Department Of Physics

Vision
To be a center of academic excellence producing highly skilled, competent, and innovative graduates in all areas of
physics.

Mission
To provide quality teaching and research at undergraduate and postgraduate level so as to impart and generate new
knowledge that supports initiating and sustaining growth and development of our Nation in line with vision 2030.

Internal Links

We are part of the School of Pure and Applied Sciences (SPAS) offering Bachelor of Science (Telecommunication and Information technology) and Bachelor of Science (General), MSc (Physics), MSc (Electronics and Instrumentation), PhD (Physics) and PhD (Materials Science). In addition, the department services other departments in SPAS: the school of Education (in Bachelor of Education, Sc.) and School of Engineering. Our students combine Physics with units offered by Mathematics and Chemistry Departments.

Specialty and Branding

To enhance physics graduates career prospects in today's competitive and changing job market, we revise our courses regularly. We offer both pure and applied physics courses where in the third and fourth year of study you will have an opportunity to select an area of specialization from the following areas: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Electronics and Instrumentation, Environmental Physics, Geophysics, Materials Science and Theoretical/Pure Physics.

We have postgraduate programmes in M.Sc. (Physics), M. Sc. (Electronics and Instrumentation) as well as Ph. D. (Physics) and PhD (materials science).

External Links

We have active linkages with the following international universities and research institutes: University of Free State (SA), University of Johannesburg (UJ), University of South Africa (UNISA), University of Leeds (UK), Shivaji University (India), South Africa Astronomical Observatory(SA), Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (Germany), Siegen University (Germany), University of Leipzig (Germany), University of Aachen (Germany),and  Hirosaki university (Japan). Locally, we have linkage with Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The linkages have seen our postgraduate students benefit from scholarships while our lecturers have benefited from staff-exchange visits. There are opportunities for our postgraduate students to continue benefiting from these collaborations.

Resources

The Department has four undergraduate laboratories and a research laboratory managed by highly trained and experienced technical staff. The main equipment available for experimental Physics research include the Dynamic Mechanical Analyses (DMA), Vacuum Coating Unit and its accessories, NaI (TI) gamma ray spectrometer, Water Cherenkov Counter and its accessories, Antenna Trainer and Satellite communication trainer kits, magnetometer for geophysical measurements, optical spectrometer and computing facilities among others. The Department also has an active group in theoretical atomic collisions Physics.

Student Employability

Physicists are in high demand and the careers open to them are diverse. The opportunities available include:

• Our students can take: Higher degrees in M.Sc. (Physics), M. Sc. (Electronics and Instrumentation) as well as Ph. D. (Physics and materials science) to prepare our graduates to work as researcher scientists, in academia and in Physics Education
• Government Departments, including Materials Laboratory in the ministries of Transport and Communications, Public Works, Energy, Environment and Natural Resource
• Government Agencies such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards and radiation monitoring agencies
• Non-governmental organization and private companies such as Oil and minerals exploration and mining Companies, telecommunication companies
• Above all, our physics graduates are equipped with various analytical and practical skills which allow them to adapt easily to other related fields.