreve Osborne, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Irwin Abraham Pless, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Lawrence Rosenson, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Malcom Woodrow Pershing Strandberg, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Rainer Weiss, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Peter Adalbert Wolff, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Physics Industry Forum
James Edward Young, PhD
Professor of Physics, Emeritus