Introduction and Faculty
Profile
Physics department was established
with the inception of college in 1965. At present there are 12
teaching faculty with expertise in diverse fields. Out of 12 (6
male and 6 female) teachers, 7 possess PhD and 3 possess M.Phil
degree. Almost all are life members of the National organization
‘ Indian Association of Physics Teachers’. The In-Charge
Principal, Dr Milind Vaidya is a recognized guide of Mumbai University
for MSc and PhD.He has two students registered for PhD. Dr Meena
S Khanna is guide for MSc by research with one student registered.
Dr Khanna and Prof Chaudhari engage PG lectures at Mumbai University.
The Head of the Department Prof B D Chakradeo has made a great
contribution in popularization of Physics. He has developed numerous
innovative experiments to illustrate the concepts of Physics and
has more than 500 shows to his credit. He has been awarded by
IAPT for his innovations twice in NCIEP competition and has also
been in the panel of judges for these competitions. We have faculty
with competence in various fields ,like Dr Vaidya in nanotechnology,
Dr Khanna in astrophysics and solar physics, Prof. Chaudhari and
Dr Kale in Electronics, Prof Jadhav in Microprocessors, Dr Sunanda.K
Karandikar in Mossbauer spectroscopy, Dr Uma Bhambhani in ion
implantation, Dr Kavita Harisinghani in optoelectronics, Dr Rashmi
A Deshpande in Dye Lasers , Prof P P Gajare in career guidance
and Prof Geetha Padmanabhan in computers.
Except Dr Meena Khanna who is PhD from Vikram university, Ujjain
all other teachers are PhDs from Mumbai University. Most of them
completed their PhD while working as full time teacher in college.
Dr Uma Bhambhani( 1 year -1996-1997) and Dr. Kavita Harisinghani
(2006-2008) got the benefit of FIPof the UGC of two years for
completing their PhD
Student Profile
The students who join our UG program come from middle class families
and the current trend is that we get students who are not eligible
for professional courses mostly due to ordinary academic records.
However, in every batch we are able to locate some students who
have real inclination towards the subject. The teachers guide
and help such students and encourage them for further study. Some
of the students join air force, navy and military after their
graduation in Physics. Some opt for PG in Physics, MCA or MBA.
The students who come from vernacular medium are encouraged to
participate in English courses arranged by college and also participate
in expressions an interactive activity of students. The department
organizes seminar contests, Quiz, skits and science exhibitions..
Students are guided for Physics competitive exams like NGPE conducted
by IAPT. Visits to places of scientific interest are regularly
arranged.
The rate of success of students’ performances in university
exams is encouraging, which has been consistently improved by
the efforts of the teachers. At TYBSc level during 2007-08 we
had 5 distinctions and total 12 first classes, whereas in 2008-2009
we have only five students getting first class. We are trying
to help students by intensive and extensive coaching, by home
assignments and class tests to improve their academic record.
Syllabus
The university revises the syllabus every five years. The syllabus
which was operative during 2002 to 2008 has been reframed in 2008
for first year, in 2009 for second year and in 2010 for third
year BSc. Prof Jadhav and Prof Chakradeo are members of syllabus
committee for BSc and Dr Khanna for MSc Part Two: Plasma Physics
and Astro and Space Physics.
Laboratories
The laboratory facility in Physics is adequate and sufficient
and we give free hand to students to achieve proficiency in experiments.
We provide charts and all related information to students and
help students in understanding the purpose behind every experiment.
We do not have a departmental library because the college library
is a strong source to students. They get all types of books: text,
reference, inter-disciplinary and general. We expect students
to make maximum utilization of library, laboratory and computers.
Student Support
The teachers use power point presentation to illustrate topics
in microprocessors, electronics, astrophysics, and basic physics.
Students are given topics for presentations and are expected to
be familiar with new technology.
We pay special attention to students and try to help them if they
have any personal, financial or academic difficulty in continuing
their study. Sometimes we may interact with their parents/guardians
so that the student –teacher and student parent relations
become transparent.
Research
The teaching faculty is actively involved in contributing towards
research and the research lab is recognized by Mumbai University.
Dr Vaidya has completed five research projects sponsored by UGC
and Mumbai University. Dr Khanna and Dr Kavita Harisingani both
have completed two minor research projects each. Prof. B D Chakradeo
has introduced many new instruments and experiments which can
be and are being used as teaching aids. He supplies instruments
to various colleges and institutes and helps in designing new
apparatus.
Dr Vaidya has collaborated with Bhavnagar University and also
with Pondicherri University. Dr Khanna has collaborated with I.IG
Mumbai. Dr Kavita Harisingani has undertaken her research work
under the guidance of TIFR scientists.
Publiations by Dr.Vaidya :
1. Pulse Field Techniques for
Ferrofluids Studies
S.D. Likhite+, Milind Vaidya+, r. Arulmurugan*,
S. Arun Kumar*, and S. Sendhilnathan#.
*Dept. of Physics, Pondichery Engn. College,
Pondichery
#Dept. of Physics, Manakula Vinayagar
Engn. College, Pondicherry
+.Smt.. C.H.M. College, Ulhasnagar –
421 003.
Presented at International Workshop on
Recent Advances in Nanotechnology of magnetic Fluids (RANMF-2003)
held at National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi during 22nd to
24th January, 2003 (Paper accepted and in press).
2.. Effect of preparation on Mn Zn substituted ferrites : Ind
Journal of Engineering Physics
G. Vaidyanathan*, R. Arulmurugan*,
S.D. Likhite+, Milind Vaidya+, M.R. Anantharaman#, N.D. Senthilram*,
S. Arun Kumar*, S. Sendhilnathan@ and K. Saraswathy*
+Smt. C.H.M. College, Ulhasnagar
– 421 003
*Dept. of Physics, Pondichery Engn.
College, Pondichery
#Dept. of Physics, Cochin university
of Science and Technology, Cochin
@Dept. of Physics, Manakula Vinayagar
Engn. College, Pondicherry
Note: Publication 15 and 16 are the result of collaborative work
with institutions mentioned above.
In pub 16, major part of the data collection was done in my laboratory
using the equipment procured by me through grants obtained from
UGC under Minor Research Project completed by me.
Papers presented at
DAE organized Solid State Physics Symposium, held at Mysore, during
27th Dec. 2007 – 31st Dec. 2007.
1) Dr. Kavita H.: “Bandwidth
control effects in electron doped manganite La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 thin
films”
Kavita Bajaj et.al. , Solid state Comm. 138 (2006) 549.
2) “Electroresistive effects in electron doped manganite
La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 thin films”
Kavita Bajaj et.al. , J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, 19 (2007) 046208.
3) “ Correlation between effects of electric current and
magnetic field on transport properties of electron doped manganite
La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 thin films”
Kavita Bajaj et.al. , J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, 19 (2007) 382202.
4) “Electroresistive and Magnetoresistive effects in electron
doped manganite La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 thin films”
Kavita Bajaj et.al. , PLD meet October 3-5, 2007 at Rajkot, Gujrat.
Plan of action of the department for next 5 years:
The research laboratory is well equipped and recognized by Mumbai
University for research. Dr M M Vaidya proposes to establish a
Nanotechnology centre. We also plan to conduct active research
in Astrophysics and Solar Physics. We plan to install a telescope
for sky observation. The department conducts many activities like
seminar contests, Quiz, NGPE exams , visits to places of scientific
interest, physics exhibition . We plan to enhance these activities
and encourage students to take keen interest in Physics and enjoy
the subject