Faculty today
The Faculty of Physics has a proud history spanning over 200 years of fruitful work in the fields of education, science, and culture.
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STRUCTURE OF THE FACULTY
Currently, student training is carried out by 9 departments:
- Department of Experimental Physics, |
The departments have branches at institutes of the National Academy of Sciences in Kharkiv. In close collaboration with the Institute for Scintillation Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a specialization in "Physics of Nanocrystals and Nanostructures" has been launched on the basis of the scientific school of real crystal physics (Department of Crystal Physics). A scientific and educational center "Functional Materials" has been established, whose researchers won a grant for the implementation of the project "Development of New Composite Media for the Detection of Ionizing Radiation Based on Nanodispersed Materials."
The faculty also includes research and methodological laboratories, a unique helium liquefaction station, and mechanical workshops.
ACADEMIC STAFF
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Today, the faculty boasts strong academic potential. Teaching is carried out by lecturers from 9 departments, including:
– 2 full members and 2 corresponding members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
– a corresponding member of the Transport Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
– laureates of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology,
– Honored Educators of Ukraine,
– over 30 Doctors of Science and Professors,
– and more than 40 Candidates of Science and Associate Professors.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
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The Faculty of Physics trains specialists under the Bachelor's educational and professional programs (majors: Physics, Astronomy) with a study duration of 4 years, and Master's programs (specialties: Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Astronomy) with a duration of 1 year. Graduates receive the qualification of Research Fellow (in physics or astronomy) and University or Higher Education Lecturer. If desired, students may also obtain an additional qualification as a teacher of physics and mathematics.
The curriculum includes professional training courses such as general physics, theoretical physics, higher mathematics, computer science and programming, computer modeling, the use of computer technologies in scientific research, and specialized courses provided by the graduating departments. The teaching process begins with basic concepts and principles, following a structured and thorough approach with a gradual increase in complexity. For example, all branches of general physics are studied sequentially, starting with Newtonian mechanics. Leading lecturers and instructors, who also serve as academic advisors, provide consultations and ensure all necessary conditions are in place for first-year students to successfully adapt to university studies within a defined timeframe. The integration of traditional and modern educational technologies, along with a focus on individual student development, ensures that our students master the knowledge and skills needed to become highly qualified professionals and true experts in their fields.
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The development of scientific research has led to the introduction of new specialties and specializations:
Specialty "Physics", with specializations in:
- Physics of Magnetic Phenomena
- Magnetism of Nanoscale Systems
- Optics and Spectroscopy
- Nonlinear Optics of Nanoscale Structures
- Photonics and Optoinformatics
- Physics of Crystals and Functional Materials
- Physics of Nanocrystals and Nanosystems
- Low Temperature Physics
- Physics of Superconductivity
- Theoretical Physics
Specialty "Condensed Matter Physics", with specializations in:
- Physical Materials Science and Computational Metallography
- Physics of Biomaterials and Medical Materials Science
Specialty "Astronomy", with specializations in:
- Astrophysics
- Physics of the Solar System
- Space Informatics
In addition, the Department of Higher Mathematics plans to launch a new specialty in Computer Modeling of Physical Processes.
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The bases for industrial and pre-graduation internships are the B. I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (ILTPE NASU), the National Science Center “Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology” of NASU, the Scientific and Technological Complex “Institute for Single Crystals” of NASU, the V. Ya. Usikov Institute for Radiophysics and Electronics of NASU, the Research Institute of Astronomy of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, and the Mykolaiv Astronomical Observatory.
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One of the four fundamental principles of university education proclaimed by the Magna Charta Universitatum in Bologna is the inseparability of teaching and scientific research in universities. This principle has always been upheld by the Faculty of Physics. All students, starting from their third year—and often even earlier—are involved in scientific research. Each year, the Student Scientific Society (SSS) of the faculty organizes student scientific conferences on topics aligned with the most current issues in physics, such as the challenge of creating a quantum computer.
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Students of the Faculty of Physics undergo scientific internships at CeNIDE (Center for Nanointegration and Biomaterials) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany) and at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (Košice, Slovakia). These internships provide them with the opportunity to become familiar with the organization of education, the content of related academic courses, and the principles of knowledge assessment at these institutions. They also allow students to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods through modern forms of independent study and digital technologies. Students report on their experiences at faculty seminars. All of this promotes student involvement and enhances their role in shaping the content of education.
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Our students regularly take an active part in Regional, National, and International (including foreign) scientific conferences, where they present reports on the results of their own research.
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During their studies, students of the Faculty of Physics receive not only regular and increased scholarships but also have the opportunity to obtain the Presidential Scholarship, scholarships from various charitable foundations—including the Yu. Sapronov Foundation and the I. Ye. Tarapov Foundation—as well as named scholarships such as the Academician I. M. Lifshitz Scholarship and the Academician M. P. Barabashov Scholarship.
Within the framework of cooperation with the Universities of Duisburg-Essen and Bochum (Germany), our students also receive scholarships from the Leonard Euler Foundation (German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD) and other international foundations.
The high quality of education at the Faculty of Physics is confirmed by victories in prestigious competitions in physics, astronomy and astrophysics, theoretical mechanics, as well as by successful performances in student research contests and the Student Physics Tournament. For example, students Oleksii Maistrenko and Andrii Bozhko have repeatedly won the All-Ukrainian Student Physics Olympiad and the International Student Olympiad in Theoretical Mechanics.
One remarkable example: in 2008, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine awarded student Illia Levandovskyi a commemorative watch for his achievement as a prize-winner of the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. In the same year, he also received a letter of commendation from the Prime Minister of Ukraine for his outstanding academic success.
Almost every year, students of the Faculty of Physics win the All-Ukrainian Student Research Competition.
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The number of applicants is growing, and first-year enrollment is increasing.
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STUDENT LIFE
The Faculty of Physics is known not only for its strong academic foundation but also for its rich traditions. Our students not only work diligently and win prestigious awards and prizes, but they also know how to enjoy their free time in meaningful and fun ways. Every year, the traditional initiation ceremony “Dedication to Students” is held. Students actively participate in the freshman creativity contest “Alma Mater” and the “Miss University” competition. Well-known student groups such as the show-ballet “Kontrast”, the folk ensemble “Vesnianky”, the KVN team (Club of the Cheerful and Quick-Witted), and the intellectual games club “Phoenix” are always open to newcomers. Much attention is paid to choir and solo singing, modern pop and sports dancing. For many years, however, the hallmark of the Faculty of Physics has been the Faculty Day celebration, which includes a press conference of faculty and students, a torchlight procession to the spring in the Botanical Garden, and a grand concert featuring both guests and hosts. In addition, the faculty has something truly unique: the student science fiction club “Kontakt” and the international festival for the promotion of science and science fiction “Star Bridge.” Every September, this festival gathers guests from over 30 countries around the world for the cultural-scientific conference “Star Bridge.” In a prestigious competition held several years ago, a special committee in Copenhagen recognized this festival as the best of its kind in Europe.
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SPORTS LIFE
The Faculty of Physics also takes pride in its athletic achievements. In the framework of the university's student sports olympiad, the faculty traditionally ranks among the prize winners. This is made possible thanks to an excellent sports infrastructure. The “Unicourt” tennis club features 13 outdoor courts with both clay and hard surfaces, as well as a luxurious indoor tennis palace that includes courts and a gym. The “Karazinsky” educational and sports complex was built by the university’s faculty, staff, and students themselves. Students of the Faculty of Physics have access to 15 sports and wellness sections, including: basketball, volleyball, boxing, kickboxing, tennis, table tennis, fencing, football, mini-football, track and field, powerlifting, fitness, sambo wrestling, orienteering, and chess. Training is led by highly qualified instructors. The faculty's sports team has for many years been among the winners of the university’s Spartakiad (Sports Games), and it is especially noteworthy that this success is achieved without the involvement of “hired” athletes. This makes it fair to say that our students are genuine representatives of Student Sports.
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GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT
After obtaining a bachelor's degree, some students of the Faculty of Physics have continued their professional studies in master's programs in the United States, Germany, Sweden, and other countries. Some have pursued education in financial mathematics, for example, in Ulm, Germany.
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After obtaining a master's degree, graduates of the Faculty of Physics continue their studies in postgraduate programs in specialties such as Solid State Physics, Magnetism, Optics and Laser Physics, Theoretical Physics, Low Temperature Physics, Superconductivity, Heliophysics and Solar System Physics, Astrophysics and Radio Astronomy, Astrometry and Celestial Mechanics, and others. They pursue their PhD studies at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, research institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, as well as at universities and scientific institutions in Poland, Slovakia, Belgium, Germany, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and other countries.
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Інститут низьких температур та структурних досліджень ім. В. Тшебятовського Польскої Академії Наук (Вроцлав) |
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Університет імені Павла Йозефа Шафарика (Кошице, Словаччина) |
Graduates of the Faculty of Physics have opportunities to work in their field at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and at institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) in Kharkiv, including the B. I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering (ILTPE), the National Science Center "Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology", the Institute of Electrophysics, the Scientific and Technological Complex "Institute for Single Crystals", the V. Ya. Usikov Institute for Radiophysics and Electronics, and the Institute of Radio Astronomy, as well as at other institutions across Ukraine. Graduates may also work at research and production enterprises, industrial associations, and private firms. They can pursue careers as lecturers in higher education institutions in Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities, or as teachers of physics and mathematics (provided they obtain an additional qualification as a teacher of physics and mathematics).
The faculty maintains strong ties with a number of foreign educational and scientific institutions that offer employment opportunities for graduates. Among our international partners are, in particular, the Faculty of Physics of the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), the Faculty of Physics of the University of New Brunswick (Sackville, Canada), McGill University (Canada), the Institute of Physics of Goethe University (Frankfurt, Germany), the Institute of Solid State Physics of Friedrich Schiller University (Jena, Germany), the universities of Duisburg-Essen, Bochum, and Münster (Germany), the Institute of Metals in Düsseldorf (Germany), the Leibniz Institute (Rostock, Germany), the Institute of Physics of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (Košice, Slovakia), the Center for High Pressure Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Low Temperature and Structural Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Wrocław), the University of Science and Technology (Kraków, Poland), Bar-Ilan University (Israel), Ariel University (Ariel, Israel), the French Grande École Ecole Polytechnique (Paris), the Astrophysical Instrumentation Laboratory (Meudon, France), and others. A notable example is that our graduates work at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Department of Astronomy and Space Informatics maintains broad ties with many research institutions in Ukraine, the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Japan, and others. Astronomers cooperate with space agencies of Ukraine, the USA (NASA), and Europe (ESA). Graduates of the department work at scientific institutions in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Germany, the USA, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, China, and other countries.
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The SciVerse Scopus scientometric database has published a ranking of young scientists in Ukraine. Graduates of the Faculty of Physics are among the top fifty young researchers.
The Faculty of Physics’ program for cooperation between Ukrainian higher education institutions and employers, submitted to the competition “Where to Study to Get a Job. University Program Listings: The Most Promising Fields and Professions,” was included in the list of the best educational programs of Ukrainian universities.
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Our graduates are capable of working productively in modern fields of physics, including biomaterials and medical materials science, astrophysics and astronomy, financial mathematics, computer modeling, and IT technologies.
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY
The Faculty of Physics is home to several globally renowned scientific schools, which were established and continue to develop actively. These include:
- Theoretical Physics,
- Solid State Physics,
- Low-Temperature Physics,
- Magnetism,
- Physics of Real Crystals,
- Physical Optics,
- Solar System Physics.
For example, the scientific school of theoretical physics at Kharkiv University was founded by prominent scientists—Nobel and Lenin Prize laureate Academician L. D. Landau and Lenin Prize laureate Academician I. M. Lifshitz.
Today, faculty researchers focus on:
- Quantum field theory,
- Theory of gravitation,
- Theory of condensed matter,
- Disordered systems,
- Nonlinear physics,
- Mesoscopics, spintronics, magnonics,
- Contemporary problems of superconductivity and high-temperature superconductivity,
- Thermophysical and mechanical properties of metals and structural materials at low temperatures for advanced technologies,
- Low-dimensional magnetic and normal nanosystems, including carbon and semiconductor nanotubes as promising materials for modern nanotechnologies,
- Magnetism of ultrafine particles and multilayer thin films,
- Properties of frustrated magnetic and electric systems,
- Laser physics,
- Optical effects in nanometer-thick metallic films,
- Mechanisms of mass transfer in defective crystals,
- Mechanical, diffusion, and relaxation properties of solids with different defect structures.
At the Department of Astronomy and Space Informatics, research includes:
- Interaction of electromagnetic radiation with rough planetary surfaces,
- Chemical-mineralogical and geological-morphological properties of the Moon’s and planets’ surfaces based on ground-based observations and space experiments,
- Physical properties of asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects, and comets,
- The problem of asteroid hazard and extraterrestrial resources,
- Active processes in the solar chromosphere, space weather,
- Internal structure of substellar objects,
- Characteristics of the stars closest to the Sun and the structure of the Galaxy,
- Problems of fundamental astrometry.
Observations are conducted of gravitational lensing of quasars by galaxies, as well as development of methods to improve the angular resolution of ground-based telescopes. Remote sensing of the Earth and planets is also carried out, aimed at addressing humanity’s environmental challenges.
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Recent practical developments include:
- A method for measuring the refractive indices of dielectrics using photoinduced periodic structures,
- A technique for implanting silver nanoparticles into optical quartz glass under the influence of an infrared CO₂ laser beam,
- New advanced technologies (cryochemical and radiation-thermal) for producing fine-dispersed ferrite powders designed for high-density magnetic recording,
- The development of magnetic system components for a collider,
- A method of controlled vacuum heat treatment of steel products, and more.
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Developments in the field of biomaterials physics and medical materials science have laid the foundation for the creation of unique calcium-phosphate nanomaterials for implants, which, in terms of composition, morphology, and structure, closely resemble the mineral component of the hard tissue of vertebrates. Postoperative studies have shown that these biomaterials are highly effective artificial bone substitutes suitable for widespread clinical use.
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The academic output of the Department of Theoretical Physics named after Academician I. M. Lifshitz amounts to nearly 100 publications annually, including research articles, reviews, monographs, and textbooks.
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Researchers of the "Functional Materials" Center, operating at the Department of Crystal Physics, won a grant to implement a project in the section "New Substances and Materials".
At a meeting of the Scientific Coordination Council of the State Target Scientific, Technical, and Social Program "Science in Universities", operating under the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the results of the competition for scientific and scientific-technical projects were summarized. Based on the competition results, researchers from Karazin University were awarded a grant to implement the project "Development of new composite media for the registration of ionizing radiation based on nanodispersed materials" in the section "New Substances and Materials". The project is being developed by the Scientific and Educational Center "Functional Materials", based at the Department of Crystal Physics of the Faculty of Physics. The project is led by Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Professor Yu. V. Malyukin.
The main objective of the project is the development and study of nanodispersed composite scintillators based on porous materials doped with impurity ions and nanoparticles of various nature, as well as thin scintillation films made from materials with high thermal neutron detection efficiency. Within the project, it is planned to develop techniques for obtaining porous materials based on SiO₂ sol-gel matrices, anodized aluminum, and colloidal crystals with controlled pore sizes, as well as to develop and improve existing methods for producing scintillating nanocrystals and thin films. The obtained nanocrystals will be incorporated into porous matrices, which will allow the creation of composite scintillation materials. Nanocrystals will be introduced into the pores by both impregnating the matrices with nanoparticle solutions and vapor-phase deposition. It is also planned to introduce ions with a high capture cross-section and organic scintillators into the porous matrices to obtain efficient materials for thermal neutron detection. In addition, the project envisions producing scintillation films based on materials with a high content of ions with a large neutron capture cross-section (particularly Gd), enabling the creation of effective thin-film neutron detectors.
These developments can be applied in nuclear physics, elementary particle physics, and electronics.
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The Dean of the Faculty of Physics, Prof. R. V. Vovk, is the regional coordinator (Kharkiv region) for the 7th International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) within the framework of the NoWaPhen project "Novel Wave Phenomena in Magnetic Nanostructures", funded by the European Community.
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The Department of Solid State Physics at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (led by Prof. Z. Z. Zyman) cooperates in the field of biomaterials physics and medical materials science with the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany (led by Prof. M. Epple, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry), within the framework of the Leonard Euler Program of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
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Recently, grants have been awarded for scientific work and cooperation with the Demokritos Research Center (Athens, Greece), Brighton University, the University of Exeter (UK), Friedrich Schiller University (Jena, Germany), and the grant of Armory Research Laboratory (USA).
The faculty hosts a specialized academic council for the defense of dissertations for the degrees of Candidate and Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
The professional academic journal "Bulletin of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series: Physics" is published by the faculty.
