Department of Physics

The new Department of Physics was established in 2012 and continues a 40-year long history during which its professors and researchers have been engaged in many key areas of physics. Research spans from theoretical investigations of fundamental interactions, gravitational physics and cosmology, to nuclear and sub-nuclear physics, astroparticles physics, ultracold gases and Bose Einstein condensation; and from experimental gravitation to molecular and atomic physics, biophysics, biochemistry, energetics, science education and physics communication; from material sciences to nanoscience, photonics and complex systems.

Research groups effectively collaborate with many research centres and universities and, specifically, with the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), the Italian and European Space Agencies (ASI and ESA), the National Research Council (CNR); at a local level, they share research projects and programmes with the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK), the Edmund Mach Foundation (FEM) and the Provincial Healthcare Service (APSS). The department also hosts the Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications (TIFPA) – a joint initiative including INFN, University, FBK and APSS – , the LISC-FBK units of the European Centre for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related areas (ECT), and the Trento sections of INO-CNR and IFN-CNR institutes.

Students can choose from a three-year Bachelor’s degree in Physics, an advanced course in Physics and an English-taught Master’s degree in Physics. The department is also involved in the Master’s Degree in Quantitative and Computational Biology. Students live in an international environment: 20% of those enrolled in the Master’s course are from abroad, and many students decide to attend one of the two double-degree programmes established with Tübingen University in Germany and with the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste. In addition, the department coordinates the Doctoral school in Physics, organizes basic physics and chemistry courses for a number of degree courses held by other departments and offers a qualifying course for the professional training of high school teachers.