Department of Physics

and Astronomy From the elementary to the extraordinary

Departement Natuurkunde

en Sterrenkunde Van het elementaire tot het buitengewone

KU Leuven

• Autonomous university founded in 1425

• Mission: providing high-quality interdisciplinary

research & education

• ~ 41,200 students (16% international)

• ~ 1,000 professors (9% international)

• ~ 1,000 postdocs (36% international)

• ~ 4,600 doctoral students (39% international)

• ~ 365 million euro annual research spending

• ~ 625 doctoral degrees per year (92 in science)

• ~ 98 spin-off companies

figures for 2012-2013

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• ~ 45 faculty staff

• ~ 220 scientists

(PhD-students &

postdocs)

• ~ 55 technical &

administrative staff

Who are we?

Department of Physics and Astronomy

http://fys.kuleuven.be/

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Faculty Staff

Tech & Admin

PhD student

Postdoc

Faculty Staff

Tech & Admin

PhD student

Postdoc

Facts & Figures

What do we do?

Scientific research

Research work, communication and team

discussions, publications, conferences,

projects and funding, …

Education

Physics Bachelor and Master programs

Other programs (~4500 students/year)

PhDs (~30/jaar)

Service

expertise, companies, scientific journals,

commissions and boards, community, …

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Education

Bachelor and Master programs BACHELOR in de Fysica

MASTER of Physics (D/E)

MASTER of Astronomy and Astrophysics (D/E)

MASTER of Statistics (D/E)

MASTER of Earth Observation

MASTER of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (D/E)

MASTER of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Erasmus Mundus)

*MASTER of Mathematics (D/E)

*MASTER of Chemistry (D/E)

*MASTER of Biophysics, Biochemistry & Biotechnology

*MASTER of Bioinformatics (D/E)

*MASTER of Theoretical Chemistry & Computational Modelling (Erasmus Mundus)

* conditions apply ** after master

MASTER of Space Studies

MASTER in de medische stralingsfysica

SPECIFIEKE LERARENOPLEIDING

**

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Education PhD

Leuven Arenberg Doctoral School

For Science, Engineering & Technology

Framework for efficient administration, training opportunities and

stimulating international collaborations

http://set.kuleuven.be/phd/

PhD in science, Physics ~ 4 years of original scientific research

high impact publications, manuscript and public defense

Funding? fellowship Research Foundation Flanders (fwo), Agency for

Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT), research funding of promoter, …

http://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/en 6

Research areas at the Department of Physics and Astronomy

Hard condensed

matter

Soft condensed

matter and

biophysics Nuclear physics

Theoretical

physics

Stellar

astrophysics Physics

education and

research

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Research infrastructure The Department has unique in-house

research infrastructure, some examples:

The ion and molecular beam laboratory

In situ molecular beam deposition,

ion beam synthesis and analysis, … State-of-the art

scanning probe

microscopy

infrastructure

Cryogenic facilities

and in-house helium

liquefaction

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Research

infrastructure

Laser infrastructure, tunable lasers for

spectroscopy, e.g. in cluster and

nuclear science

2MJ capacitor bank for solid state

research in pulsed magnetic fields

upto 80 Tesla

Anechoic and reverberant rooms

The Department has unique

in-house research infrastructure,

some examples:

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Research

infrastructure

Mercator Telescope @ La Palma

The Department has unique

next door and off-site research

infrastructure, some examples:

Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at CERN

Leuven NanoCentre

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Bilateral industrial collaborations

Department of

Physics and

Astronomy

Examples:

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Large international projects

Department of

Physics and

Astronomy

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We are organized in research divisions:

Soft Matter and

Biophysics

n Nuclear and

Radiation Physics

Solid State Physics

and Magnetism

… and research teams

Astronomy

Theoretical

Physics

Physics

education

Semiconductor

Physics

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Soft Matter and Biophysics

OVERALL GOAL:

• study the physics of soft, biological and

heterogeneous condensed matter by

advanced experimental techniques

• phenomena and applications in acoustics.

faculty; 5

postdoc; 3

PhD student;

8

tech/adm; 2

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Physical acoustics, photothermal and

photoacoustic material research

Perception, room,

building and

environmental

acoustics

Soft Matter and Biophysics Research themes

Structure, self

assembly and phase

transitions in complex

soft and biological

matter

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Institute of Astronomy

OVERALL GOAL:

To study stellar evolution in a broad

context

faculty; 4,2

postdoc; 19,1

PhD student; 10

tech/adm; 7,65

senior researcher

; 5

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Institute of Astronomy Research themes

Investigating the

interiors of pulsating

stars through the

analysis of their

pulsation modes.

↔ The study of

earthquakes.

Studying stars with a

dusty circumstellar

environment.

Using theory and

telescopes (as ALMA,

Herschel, VLT(I),

Mercator, …)

Looking for a deeper

insight into the

uncertain physics of

low- and

intermediate-mass

single stars during

the late-stages of

stellar evolutions.

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Institute of Astronomy Research themes

Binary stars are a

prime source of stellar

fundamental

parameters, in

particular of stellar

masses.

∼ 50% of all stars

Interdisciplinary

research bringing

together expertise

from astronomy,

mathematics, and

chemistry to study

exoplanets

Mercator telescope

@ La Palma, Spain

Involvement in

space instruments:

PACS, SAFARI,

CoRoT, PLATO,…

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• The strong and weak interaction at work

in the atomic nucleus through radioactive

beam research

• The link between structural and functional

materials properties at the nano scale

Nuclear and Radiation Physics

faculty; 8

postdocs; 22

PhD; 39

tech/adm; 13

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Fundamental weak interaction studies

at low energies:

- search for permanent

neutron electric dipole moment

- precision beta spectrum shape measurements

- beta-emission asymmetry in 35Ar decay

Nuclear and Radiation Physics Research themes

Laser spectroscopy on exotic, radioactive nuclei to fingerprint their

structure

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Study the structure of exotic nuclei using radioactive ion beams

- Use of decay and reaction methods (CERN-ISOLDE(CH), GANIL (F),…)

- New techniques for the production and detection of rare isotopes:

ISOL@MYRRHA

Nuclear and Radiation Physics Research themes

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Create, characterize, and image

nanostructures via interactions

between ion beams and matter.

Determine impurity lattice locations.

Probing magnetism at the

atomic level via hyperfine

interactions and neutron

scattering at magnetic

surfaces and interfaces,

in multiferroics and in

magnetic semiconductors

Nuclear and Radiation Physics Research themes

Ni

Si

Atomic scale redistribution

during solid state reaction of

silicides and germanides.

Vibrational properties of

nanoislands and nanowires.

Link with superconductivity.

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Semiconductor Physics

OVERALL GOAL:

Identification of electron states at

semiconductor interfaces: spin and charge

faculty; 3,1 postdoc; 1

PhD student;

15

tech/adm; 1,3

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Atomic identification of traps and

point defects at semiconductor/insulator

interfaces by means of MR techniques

Semiconductor Physics Research themes

Electronic band diagram of

semiconductor heterostructures:

functionality of interfaces

h h

S i S i M e O

x

A u / A l ( 1 5 n m )

p A

B I A S

+ -

p A

B I A S

- +

V g > 0 V

g < 0

A u / A l

First principles modeling of 2D

semiconductor materials and

interfaces

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Solid State Physics and Magnetism

OVERALL GOAL:

understand and control functionalities

at the nanoscale

faculty; 7,1

postdoc; 21 PhD

students; 40

tech/adm; 5

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Solid State Physics and Magnetism Research themes

Understand physical and chemical

properties of (binary) clusters of a

few up to several 100 atoms and

induce new properties in cluster-

assembled systems.

Address challenges related to

superconductivity at the nanoscale

• Vortex matter

• Proximity effects

in hybrid

superconductors

• Phonons in

nanoscale

superconductors

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Create and investigate

functional interfaces

between nanomaterials and

biomolecules or cells

Solid State Physics and Magnetism Research themes

Control functionality in complex oxides

and advanced nanomaterials

Assemble into devices and systems

Scanning probe

microscopy to link

physical functionalities to

atomic structure and/or

spatial confinement

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Institute of Theoretical Physics

OVERALL GOAL

• Modeling physical phenomena in

mathematical frameworks

• Understanding experimental results

and basic structures of nature

faculty; 9

postdoc; 8

PhD students

; 19

tech/admin; 2 We are happy when there

are applications,

but our main focus is on

insights and structures

of the laws of physics.

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Institute of Theoretical Physics Research themes

Mathematical physics

Quantum information

theory

Statistical mechanics

Dynamical systems

High-energy

Physics

Inspired by high-energy physics and

cosmology: string theory,

supergravity, theory of black holes

and branes, quantum cosmology

Holography: gauge-string dualities,

with applications to cosmology and

solid-state physics

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Statistical physics

wetting of nanostructured surfaces

models of non-equilibrium phase transitions

response coefficients and transport properties

Spin glasses; networks; random matrices

Biophysics: DNA microarrays and thermodynamics

applications to nanobiointeractions in a cell

Institute of Theoretical Physics Research themes

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Physics Education Research

OVERALL GOAL

understand and improve physics learning

and teaching

faculty; 1

PhD students;

3

tech/adm; 1

high school teachers

and volunteers;

5

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Physics Education Research Research themes

Student understanding of specific

physics concepts

STEM education at the

secondary school level

Use of mathematics in

physics learning

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Our mission

explore

understand

model

NEW

KNOWLEDGE

PREDICT

NEW

PHENOMENA

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MAKING NEW KNOWLEDGE

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