Sciences études

Matter, energy and the environment

A great many discoveries made by physicists have profoundly changed our modern daily lives: semiconductors, lasers, plasma or QLED screens, hard disks... There is no shortage of challenges: use of renewable energies, energy storage, waste treatment... To meet them, society needs physicists who are experts in the properties of matter and its interaction with radiation.

Your objectives

  • Understanding natural phenomena in all their complexity.
    Examples: How does electromagnetic radiation propagate in complex media and how does it interact with matter? How do the quantum properties of nanoscopic materials lead to technological revolutions (electronics, photonics...)?
  • Create innovative physical models inspired by nature.
    Examples: biomimicry is a new approach that aims to draw inspiration from the complex organic structures of numerous animal or plant species. In optics, natural photonics is a new discipline born of this approach.
  • Act on your environment and develop applications that help build a more sustainable world.
    Examples: improving the performance of photovoltaic cells, developing hybrid materials for fuel cells, reducing atmospheric pollution...

The benefits of training

  • A choice between specialization and broader training through elective courses, dissertation, personal work and internship.
  • An opening up to society thanks to an internship - in Belgium or abroad - which enables you to fine-tune your training as a physicist and offers you the opportunity for numerous scientific and human encounters and experiences. Erasmus stays and visits to internationally renowned laboratories are also strongly encouraged.
  • A broad training in the different fields of physics with specializations (lasers, new materials, environmental physics, life physics, data science and didactics) that offer a wealth of job opportunities directly after the master's degree.
  • An ethical awareness: physicists' responsibility in building a fairer, more sustainable world.

Research and dissertation

Sciences études

Research can be both experimental (studying material surfaces by scanning tunneling microscopy, measuring optical properties...) theoretical and numerical (modeling the physical properties of natural or artificial structures, quantum optics...). These different approaches are essential and complementary.

As an example, here's a thesis topic: interaction of electromagnetic waves, in particular microwaves, with graphene, a crystal whose thickness is a single atom. The aim is to theoretically design a shield against stray waves for sensitive electrical circuits.

Other master's degrees in physics

The University of Namur is organizing:

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Description

The research focus of the master 120 physical addresses current problems of the society such as new materials, energy and the environment.

In addition to the core courses designed to improve the general education of the physicist, the research focus is characterized by 5 courses, which are specific to research topics in the physics department: synthesis and characterization of materials, optical properties and methods simulation in physics and optics. The student can also choose courses for specialization in a non-exhaustive list. It may also choose courses from another department, another faculty or another university. A research project organized in the second semester of the 1st year of Master is to perfect the research training that will culminate in the realization of a final dissertation during the second year of master. An 8-week internship in Belgium or abroad is also organized in the second semester of the last year of master.

International mobility and openness

Students have the opportunity to study abroad within the Erasmus scheme for Europe, they can also do an internship in a research centre in Belgium or abroad, and a department theme trip to a renowned international laboratory (USA, Switzerland, France, etc. ).

Teaching methods

The Master’s degree in Physical Sciences is offered at Unamur under three different focuses. Regardless of the orientation, the programme includes a common core as well as courses that students can choose from a wide range of options. The compulsory courses ensure that students acquire throrough knowledge in crucial domains of modern Physics. The courses chosen from options cover more specialised fields linked with Physics of Matter, Radiation and Wave-Matter Interaction.

Alongside this traditional course-oriented training, students receive initiation to research, which will include the acquisition of teaching skills for those choosing the teaching focus. This training towards research will add to a good number of credits, as it associates two types of activities. In the first stage of the initation to research, students will undertake a project on a well-defined subject during the first year, involving bibliographical research, a personal experimental or theoretical development, and a presentation of the obtained results. The second stage constitutes the actual research project and dissertation, which is to be completed throughout the second year. It must be an innovative project, carried out under the guidance of a member of the academic staff or a member of the department. A dissertation and an oral presentation will allow a jury to assess its value.

The training as described above is completed through a work placement / internship in accordance with the chosen focus. It can take place in industry (specialised focus), within the University department or at an external research centre (in-depth focus), or within the Belgian Secondary system (focus on teaching). The choice of focus has to be made at the beginning of the second year, and leads to thirty specific credits.

Aims and objectives

Aims and objectives are established as follows  :

  • Understanding natural phenomena in their complexity : how electromagnetic radiation propagates in various environments and interacts with matter, how the quantum properties of nanoscopic materials lead to technological revolutions (nano-electronics, nanophotonics…) how cellular tissue responds to radiation from photons or particles (particularly in cancer treatment),
  • Modelling of innovative physical systems, following nature’s patterns ;
  • Biomimetism is a new approach which seeks to follow and copy the patterns of complex organic structures in various animal or plant species which have been perfected over millions of years of evolution (within the field of optics, natural photonics is a new field, inspired by this approach)   ;
  • Addressing Environmental issues and developing applications that can contribute to Sustainable Energy (improving the performance of photovoltaic cells, developing hybrid materials for fuel-producing batteries, reducing pollution of the atmosphere, etc.)

Assessment

Depending on the activities, the assessment of the acquired knowledge is done following three main methods :

  1. an oral exam with the lecturer or lecturers having given the specific course
  2. the elaboration of a report which is then assessed by a member of the academic staff
  3. a presentation of a seminar summarising the pursued goals, the methodology that was used and the work accomplished.

The assessments take place during the specific periods of the academic year that have been assigned for this purpose.

For a certain number of activities, ongoing assessment is carried out as the activity develops. This approach is certainly the one used in the framework of internships and projects and their dissertation.

Teaching profile

The Master’s degree in Physical Sciences that Unamur offers aims at furthering the training that students have received while completing their bachelor’s degree. Students make a choice among three focuses (in-depth focus, focus on specialisation, focus on teaching) in the first year of the Master’s training, which allows them to perfect their knowledge in Physics within a more specific domain. Besides broadening the general knowledge of modern Physics that every physicist is expected to have acquired, this training is clearly oriented towards research. Students will benefit from the members of staff’s expertise in research, specifically in the areas of Matter and Radiance and in the exploitation of the interactions between this duality. They receive constant guidance from renowned researchers and from professors who have developed teaching strategies whose effectiveness and reliability have been highly rated over the years.

The general subject-linked training is supplemented by a more interdisciplinary approach, including courses such as philosophy, ethics, languages and communication in the field of science, aiming at developing openmindedness and critical thinking.

Les métiers des physiciens

Physicists' professions

Various skills

Thanks to their general multidisciplinary training (physics, mathematics, computer science, physical chemistry, new materials...), physicists are offered a fairly wide range of careers: academic research, teaching, computer-related activities, development activities in industry and hospitals...

Tough and rigorous, with good analytical skills, excellent mathematical modeling abilities and a rich scientific culture, physicists contribute to the advancement of knowledge and the development of applications in the service of mankind.

All these high value-added skills make physicists valued professionals on the job market.

Pushing the limits of our knowledge

According to a survey of our alumni, more than half of young graduates start their professional lives with experience in scientific research, mainly in academia, in Belgium or abroad. Universities and public funds finance the completion of a PhD (usually 4 years) or grant scholarships for participation in a research program.

Other physicists pursue their investigative work at leading-edge research institutes in very specific fields (e.g. CENAERO, a center of excellence in aeronautics in Gosselies, CERN, the particle physics laboratory in Geneva, SCK-CEN, the center for the study of nuclear energy in Mol or the Royal Meteorological Institute).

Developing industrial applications

In industrial settings, physicists are also involved in the development of high-tech or highly specific products (e.g. glass treated to save energy, safer sheet metal for the automotive industry, cyclotrons for nuclear medicine, etc.). They are also found at the head of important responsibilities downstream from research and development, notably in production departments.

Informatics and telecommunications

A solid IT background makes physicists operational in IT service companies (consultancy) or in any type of user organization (bank, insurance company,
etc.). The telecommunications sector in particular calls on the expertise of physicists for their skills in optics, electronics or even information processing.

Transmitting a passion for reality

Among the activities open to physicists, teaching and the world of training in general remain very buoyant. Over 15% of our professionally active graduates communicate their passion for reality by teaching physics as well as science and mathematics in Haute École or upper secondary education.

Physics and medicine

In the hospital environment, physicists work alongside doctors: they take part in drawing up treatment plans for patients cared for by nuclear medicine; they ensure the quality control of various medical imaging equipment; they also contribute to the development of new analysis technologies.

Expert physicists

The administration calls on the expertise of physicists. They guide policies on energy, the environment, space, etc., for example by issuing opinions on research priorities.

Testimonials from former students

The research institute where I work is concerned with the composition of our atmosphere and air quality. We are developing analytical techniques for
continuous measurement of the concentration of a range of key atmospheric gases, using satellite and ground-based instruments. These activities are carried out in an international context, in collaboration with major European agencies such as ESA and EUMETSAT.

Christophe - Institute of Space Aeronomy

Thanks to the work accomplished during my PhD thesis at UNamur and the encounters made, I am now a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California. My time is divided between laboratory work, analysis of results and writing articles or scientific projects. In the laboratory, the tasks to be accomplished are diverse and include both highly technical and highly specialized aspects, such as laser alignment, sample preparation and data acquisition. Analysis of results includes code development.

Frédéric - Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

At UNamur, I acquired a solid background in physics as well as a passion for optical phenomena present in living organisms, such as their staining. I am currently conducting
research into the fluorescence of beetles and butterflies. This research is interdisciplinary, enabling me to work not only with physicists, but also with biologists, chemists and engineers. The aim is to understand the influence of color on the behavior of living organisms, with a view to developing new technological applications inspired by nature.

Sébastien - University of Exeter in the UK

After my thesis at UNamur, where I acquired solid multidisciplinary knowledge, I did a two-year postdoctorate at a marine biology institute in San Diego. Now I work as a corporate consultant, at all levels: market research, sales reorganization, purchasing, tender support.

Annick - H & Z