P A h s y t r s o i c n s o a m n y d www.manchester.ac.uk/physics UNDERGRADUATE BROCHURE 2014 The facts Jodrell Bank Observatory, internationally renowned centre for radio astronomy, is part of our School The most One of Britain’s largest consistently high and most respected student satisfaction schools of Physics and rating of any UK Astronomy, with top Physics department ratings for teaching and research, and two Nobel Prize winners in 2010 Well-equipped Recent £70 million laboratories, including extension and rooftop optical and refurbishment radio telescopes of the Physics buildings creating state-of-the-art facilities Physics at Manchester is great because we have an expert in everything! Russell Dawson MPhys Physics Contents 2 Introducing Manchester 4 Physics and Astronomy at Manchester 10 Course details 30 Research at Manchester 32 Campus map 34 City map 36 Find out more online Physics and Astronomy 3 www.manchester.ac.uk/physics Our University Making things happen Influential, forward-thinking and down-to-earth, we’ll give you an amazing university experience rooted in a rich academic heritage. We turn enthusiasm into achievement and groundbreaking theory into practice. We accomplish feats of global significance, from splitting the atom to giving the world graphene – the two-dimensional wonder material that is one atom thick but 200 times stronger than steel. With more Nobel laureates on our staff than any other UK university, and strong links to industry and public services, we vitalise our undergraduate courses with pioneering research. Join us at the heart of Britain’s most popular student city. Learn more about us: www.manchester.ac.uk Introducing Manchester Our city Always moving forward Manchester lives on the edge of tomorrow, ever a step ahead in science, industry, media, sport and the arts. The Mancunian character, exemplified by the city’s central role in the industrial revolution, strives for excellence in all walks of life. This is a city of many accents, having become a cosmopolitan magnet for students and professionals eager to experience its can-do attitude, independent spirit and cultural wealth. Never content to live on past glories, Manchester has a passion for progress. Discover what makes Manchester unique: www.manchester.ac.uk/cityofmanchester 4 Physics and Astronomy Undergraduate brochure 2014 Your experience More than just a degree From the flexible, 24/7 learning environment of the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons to the personal development opportunities and specialist support services we offer, we will empower you to be your best. We’re well underway with the biggest investment programme ever seen in UK higher education, having invested £750 million in our facilities since 2004, with another £1 billion to follow. Away from your studies you’ll have access to the UK’s largest student union, almost 300 student societies, and excellent sports and fitness facilities. The only thing you won’t experience is boredom. Hear from some of our students, graduates and staff: www.manchester.ac.uk/ug/profiles Your career On a course to success We are one of the UK’s most targeted universities by employers – 92% of our graduates go straight into employment or further study. We design our courses with your employability in mind. Our problem-based approach to learning inspires you to think critically, creatively, and independently. You’ll also be able to learn new skills through volunteering, personal development programmes and study abroad pathways. We have the UK’s best careers service, providing advice and mentoring services, and connecting you with employers who’ll put you on a path to career success. Take control of your career: www.manchester.ac.uk/careers Physics and Astronomy 5 www.manchester.ac.uk/physics Physics and Astronomy at Manchester The University of Manchester is home to one of the largest and most active schools of Physics and Astronomy in Britain. You can be confident of high standards here in every aspect of your degree. We are the only UK Physics department to be both in the top five for the volume of world-leading and internationally excellent research we carry out, to have the maximum rating for teaching and student support, and to have consistently achieved an overall satisfaction score of over 90% in the National Student Survey. Study with us and you’ll benefit from a tradition of excellence established by many eminent teachers and researchers, including 11 Nobel Prize winners, such as Rutherford, Bohr, Bragg and Blackett. Our most recent Nobel laureates are Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, who were awarded the honour in 2010 for their pioneering work on graphene. A proven reputation for success We are proud of Manchester’s outstanding historical Our condensed matter physicists lead the world in record of achievements in science and engineering. studying the properties of graphene, a single layer First among these is probably our discovery of the of carbon atoms – production of this material and atomic nucleus by Ernest Rutherford, who was characterisation of its unusual properties led to the Professor of Physics here. During his time at 2010 award of the two Nobel prizes mentioned above. Manchester, Rutherford also performed the first ‘artificial’ nuclear reaction, which marked the Being a large school, our research covers a very rich beginning of nuclear physics. portfolio over most of the sub-fields of physics, ranging from fundamental areas to interdisciplinary Today, we remain a leading centre for research in projects that reach beyond the subject and more nuclear and elementary particle physics. For example, applied research programmes. We have Manchester physicists are helping to run experiments internationally leading research programmes that at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which have include atomic, nuclear, particle and accelerator recently discovered a Higgs particle, thought to be physics; condensed matter and soft matter physics; responsible for the origin of mass, and which will laser and photon physics; low temperature physics; go on solve some of the mysteries of anti-matter. biological physics; complexity and non-linear physics; and astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. Astronomy also has an illustrious heritage and Experimental and theoretical physicists work vibrant current research programme here. The together on many of these research activities. world-famous Jodrell Bank telescope is part of our School and has been used to discover the first gravitational lens, the first celestial maser and more pulsars than any other telescope. Physics and Astronomy 7 www.manchester.ac.uk/physics Physics and Astronomy at Manchester Our international reputation rests equally on our We are also the only UK Physics department to teaching and our research; in fact, the diversity and consistently achieve an overall satisfaction score of excellence of our research boosts the quality of our over 90% in the National Student Survey. We listen teaching and the range of topics we make available to our students, who are represented on committees to our undergraduates. We have a steady influx of that supervise our School’s teaching activities. We new research physicists and teachers, and continually also encourage you to join in the social, sporting, revise our teaching and research activities to keep our musical and other events that are organised by active courses and research at the cutting edge. student societies within our School. Such events encourage excellent working relationships through Staff from our School have written the popular informal staff-student contact. Manchester Physics Series, a set of 14 undergraduate textbooks published by Wiley, which have sold over a Our size and breadth of expertise enables us to offer quarter of a million copies worldwide. you an unusually wide range of lecture course units, while a good staff-student ratio allows teaching in Brian Cox, presenter of the BBC TV series Wonders small group tutorials and helps keep our staff-student of the Solar System, Wonders of the Universe and relationship lively and informal. Each year, we Wonders of Life, plus many other scientific welcome about 260 new undergraduate and 70 new programmes, was an undergraduate here and is now a postgraduate students. We have more than 80 professor in our School, teaching one of our first-year members of academic staff and more than 100 core course units on Quantum Physics and Relativity. research fellows and associates. We are the only Physics department in the UK to be Contact with industry is an important priority for both in the top five for the volume of world-leading us and our research activities continually attract and internationally excellent research, and to have industrial support. the maximum rating for teaching and student support, as reported by the Reseach Assessment Exercise and Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education’s assessment panels, respectively. Professor Brian Cox 8 Physics and Astronomy Undergraduate brochure 2014 Our courses provide a secure foundation in the basic principles of classical and quantum physics from both a theoretical and an experimental viewpoint. Thanks to our size and breadth of expertise, we can also offer you a wide range of options, from cosmology to particle physics, including computing, theoretical physics and experimental modules. An undergraduate physics degree at Manchester therefore embraces a broad range of topics that are both practically useful and intellectually stimulating. We monitor all aspects of our teaching programme via student questionnaires, which provide valuable feedback both to individual teachers and to the School as a whole. As a large School, we can deploy our teaching resources in many ways; whenever possible, we use this flexibility to enhance and improve your courses. Visit days Where practical, promising applicants are invited to Since arriving in attend one of our visit days, which are held regularly Manchester to study between October and March.