Department of Physics

We are one of the UK's top Physics departments and have a reputation for high-quality teaching, driven by outstanding research, performed in an inclusive and welcoming community.

Welcome to the Department of Physics at Durham

The Physics Department is a thriving centre for research and education.

We are proud that our Department closely aligns the teaching and learning experience for its students with the research-intensive values and practices of the University. Research-led teaching is embedded at all levels from first year laboratory reports to our final year MSci flagship individual research projects.

The Department incorporates the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics, is home to the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology and the Institute for Computational Cosmology. The Ogden Centre is also the base for our innovative outreach programme for school children and their teachers.

Find out more about us

2nd in the UK for Physics The Guardian University Guide 2023

6th in the UK for Physics and Astronomy - Complete University Guide 2023

96% of our research outputs are world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021)

3rd in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

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Before you arrive Welcome and Induction

News

'Ultramassive' black hole discovered by Durham astronomers

Astronomers say they have found one of the universe's largest black holes to date using a new technique. Scientists at Durham University discovered the "ultramassive" black hole by observing its pull on passing light, called gravitational lensing. Dr James Nightingale who led the study said even he struggled to "comprehend how big this thing is". Their findings have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

ESA/Hubble/Digitized Sky Survey/Nick Risinger

Chi Onwurah MP invited to be the Sir Gareth Roberts Lecture speaker for 2023

Chi Onwurah MP is this year’s invited speaker to deliver the 2023 Gareth Roberts Lecture. The lecture is titled: ‘A Life in Science, Engineering and Politics’ and will take place in the Ph8 lecture theatre on 8 March 2023 at 4.30pm

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023

To celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023 we invited girls from local schools to visit the Physics Department, to take part in a range of activities and to raise awareness about the important role female scientists play in Physics research.

Physics Department Developing Talent Award 2023 Winners

The Physics Department Developing Talent Award promotes, enhances and encourages the possibility of early career researchers developing their research careers within the Department by providing up to £10,000 in flexible funding.

Physics Department Developing Talent Award 2023 applicants

Durham graduate named new generation astronaut

We’re exceptionally proud to say that Durham graduate Dr Rosemary Coogan has been named as a new generation astronaut.

Would you wear a living shoe? How Durham academics have used microbes to create living materials, granting structure and motility in biohybrid systems

Dr Margarita Staykova from the Centre for Materials Physics has teamed up with Durham University sociologist Professor Tiago Moreira to discover some of the science and ethics of using microbes to create materials.

Would you wear a living shoe? The Royal Society poses the question, with the image of a boot with illuminated multicoloured veins spreading through it

Athena Swan Silver Award

We are Delighted to announce that the Physics department has been awarded Athens Swan Silver status until 2027 after going through a rigorous re-accreditation process.

#takemebacktuesday: Reflecting on 2022's Nobel Prize in Physics winner Prof. Alain Aspect, who opened our revamped laboratories ten years ago.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 was awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger "for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science".

A smiling Prof Alain Aspect opening the refurbished laboratories in the Physics department in 2012

Prominent Durham Professors named in Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2022

Our academics are leading the way for world-class research and their influence and research quality has been recognised with their inclusion in the prestigious Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers for this year.

Supercomputer simulations reveal new possibilities for the Moon's origin

Our pioneering scientists from the Institute for Computational Cosmology used supercomputer simulations to reveal an alternate explanation for the Moon’s origin, as a satellite placed immediately into orbit following a giant impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body.

Prestigious grant awarded for research into Quantum Simulation and Ultracold Molecules

Professor Simon Cornish of the Quantum Light and Matter (QLM) research section has been awarded a prestigious UKRI Frontier Research Grant: “SimPoMol – Quantum Simulation with Ultracold Polar Molecules” The grant is for £2.6 million and started on 1st October.

An optical bench showing some of the optical components needed to realise a state-of-the-art cold molecule experiment.

Redeveloped CMP laboratories officially opened

Professor Brian Tanner, former Head of the Physics Department, officially opened three new laboratories on behalf of the Centre for Materials Physics.