Physics

Physics is sure to be an exciting research arena over the coming years thanks to advances such as the gigantic particle accelerator that recently became operational in Switzerland (and France – it is that big); a mammoth project that includes input from many Irish researchers.
It is a field of science in which a large number of the postgraduate options available to Irish students are primarily research-based. For instance, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) offers a range of programmes in which graduates can pursue physics qualifications by research.

All potential Trinity physics postgraduate students register for an MSc (Master of Science), initially, and transfer to the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) register in their second year. A PhD usually takes a further two years to complete.

The areas in which physics students can pursue postgraduate research at TCD are: Astrophysics, Magnetism and Spin Electronics, Nanoelectronics/Nanoscience, Theoretical and Computational Physics, Photonics, and Soft Matter. However, as Professor Stefano Sanvito, Director of Graduate Studies at TCD’s School of Physics, explains, these programmes are not solely research-based; they also include some taught elements.

He says: ‘[Participants] do research from day one, except that for the first 18 months there is the taught component as well. The taught components very much fills in the gaps – whatever [students] didn’t do in their undergraduate programme – and also go more in-depth on what they learnt at undergraduate level. And then, [participants] have an exam where we monitor what they have done, and what they’re going to do. Then, they enter into the second part of their PhD.’

But, do TCD physics postgraduate students have a great deal of say when it comes to the direction their research takes? Are they allowed to implement their own ideas, or is the overall direction of their work dictated by supervisors? Prof Sanvito explains that it is a mixture of both – as students have a level of negotiation with their supervisors, when deciding what to do – but also adds: ‘Most of our graduates come with a research grant, which is assigned to a specific supervisor for a specific research programme. So, in a sense, those (participants) do not have a huge room for negotiation, because, essentially, their research programme is set by the body that paid for the research.’

Elsewhere, there are postgraduate research programmes in Medical Physics, Photonics, Astronomy and Atmospheric Physics available at NUI Galway.
Interestingly, when asked to define the differences between the MSc and PhD postgraduate qualifications that can be pursued in these areas at the college, Professor Chris Dainty – from NUI Galway’s School of Physics – touches upon the distinction between ‘prescribed’ and ‘unique’ research that Prof Sanvito discusses above.
Prof Dainty explains: ‘An MSc normally addresses a well-defined problem for which there is a known solution in advance.  It tests one’s ability to do a certain task to a high standard. The PhD is quite different, in that the students themselves take more “ownership” of a project – often defining it themselves.  The level of scholarship is much higher, and original work is expected.’

These sentiments are echoed by Dr Vincent Toal, head of the School of Physics at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), with regard to the MPhil (Master of Philosophy) and the PhD physics postgraduate options on offer at his college. These two qualifications are pursued by research, and are the only physics postgraduate options available at the college.
Dr Toal explains: ‘The Master of Philosophy requires the acquisition of laboratory skills and ability to obtain valid data, analyse it, and determine its implications. An original paper should be submitted and accepted for publication, but is not seen as essential. A thesis is written and defended under examination by an acknowledged expert in the field.
‘A PhD candidate should, additionally, contribute new scientific techniques or discover new facts and knowledge, and publish more than one paper.’
But what specific skills do students learn in the process of pursuing these postgraduate qualifications?

Prof Dainty explains, with regard to the NUI Galway programmes: ‘First and foremost, one learns the ability to identify a problem and, at least partially, solve it.  In doing this, one learns a huge amount; solving real problems and asking searching questions – both technical and related, for example, to teamwork.

‘In addition, PhD Physics graduates take specialist lectures in their subject, and learn a variety of “professional skills” – report writing, presentation, time management, risk assessment, proposal writing and CV preparation – both through formal courses and practical experience.’
With regard to the expertise gleaned while pursuing a physics postgraduate qualification at Trinity, Prof Sanvito believes that, while the taught components are essential in deepening students’ knowledge of the disciplines they learned at undergraduate level, the research elements will give them a whole new range of skills.
He explains: ‘The taught component is to do things they might have touched already, at undergraduate level, but in a much more profound and deep way. The practical skills are usually something that they do not come equipped with, and really have to learn.’
Fittingly, given the broad range of skills that can be gleaned in the process of securing a postgraduate physics qualification, there is also a broad range of careers that can be subsequently pursued by those who do. Prof Dainty, for instance, describes the variety of fields that NUI Galway Physics PhD graduates have gone to find work in as being ‘very varied’. 
He continues: ‘PhD graduates may continue in research in a university environment. They may do research or engineering in an industrial environment, work for a government agency, or go into finance or computer software/services.’

Dr Toal’s list of potential careers for physics postgraduates is similarly broad. He says: ‘MPhil and PhD graduates of DIT have, in the past, followed careers in IT and telecommunications, banking, financial services and insurance, research and development, research funding agencies, the European Commission, medical physics in industry and the health service, second and third-level education, research management, postdoctoral research, and government research laboratories here and abroad.’
So, postgraduate physics programmes not only provide training in a whole host of skills related directly to the field, they also open a gateway to a wide range of interesting, potentially lucrative job possibilities.