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postgraduate prospectus - The University of the West Indies, St ...

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T h e f a C u l T Y o f<br />

Science & Agriculture<br />

DeParTmenT <strong>of</strong> PhYSiCS<br />

<strong>The</strong> Department <strong>of</strong> Physics <strong>of</strong>fers opportunities for <strong>postgraduate</strong> studies leading<br />

to M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees by research and <strong>the</strong>sis.<br />

<strong>The</strong> research in progress, or research areas where activity is planned include:<br />

<strong>The</strong> Physics and Technology <strong>of</strong> materials<br />

<strong>The</strong> humidity characterisation and stabilisation <strong>of</strong> local timber.<br />

• Ceramics and Refractories: Syn<strong>the</strong>sis <strong>of</strong> ceramics and refractories for a<br />

wide range <strong>of</strong> applications using regional non-metal materials. Current<br />

research includes characterisation <strong>of</strong> raw materials, compositional studies,<br />

Micro-structure/property relationship.<br />

• Fuel Cells & Lithium Batteries: Development <strong>of</strong> new and novel electrolyte<br />

materials for applications in fuel cells & lithium batteries. Current research<br />

includes development <strong>of</strong> nanocomposites, ternary systems, ionic liquids,<br />

acid-base systems. Characterisation <strong>of</strong> develop materials using differential<br />

<strong>the</strong>rmal analysis (DTA), <strong>the</strong>rmal gravimeteric analysis (TGA), differential<br />

scanning calorimeter (DSC), x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron<br />

microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrochemical<br />

impendence spectroscopy (EIS) and fuel testing.<br />

medical Physics and Bioengineering<br />

• Recordings <strong>of</strong> mass potentials as well as signals from neurons to determine<br />

<strong>the</strong> manner in which <strong>the</strong> brain with its neural network functions.<br />

• EEG <strong>St</strong>udies.<br />

• Blood flow studies for photoplethysmography.<br />

• Magnetocardiography using a superconducting quantum interference device<br />

(SQUID).<br />

• Nuclear medicine studies using radio pharmaceuticals.<br />

• Human motion analysis<br />

• Ergonomics<br />

astronomy<br />

• <strong>The</strong>oretical Astronomy<br />

• <strong>St</strong>atistical analysers and model building in areas <strong>of</strong> large scale structure<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> universe and studies <strong>of</strong> quasars.<br />

observational astronomy<br />

• This project utilises <strong>the</strong> 40-cm Meade Telescope on <strong>the</strong> Natural Sciences<br />

Building Ro<strong>of</strong>top. It is in conjunction with Tuorla Observatory in Finland.<br />

<strong>St</strong>udies involve monitoring <strong>the</strong> variability <strong>of</strong> BL Lac objects.<br />

astrobiology<br />

• Astrobiology with investigations at <strong>the</strong> mud volcanoes and pitch lake.<br />

Solar energy <strong>St</strong>udies<br />

<strong>The</strong> design, construction and testing <strong>of</strong> low and high temperature flat plate<br />

collectors for use with:<br />

• Solar crop dryers, solar cookers, solar water heaters and solar distillation<br />

units.<br />

• Solar air-conditioners, refrigerators and solar powered heat engines<br />

• Solar timber dryers (This area <strong>of</strong> research is conducted jointly with o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

departments)<br />

• Quantium Dots and Materials for <strong>the</strong> Photovoltaic<br />

• Solar water disinfection<br />

• Geo<strong>the</strong>rmal Energy <strong>St</strong>udies<br />

earth materials <strong>St</strong>udies<br />

• Various aspects <strong>of</strong> Mineralogy and Petrology <strong>of</strong> Trinidad & Tobago<br />

including resources <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> continental shelf.<br />

• Investigation <strong>of</strong> Electrical Resistivity and o<strong>the</strong>r properties <strong>of</strong><br />

Geo<strong>the</strong>rmal Rocks.<br />

environmental Physics<br />

• Environmental monitoring with respect to sound and aerosols in<br />

certain work environments.<br />

• Use <strong>of</strong> sea surface temperatures for <strong>the</strong> Caribbean region in<br />

environmental studies.<br />

• Climate change studies.<br />

quantum optics<br />

• <strong>The</strong>oretical modelling <strong>of</strong> entangled states <strong>of</strong> light, optical<br />

parametric oscillators, squeezed states.<br />

• Applications <strong>of</strong> entangled states in quantum imaging, quantum<br />

communication and quantum computing.<br />

fibre-optics, optoelectronics<br />

• Development <strong>of</strong> fibre optic sensors sensitive to diverse<br />

environmental and o<strong>the</strong>r measurands such as temperature, strain,<br />

seismic, and chemical<br />

• Transceivers for use in photoplethysmography<br />

• <strong>St</strong>eelpan analysis via optoelectronic.<br />

• Fibre Optic Lasers<br />

• Communications<br />

Signal Processing and VlSi (Very large Scale integration)<br />

• Communication Signals Processing.<br />

• VLSI solutions for speech recognition and ultra wide band (UWB)<br />

communication systems.<br />

• Data communication.<br />

<strong>The</strong> M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes are essentially research degrees.,<br />

but nine credits <strong>of</strong> M.Sc. level taught courses are also required.<br />

<strong>St</strong>udents with a B.Sc. degree normally register for an M.Phil.<br />

programme and may, if progress is satisfactory, be considered for<br />

upgrade to <strong>the</strong> Ph.D. level after about two years. <strong>St</strong>udents may select<br />

<strong>the</strong> topic for <strong>the</strong>ir project from one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research areas <strong>of</strong> interest<br />

in <strong>the</strong> Department. <strong>The</strong>se include materials science, medical physics,<br />

environmental physics, solar energy, quantum optics, astronomy,<br />

acoustics and electronics.<br />

Dr. Shirin haque (head)<br />

mrs. C. Charles (administrative assistant)<br />

mrs. V. Sadd-nagim (Secretary)<br />

Tel: 1 (868) 662-2002 ext 2051, 2050, 3846<br />

Fax: 1 (868) 662-9904<br />

Email: shirin.haque@sta.uwi.edu<br />

www.sta.uwi.edu t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f t h e w e s t i n d i e s – s t . a u g u s t i n e c a m p u s > page 55

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