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M.Sc. Physics Department

The Department of Physics, being one of the oldest departments of our Institution has a strong lineage related to science education in the state of West Bengal. It also has a robust foundation developed under the pioneering guidance of renowned Jesuits like Fr. Lafont in the middle of nineteenth century along with the contributions over the years from Fr. Verstraeten, Fr. Bonhome and others. Over the years, the department has grown into the present structure with UG, PG sections as well as research activities.

Brief Introduction to M.Sc Physics at SXC from its inception:

The PG Course started as a course on “Physics with special emphasis on Astrophysics” on September 13, 2007 in collaboration with Bose Institute, Kolkata, right after the college became autonomous in 2006. It was the second department to offer PG courses along with Computer Science and perhaps the only course to offer Astrophysics as a subject of specialisation under the University of Calcutta. From 2010-12 onwards, the Department has been offering an independent course with two specializations.

At the Post Graduate Level, The Physics department offers M.Sc. course in physics. The department also has Ph.D. intakes. In the M.Sc. course two specializations are offered: (1) Astroparticle Physics and (2) Solid State Electronics. The students are exposed to computing tools and numerical programming using Python and Matlab. They also learn the technique of designing experiments through computer interfacing.
The department also manages the Father Eugene Lafont Observatory (FELO) which has been resurrected in 2014 by the initiative of departmental faculty members leveraging on the FIST grant and commensurate help from the college management. It now offers a twin setup, consisting of a stellar observatory with a motorized dome and a separate sliding roof observatory meant for solar observations. Apart from their serving as a standard lab facility for astrophysics students, they are routinely used for night sky observing programs for the College and University teachers as well as students from rural schools, often as a part of the PRAYAS initiative of the college. Some instances are the International “Observe the moon” event held for UG and PG students on 28th October 2018, the Total Lunar Eclipse was observed on 31st January 2018 and the National Science day program held on the 28th of February every year. Very recently an interdisciplinary astronomical society has been formed to kindle the spirit of inquisition and research among all students and systematize outreach activities.

The Solid State Electronics specialization has been designed to allow students to not only prepare for research, both in the areas of theory and experiment with such modules as material physics, nano-electronics, optoelectronics, digital signal processing etc. but also equip them to pursue a career in the industry by exposing them to VLSI design, CMOS and microcontrollers. The laboratory is constantly updated to allow students to remain competitive in the development of skills related to analog and digital circuits including PSPICE circuit design, fiber optics and programming via microcontrollers. Hall Effect measurements and magneto-resistance setups are also included.

The Science Academies’ Lecture Workshop, jointly organized by The National Academy of Sciences, The Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences are held in the department of physics on a regular basis. The Fr. Verstraeten Memorial lecture is also an annual lecture organised by the department with eminent scientists as invited speakers. The Physics department have also held a one of its kind refresher course in experimental physics jointly with the Indian Academy of Science with faculty members as resource persons. In association with FELO, several serial workshops like JESCOL and RAWA were held in previous years.

The faculty in the department are active both in teaching and research in various field like Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics, Astroparticle Physics as well as other areas. At present several students are working towards their PhD degree under the supervision of the faculties of the Physics Department.

List of Ph.D. Students:

After finishing their M.Sc. degree from St. Xavier�s College, the following students of the 2016-2018 batch are pursuing Ph.D.: Apasankha Das at Viswabharati University, Srija Chakraborty at SNS Italy, Sourav Chowdhury at St. Xavier’s College Kolkata, Vincent Gomes at CSIR-CGCRI Kolkata, Anabadya Pal at Kalyani University, Anita Gemmy Francis at JNCASR, Bangalore. Souvik Das has joined IIT Kharagpur for an M.Tech. programme. Tanima Mondal, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Sumana Ghosh and Sourav Manna are pursuing B.Ed.