About the Department

Physics department is one of the largest and oldest departments in Fergusson College. Introduced as part of the Natural Sciences in 1894, it was established as a separate subject in 1903 in the College and affiliated to Bombay University before the University of Pune was established. Physics Department at Fergusson College has the honour of hosting the Physics Department of the University of Pune till the University Department had its own premises. The first separate Post Graduate section was introduced at the College in 1969. The department has produced a large number of graduate and post graduate students since its establishment.

Housed in a spacious building just next to the College Main Building it is a land mark in itself. With four dedicated laboratories and four classrooms with a capacity of more than 100 students each, it offers courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The post graduation centre offers Materials Science, Electronic Instrumentation, Atmospheric Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Semiconductor Physics, Vacuum Technology and Thin films, Renewable Energy Sources, Lasers and Applications and Physics of Nanomaterials as elective courses at the PG level. Presently we conduct two divisions for the PG class. One division is grant-in-aid and the other is on self financed basis. Faculty members are actively involved in the syllabus framing and restructuring at the University level for both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Physics department is also recognized as a research center in Applied Physics since 2010 by the Savitribai Phule Pune University. Some teachers are recognized guides for the M. Phil. and Ph. D. degrees. Many research projects funded by the UGC, BRNS, BCUD-SPPU and ISRO are completed and some are still ongoing. Results of the research carried out in the department are published in many international journals, seminars and conferences.

Student’s Achievements

• The students of this department have successfully recorded a glorious hat trick of being the toppers in M. Sc. (Physics) with gold medal at the University level (2009-2012, (B. Sc. (Physics) (2016)).
• They have also won prizes at the Zonal, State and National level competition of ‘AVISHKAR’ in basic sciences, since its inception.
• In addition, they continue to excel at Indian Physics Association (IPA) and other extra-curricular competitions held every year.

Other activities

Physics department encourages many student centric, extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. These help students in developing leadership qualities. These are mainly conducted by the students and staff of the department.

Astro Club

The Astro Club is an activity started in 1997. Apart from weekly lectures, problem solving sessions and documentary screening, students also organise Physics/Astronomy exhibitions, seminars, workshops, sky observations, Space Week and Asteroid hunt program. "Frontiers in Physics" is a unique annual seminar organised by the students exclusively for the students with speakers from national and international institutions. Students also publish "Dimensions" a special science bulletin each term.

Physics Forum

Physics forum is a platform which provides opportunity to students to arrange lectures and demonstrations of some physics experiments. The forum also runs a wallpaper activity, white board activity, Guest Lectures and Demo sessions.

Annual Exhibition

This is an exhibition for popularizing Physics among school children. The annual Physics Exhibition ‘Eureka’ exhibits some models and projects to explain some complex concepts in Physics in a simple way. This is an event visited by many school children. This activity also includes Debates, Quiz competitions and Film screenings.

Indian Physics Association

The Indian Physics Association (IPA, Pune chapter) activities like quiz, lecture, competitions, etc. are conducted in the department every year.

Co-curricular Activities conducted by the Department

First Term

Guest lectures, Film screenings, Popular talks, Industrial visits for PG students.

Second Term

Guest lectures, Film screenings, Popular talks, Study tours for UG students, Annual exhibition, SET/NET Coaching for PG students.

Students Strengths

Research Center and Laboratories

Physics department is a recognized research center in Applied Physics. Research in Materials Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nano Science and Gas Sensors is carried out in the department.

• There are four M. Phil. guides and three Ph. D. guides in the department.
• There are separate spacious laboratories for the FY / SY and TY B. Sc.
• A separate well equipped laboratory is available for the PG classes.
• There are four research laboratories in the department.

List of research equipments procured through various funding agencies:

Sr.No.	Photo	Name of the teacher	Designation
1		Dr. Ms. Raka V. Dabhade (M. Sc., Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil., Ph. D. Guide))	Associate Professor , Head of the Department	Teaching Faculty
2		Dr. Kishor M. Sonawane (M. Sc., B. Ed., Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil., Ph. D. Guide))	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
3		Dr. Kailas B. Sapnar (M. Sc., B. Ed., Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil. Guide) )	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
4		Prof. Ms. Alpana B. Shinde (M. Sc., B. Ed., SET)	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
5		Dr. Nandkumar T. Mandlik (M. Sc., SET, Ph. D.)	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
6		Dr. Ashish P. Yengantiwar (M. Sc., SET, Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil. Guide))	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
7		Dr. Haribhau M. Gholap (M. Sc., SET, Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil. Guide))	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
8		Dr. Ramchandra D. Narhe (M. Sc., Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil., Ph. D. Guide))	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
9		Dr. Sunil G. Kulkarni (M. Sc., B. Ed., Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil. Guide))	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
10		Prof. Mrs. Pallavi C. Dixit (M. Sc., M. Tech., NET)	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
11		Dr. Ms. Alka V. Deshmukh (M. Sc., Ph. D.)	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
12		Mr. Shahaji P. Kharat (M. Sc., NET, SET)	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
13		Prof. Swati K. Gaikwad (M. Sc., SET)	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty
14		Mr. Gajanan D. Harale (M. Sc., NET)	Assistant Professor	Teaching Faculty

Note: Biodata of any of the above mentioned faculty member can be downloaded by clicking on their name.

1. Dr. Ashish P. Yengantiwar,Assistant Professor , M. Sc., SET, Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil. Guide)
   

   University Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi awarded one year Postdoctoral Raman Fellowship under the guidance of Prof. Arunava Gupta at Alabama State University, Tuscaloosa, USA

   2014 – Visiting Fellowship at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced and Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore (3 months)
   
   
2. Dr. Haribhau M. Gholap,Assistant Professor , M. Sc., SET, Ph. D. (Recognized M. Phil. Guide)
   

   University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, INDIA awarded the "RAMAN Postdoctoral Fellowship" at Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science Department, Missouri State University, Springfield, USA under the guidance of Prof. Kartik Ghosh for one year.

   Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore awarded “Visiting Research Fellowship” for three months under guidance of Dr. Ranjan Datta.

   Indian Academy of Science, Bangalore awarded research fellowship for two months (May-June 2014) at International Center of Materials Science (ICMS), Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore under guidance of Dr. Ranjan Datta.

• Research Title: Photographic observations of meteor showers

  Researchers : Dr. Ms. Raka V. Dabhade

  Details:

  Sr.No.	Name of Principal Investigator	Year	Title Of Project	Funding Agency	Amount Sanctioned (In Rs.)	Major/ Minor/ Any Other
  1	Dr. Ms. R. V. Dabhade	2008-2010	Visual and Photographic Observations of Meteor Showers	ISRO,University of Pune	5,00,000/-	Major
  2	Dr. Ms. R. V. Dabhade	2009-2011	Implementation of HAM radio for meteor shower observation	BCUD,University of Pune	2,50,000/-	Minor
  3	Dr. Ms. R. V. Dabhade	2013-2015	Virtual observatory for variable star observations	University Grants Commission (UGC)	2,25,000/-	Minor
  4	Dr. Ms. R. V. Dabhade	2013-2015	Development of FC Observatory - An autonomous Robotic telescope	ISRO	11,00,000/-	Major
  5	Dr. Ms. R. V. Dabhade	2015-2016	Establishment of TARA Observatory	International Astronomical Union (IAU)	4,500 Euro	Major
  6	Dr. Ms. R. V. Dabhade	2015-2017	Fabrication of Celeostat	BCUD,University of Pune	1,80,000/-	Minor

  
  
  

• Research Title: Synthesis and Characterization of Transparent conducting Oxide(TCO) thin films for Gas sensing applications

  Researchers : Dr. Kishor M. Sonawane

  Details:

  Sr.No.	Name of Principal Investigator	Year	Title Of Project	Funding Agency	Amount Sanctioned (In Rs.)	Major/ Minor/Any Other
  1	Dr. K. M. Sonawane	2009-2011	Synthesis and Characterization of Transparent conducting Oxide(TCO) thin films for Gas sensing applications	BCUD Pune	2,50,000/-	Minor
  2	Dr. K. M. Sonawane	2014-2017	Study of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Thin Films for Gas Sensing Applications	BRNS, BARC Mumbai	25,20,375/-	Major

• Research Title: Deposition & Characterization of hydrophobic & hydrophilic thin films

  Researchers : Dr. Ashish P. Yengantiwar

  Details:

  Sr.No.	Name of Principal Investigator	Year	Title Of Project	Funding Agency	Amount Sanctioned (In Rs.)	Major/ Minor/Any Other
  1	Dr. A. P. Yengantiwar	2009-2012	Deposition & Characterization of hydrophobic & hydrophilic thin films	BCUD Pune	2,50,000/-	Minor
  2	Dr. A. P. Yengantiwar	2013-2015	Deposition of Zinc Oxide based Nanostructures for Optoelectronics Applications	BCUD Pune	2,60,000/-	Minor
  3	Dr. A. P. Yengantiwar	2013-2014	Deposition of metal oxides nanostructures for optoelectronics applications	University Grant Commission College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	8,000/-	-
  4	Dr. A. P. Yengantiwar	2014-2015	Photosensors based on Metal Oxide nanostructured films on flexible substrates	University Grant Commission College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	20,000/-	-
  5	Dr. A. P. Yengantiwar	2014-2015	Energy Devices Based on Nanomaterials (Theme based Poster)	University Grant Commission College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	5,000/-	-

• Research Title: Organometallic synthesis of semiconductor nanoparticles

  Researchers : Dr. Haribhau M. Gholap

  Details:

  Sr.No.	Name of Principal Investigator	Year	Title Of Project	Funding Agency	Amount Sanctioned (In Rs.)	Major/ Minor/Any Other
  1	Dr. H. M. Gholap	2009-2012	Organometallic synthesis of semiconductor nanoparticles	BCUD Pune	2,50,000/-	Minor
  2	Dr. H. M. Gholap	2013-2015	Synthesis of Semiconductor Quantum dots (QDs) -Metal Oxides (MOs) Nanocomposites by Chemical Method	BCUD Pune	2,70,000/-	Minor
  3	Dr. H. M. Gholap	2013-2014	Study of Quantum Size Confinement effect in Semiconductor Quantum Dots	University Grant Commission College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	8,000/-	-
  4	Dr. H. M. Gholap	2014-2015	Quaternary semiconductor nanostructure for inhibition of bacterial biofilm formation	University Grant Commission College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	20,000/-	-
  5	Dr. H. M. Gholap	2014-2015	Effect of ZnO nanostructures on seed germination, nodulation and growth in chickpea. (Collaboration with Dr. S. L. Laware, Department of Botany, Fergusson College, Pune-4)	University Grant Commission  College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	20,000/-	-
  6	Dr. H. M. Gholap	2014-2015	Inhibition of bacterial biofilm formation by Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites	University Grant Commission (UGC)-Basic Scientific Research (BSR)	5,000/-	-
  7	Dr. H. M. Gholap	2014-2015	Nanomaterials for Bio-medical & Environmental Applications (Theme based Poster)	University Grant Commission  College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	5,000/-	-

• Research Title: Synthesis & Characterisation of TiO2 & ZnO nanoparticles & study of 6MeV electron irradiation

  Researchers : Dr. Kailas B. Sapnar

  Details:

  Sr.No.	Name of Principal Investigator	Year	Title Of Project	Funding Agency	Amount Sanctioned (In Rs.)	Major/ Minor/Any Other
  1	Dr. K. B. Sapnar	2011-2013	Synthesis  & Characterisation of TiO2 & ZnO nanoparticles & study of 6 MeV electron irradiation	BCUD Pune	3,00,000/-	Minor
  2	Dr. K. B. Sapnar	2013-2014	Studies on Synthesis of TiO2 material with its application	University Grant Commission College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	8,000/-	-
  3	Dr. K. B. Sapnar	2013-2014	Studies on Synthesis of doped Titanium Dioxide material with its application	University Grant Commission-Basic Scientific Research Scheme (UGC-CPE-BSR)	5,000/-	-

• Research Title: Nanophosphors for 6 MeV electron dosimetry

  Researchers : Dr. Nandkumar T. Mandlik

  Details:

  Sr.No.	Name of Principal Investigator	Year	Title Of Project	Funding Agency	Amount Sanctioned (In Rs.)	Major/ Minor/Any Other
  1	Dr. N. T. Mandlik	2014-2015	Effect of size variation of CaSO4: Eu nanophosphors on Thermoluminescence (TL) and Photoluminescence (PL) characteristics.	UniversityGrant Commission College with Potential for Excellence (UGC-CPE)	20,000/-	Minor
  2	Dr. N. T. Mandlik	2014-2015	Study of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) of CaSO4:Dy and CaSO4:Eu nanophosphors.	University Grant Commission-Basic ScientificResearch Scheme (UGC-CPE-BSR)	5,000/-	Minor
  3	Dr. N. T. Mandlik	2014-2016	Development of nanophoshors and study of Thermoluminescence, Photoluminescence and Optically Stimulated Luminescence for gamma and electron dosimetry.	BCUD Pune	2,50,000/-	Minor

• Research Title: Development of Humidity sensing materials using ferrites

  Researchers : Dr. Sunil G. Kulkarni

  Details:

  Sr.No.	Name of Principal Investigator	Year	Title Of Project	Funding Agency	Amount Sanctioned (In Rs.)	Major/ Minor/Any Other
  1	Dr. S. G. Kulkarni	2011-2013	Development of Humidity sensing materials using soft ferrites	BCUD Pune	1,50,000/-	Minor