Information sheet - University of Cape Town

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Experimental high energy physics, comprising: (a) Research within the UCT-CERN Research Centre; (b) Relativistic heavy ion collisions within the ALICE collaboration at CERN; (c) High energy proton-proton collisions within the ATLAS collaboration at CERN. Nanophysics and solid state physics comprising: (a) Research within the Nanosciences Innovation Centre; (b) Structural and electrical properties of thin films; (c) X-ray diffraction studies of strain fields and residual stress analysis; (d) Single electron transport and interactions. Applied Physics comprising: (a) Positron Emission Particle Tracking at PEPT Cape Town, iThemba LABS; (b) Particulate flow and interaction characterization in engineering and biological systems by computational and mechanistic modelling; (c) Radiation transport modelling in industrial and medical systems; (d) Applied nuclear physics using neutrons; (e) Geo-neutrino detection (EARTH collaboration). Tertiary physics education comprising: (a) Curriculum design and evaluation; (b) Role of language; (c) Understanding of measurement and uncertainty; (d) Modelling and visualization. The opportunities that the Square Kilometre Array might provide the department are also recognised. The independent Department of Astronomy are neighbours in the RW James Building. Research funding may be applied for from university sources and from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. Academics are strongly encouraged to apply for an NRF research rating which provides automatic basic funding to be awarded. Funding is also available for ATLAS and ALICE researchers through the SA-CERN programme. See http://www.sa-cern.ac.za/ Teaching Undergraduate teaching The department teaches Physics in a curriculum which leads to a major in Physics in the three year BSc degree. There are large first year service courses where Physics is taught to engineering, medical and other non-physics students. An average teaching load is around 90 lectures a year, ranging from first year courses to honours level courses. In addition, usually one afternoon a week will be assigned to supervising laboratory activities. All staff, both experimentalists and theorists, will be expected to supervise first year laboratory classes, where graduate students act as the demonstrators and tutors. Usually the experimentalists run the senior undergraduate laboratories. Honours teaching and project supervision Students may go on to take physics in the one year BSc (Honours) degree, which follows the 3 year BSc degree. This course contains a research project which a student completes under supervision of a member of the Physics staff. The level of the coursework in the Honours degree is similar to that in the first year in a graduate school programme in Physics in the United States. Post-graduate (MSc and PhD) supervision Staff members are encouraged to supervise postgraduate students at both MSc and PhD level. The average number of post grads per staff member is around four. Administration All academics share in some of the administrative load of the department, supported by a departmental administrator and two senior secretaries. A set of portfolios has also been designed to provide academics with opportunities to contribute positively to the operations of the department.
Leave Academic members of staff are afforded opportunities of taking research leave of different types. It is reasonably straightforward to travel overseas for extended periods (6 weeks or more) during the June/July vacation. Annual leave is generally taken in January (summer). See http://hr.uct.ac.za/service/academic/leave/apply/ Faculty of Science The Faculty of Science enjoys a high national and international reputation for the quality of its teaching, research and outreach programmes. It comprises thirteen departments: Archaeology, Astronomy, Botany, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental and Geographical Science, Geological Sciences, Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Oceanography, Physics, Statistical Sciences, Zoology. The first degree is a BSc (minimum time 3 years), for which students will need to choose at least two majors. Some students choose to continue to a one year BSc(Honours) degree before potentially embarking on an MSc (nominal time 2 years), followed by a PhD (nominal time 3 years). Masters programmes may be by thesis only, or by coursework and thesis. Examination of the PhD degree is by dissertation only. The BSc is characterised by its coherence, a good balance between breadth and depth, the development of professional and other skills that are relevant in the labour market, and an interdisciplinary nature. In addition, there are routes through the BSc for students whose schooling backgrounds may be characterised as having significant educational disadvantage. The Faculty has an extensive service teaching obligation and large numbers of students from the Faculties of Commerce, and Engineering and the Built Environment are enrolled for courses in the Science Faculty. Smaller numbers of students from the Faculties of Health Sciences and Humanities are also enrolled for courses in Science. The Science Faculty has approximately 2 700 students. Some 25% of these are enrolled in Masters and Doctoral programmes. Among all UCT students registered for the PhD degree, almost 30% are registered in the Science Faculty. The Faculty has planned for slow and relatively small growth of its enrolments overall, and for an increase in the proportion of postgraduate enrolments in the medium term to at least a third of the total. The student body is cosmopolitan, and is drawn from all regions in South Africa, from elsewhere in Africa, and from other parts of the world. The Faculty is well placed to contribute substantially to our institutional goal of becoming a research-led university. It enjoys a high national and international reputation for the excellence of its research programmes. Almost 75% of the approximately 160 full-time permanent academic staff in the Faculty have current National Research Foundation ratings which is the highest of all South African university science faculties. In addition, a high proportion of our academic staff enjoy considerable international recognition for the quality of their research and scholarship, and almost 90% of all academic staff in the Science Faculty hold PhD degrees. The average annual rate of publication in the peer-reviewed literature exceeds three per staff member. For more information email the Head of Department, Professor Andy Buffler (andy.buffler@uct.ac.za)
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Information sheet - University of Cape Town

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