Physics

“PHYSIKA”, the Physics Association of the P.G. Physics Dept. was inaugurated in 2012. The objective of Physika – our Physics Association, is to bring together programs and activities in a collective effort to strengthen our understanding of the laws of Nature and broaden our horizons. We aspire to do this by: Organizing Guest Lectures, workshops and seminars from resource persons in the relevant fields. Facilitating and conducting Science exhibitions and laboratory demonstrations to propagate the scientific temperament. Scheduling video lectures/interactions with experts and group discussions to savour the subject outside prescribed academic syllabi. Organizing Scientific and Industrial tours to get hands-on experience of the subject beyond classroom teaching. Bringing out a bi-monthly “wall magazine”, the aim of which is dissemination of subject knowledge independent of pedagogy. Conducting inter-department and inter-collegiate quiz/debate and other competitions.

DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE

2023-24

• Hands on session and Sky watching program – A special Department Activity (Extension/community oriented program) – The Department organized a hands-on session of sky watching and star gazing program called “Last Starry Night For 2023, With Moon” on the night of 30-12-2023 in front of the PG Centre campus. In the event, apart from Saturn and Jupiter, one of the most easily recognizable star clusters in the night sky called Pleiades (also known as ‘Seven Sisters’ or M45) was sighted and captured. The brightest stars in the Pleiades asterism glow a luminous blue, and are so bright that they can be seen with the naked eye. Also, the beautiful view of Jupiter along with its Galilean Moons were observed through telescope.
• Mr. Harshavardhan and Mr. Shreesha, amateur astronomers and former students of SDM College, were present and shared a bundle of knowledge and skill in handling various aspects of telescopes – sky watching, star gazing, Astrophotography, image processing and software analysis. Dr. Raghavendra S, HOD, Department of PG Studies and Research in Physics was the coordinator of the event. Also, he explained many informative and interesting aspects about stars, planets and telescope. Around 80 participants including staff and students from various SDM institutions as well as general public participated in the event and got the exclusive view and information about the night sky.
• The Department in Collaboration with Gravity Science Foundation, Chamarajanagara organized “One Day Special Lecture Series & Demo On Emerging Trends, Opportunities and Applications of Physics” on 04/05/2024. The resource person Mr. Abhishek A S, Founder& Secretary, Gravity Science Foundation, Chamarajanagara delivered a special talk in three different sessions on the topics “Applications of Physics in Medicine and Engineering” followed by demonstrations, “All about Amateur Astronomy and Amateur Radio” and “Future Opportunities in Physics”. The program was coordinated by Dr. Raghavendra S, Head, department of PG Studies and Research in Physics. The Physics students from both UG and PG were actively participated and benefited from the program.
• The Department organized a special talk on “Scope & Opportunities in Physics” on 08/06/2024. The resource person – Dr. Praveen K. C., Scientist, Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems (LEOS) ISRO, Bengaluru delivered a special talk about the topic “Classroom to Cleanroom”- Journey as a student towards professionalism. The talk gave an insight about various future career opportunities In R & D including ISRO for Physics graduates. The session was followed by student interaction. The students from both I and II M.Sc Physics were actively participated and got benefited from the program. It was special to note that interested students from SDM PU College were attended the program.
• The students of II MSc Physics, accompanied by Dr. Raghavendra S., HOD, and Dr. Sahana K., Associate Professor, visited Photonics Research lab and Atomic & Molecular Physics instrumentation centre at MAHE, Manipal on 02-01-2024. During the visit, they also attended the International Symposium on Recent Advances in Biophotonics and Imaging organised by DAMP, MAHE, Manipal funded by SPARC.
• Department of PG Studies and Research in Physics under Physika Association organized “National Science Day – 2024, Indigenous Technologies for Viksit Bharat” on 28th February 2024. On this occasion, department organized various events for UG and PG science students. Totally, 52 students participated in the program. Dr. Raghavendra S., Head of the department addressed the students about relevance and importance of celebrating Science Day. The events were designed by MSc Physics students and the program was coordinated by Dr. D. Haleshappa, Coordinator, Physika Association.

2022-23

• The Department conducted an extension activity at Government High School, Mundaje on 04-02-23. Twenty students from II MSc actively participated, accompanied by Dr. Sahana K as staff coordinator. A group of 73 students of 9th and 8th grade were the beneficiaries. The objective of the activity was to ignite curiosity and interest in science by demonstrations of concepts, emphasizing practical learning approach via experiments, handmade models and video presentations.
• The Department in association with SDM Astronomy Club had organised a Lunar observation and viewing of the Penumbral Total Lunar Eclipse event on the night of 05-05-2023 in front of the PG Centre campus. A very rare and interesting celestial event, it was witnessed by around 60 participants including staff, students from Dheemanth-Dheemahi hostels and a few visitors in spite of the cloudy weather and poor visibility. Dr. Raghavendra S, HOD, Department of PG Studies and Research in Physics was the coordinator of the event and he also explained about Moon and lunar eclipse phenomena to the participants. The event was photographed and video recorded to best possible extent and rendered in time lapse by Mr. Harshavardhan and Mr. Shreesha of III BSc, SDM College with the staff and students of the Physics Dept.
• The Dept. hosted an International Webinar on 22/12/2022 organized by Department of Mathematics in association with Department of Physics and IQAC on the topic “Application of Mathematics in advancement of Science and Technology”. The resource persons of the program are Mr. Ananthakrishna Ivrathraya, Researcher in German National Railways, Mr. Claus Thies-von der Bey, Safety specialist in German Railways and Dr. Christian Hauswald, Experimental Physicist. The Program was conducted through online platform in PG Centre’s Seminar Hall-1. UG and M.Sc Physics students participated in the program.
• The Department’s Electronics Hobby club organized a guest talk and demonstration on “Introduction to Embedded Systems using Low Power Boards” on 23/06/2023. The resource persons were Mr. Raghuveera Pandith T S and Mr. Mahesh D S, Assistant Professors, Electronics and Communication Engineering, SDMIT, Uijre. Both I and II M. Sc students were beneficiaries. The event was coordinated by Dr. Sahana K, Assistant Professor and In-charge of Hobby club, Department of PG Studies and Research in Physics.
• Department of PG Studies and Research in Physics under the auspices of Electro-hub, our Hobby club organized “Optimal Circuits” a lab demonstration and workshop on 05/12/2022. II M.Sc Physics students were the host for this program under the guidance of Dr. Sahana K, Coordinator of Hobby club. Totally, 45 students were benefited from the workshop 25 students from UG and 20 from I M.Sc Physics freshers.
• The Dept in association with the SDM Astronomy Club organised a guest lecture on Astronomy and Astrophysics followed by hands-on session on Astro- image processing and a sky watching event “Know the Night Sky” at SDM PG Centre on 7th January, 2023. Mr. Atul Bhat, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Physics, Poornaprajna College, Udupi and Mr. Vibhav Mangalore, Amateur Astronomer and Co-founder of AGAS360 were the resource persons. I & II M.Sc Physics students, a few students from UG and faculty of PG Physics were the audience. After the hands-on telescope handling session in the evening, the sky watching and star gazing session after sunset garnered much attention and appreciation from many outsiders and faculty from other departments as well. The program was coordinated by Dr. Raghavendra S, HOD.
• Department organized two days demonstration workshop and hands-on training at BOSCH Lab, SDM Polytechnic, Ujire, on “Arduino Microcontroller and Programmable Logic Controller” on 28-04-2023. The resource person was Mr. Amaresh Hebbar, Faculty, Dept. of Electronics and Communication, SDM Polytechnic, Ujire. On 29-04-2023, a lecture followed by hands-on training on “Soldering Practices”. The resource person was Mr. Avaneesh P, Faculty, Dept. of Electronics and Communication, SDM Polytechnic, Ujire. 40 students from I and II M.Sc Physics attended and accompanied by Dr. Sahana K, Assistant Prof.
• Field visit – I and II MSc students of Dept of PG Studies and Research in Physics, accompanied by Dr. Raghavendra S, HoD, and Ms. Sowmya K, Assistant professor, visited Pilikula Regional Science Centre, Mangalore for a field visit on 21-05-2023. They spent quality time at the Science Park followed by a session of lab demonstration of simple science experiments and screening of 3D Science show and virtual sky watching at the Swamy Vivekananda Planetarium. The students immensely enjoyed the experience and found the visit highly motivating, stimulating and productive.

2021 – 22

• Mr. Arun Joe Varhese, Mr. Athul Krishnan,Mr. Vaishak K and Mr. Yashwanth E R – II M Sc Physics students presented a paper and got 2nd best presentation award for the paper titled “Review Paper on Study of Rectangular and Circular Patch Antenna” at International Conference on Advanced Technology, Sustainability and Management on 28th and 29th July 2022 organized by School of Engineering and Technology, Sushanth University, Haryana.
• The department procured a new telescope, which was formally inaugurated on 21/02/2022 by Prof. Satheeshchandra S, Deputy Secretary, SDME Society. Prof. S N Kakathkar along with resource person Mr. Sathyakumar Sharma, UIME, Bagalore were present. All the students of I and II M. Sc Physics as well Astronomy club students Of UG and the faculty members of PG Physics dept were present in the program. After the inaugural program, there was a Sky watching demonstration event was conducted. The Former Principal Prof. T N Keshav was also present among the guests for the program.
• The Electronics Hobby Club “Electro-Hub” and E-Magazine of the Dept. of PG Studies and Research in Physics was inaugurated on 18/07/2022 at Samyak Darshan seminar hall. The Hobby club was inaugurated by the chief guest of the function Dr. Shreekrishna Kumar, Former Director of AICTE and Present Director of School of Technology and Applied Sciences at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala. Dr. Udayachandra P N, Principal SDMC Ujire was President of the function. Prof. S N Kakathkar, Science Dean and HOD UG Physics, addressed the students in the function. Both I and II M.Sc Physics students and faculties of the dept. were part of this function.
• Dr.Sahana K and Dr. D Haleshappa, along with 30 students of II M. Sc Physics visited Pilikula Science Centre, to attend Science and Technology festival, “Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate” at Pilikula Regional Science Centre, Mangalore on 24/02/2022.

2019

• Celebration of National Science Day“Physika” the association of PG Physics department celebrated National Science Day on 28th Feb. On this occasion, the department conducted inter-department competitions based on Science in daily life. On same occasion the wall magazine was released on the theme of this year’s Science Day “Science for the People and the people for Science”.
• Prof. Raveesha from CMRIT, Bangalore was the resource person for a lecture /experiment demonstrations on 1st May on “Innovations in simple experiments and design of apparatus”.
• Prof. T. N.Keshava, Former Principal, SDM College, Ujire gave a guest lecture on the topic “Chandrayaan– 2”, on 22nd August.
• Alumni Interaction program: Mr. Rahul, S., Mr. Ranjith Kumar and Mr. Karthik, Y. R., our proud alumni (2015-2017) currently pursuing Ph.D. at PPISR, Bangalore. They interacted with students about their research, current development and scope for future works.

2018

• One-day educational trip to Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, Vamanjoor, Mangalore, on 2nd March for our first and second M.Sc. students. A show organized by Swami Vivekananda Planetarium and science and technology related practical demonstrations, followed by a visit to Pilikula Biological Park.
• One-day workshop on 03rd March for SDM final year B.Sc. students on Printed Circuit Board conducted by Dr. Sahana, K.
• Guest lecture on 05th March titled “A Journey of the helm of Universe” by Prof. A. P. Bhat, renowned astrophysicist & HOD of Physics, Poorna Prajna College, Udupi.
• Guest talk on 08th March by Mr. Lakshmi Narayana, Schema Zen Technologies Pvt. Ltd. on hardware board design and product design training hub. This is the training and research center, which give placement assistance to our students and also project for final year students.
• Prof. Sahana, K. of the dept. conducted Two days’ workshop on “Printed Circuit Boards” for final year Electronics and communication students of SDM Technical Institute (Polytechnic) College, Ujire, on 25th and 26th Sept.
• Guest lecture by Dr. Ravindra Shetty, Managing Director, Agent Technology Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore on “Industrial opportunities for M.Sc. Physics” followed by an interaction session. On the same occasion, Mr. Narasimha Shenoy, Senior Principal Engineer, UTC Aerospace Systems, Bangalore, addressed the students and he gave a brief talk on “Skill Enhancement and Innovation techniques”.
• Guest lecture on 08/09/2018. The resource person Dr. Praveen, K. C., Sci/Engg-D, Working at LEOS (ISRO), Bangalore, delivered a talk on “ISRO and its hierarchy, job opportunities at ISRO”. He also gave start up ideas for I and II year M.Sc. Physics students after M.Sc. to step into ISRO.

2017

• Two-day Science Academies’ Lecture-Workshop on “Topology in Condensed Matter Physics” on 2nd & 3rd March. The program was sponsored by Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, and The National Academy of Sciences, India, Allahabad. Resource persons were Prof. Chandan Dasgupta, Prof. Arindam Ghosh, Prof. Vijay, B. Shenoy & Prof. Subroto Mukerjee – all from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
• Guest lecture on 08th Sept by Prof. Ajith, K. M., Dept. of Physics, NITK Surathkal on the topic: “Dirac delta function and Fourier transformation in Physics”.
• Guest lecture on 21st Sept. on the topic “Renewable Energy sources: Solar Energy” by Dr. H. Naganagouda, Director, National Training Center for Solar Technology, Karnataka Power Corporation Limited.
• Guest Lecture session on Continuous Wave Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (CW EPR), instrumentation and applications on 20th Nov. The resource person was Dr. Balachandra Hegde, Associate Professor at Rani Channamma University, Belgaum. Mr. Pratheek, our alumnus and currently research student of Dr. Hegde accompanied him.

The Dept. also has a Hobby Club for Electronics enthusiasts called ElectroHub. Its aims & objectives are:

• To construct & demnstrate electronics-based hobby projects/products.
• To motivate & create exposure in various avenues of hardware & software domains in electronics.
• To enrich knowledge & awareness in technical & technological aspects.
• To cater to various needs in keeping pace with the ever evolving field of electronics.