greeting

What kind of discipline does the term Applied Physics inspire in you? One simple answer would be "engineering applications of physics". It is about contributing to the development of society through engineering applications based on physics. This is of course one of the important aspects of applied physics. However, there is another important aspect of our department. That is "to innovate physics through engineering". In other words, we are contributing to the development of physics itself from an engineering standpoint.

If we look back in history, the birth of thermodynamics in the 19th century was against the background of the Industrial Revolution. The failure of all attempts to create a perpetual motion led to the establishment of the second law of thermodynamics. Also in the early 20th century, quantum mechanics was born, and its background was the demand to estimate the temperature of a blast furnace from the spectrum of light. The inability of classical electromagnetism to explain their relationship led to the idea of quantized photons. Quantum mechanics was thus born and has become the foundation of science and technology, indispensable for understanding semiconductors, chemical reactions, and so on. Thus, there is a positive spiral in which industrial demand gives rise to new physics, which in turn responds to industrial demand.

As we enter the 21st century, engineering and physics, or industrial demand and fundamental science, are increasingly inseparable. In particular, our department focuses on two major disciplines: quantum materials and quantum information. For example, a special kind of quantum material called topological material is expected to be useful in low energy-consumption information processing devices due to its characteristic of generating dissipationless currents at room temperature. Quantum computers and quantum cryptography make full use of the properties of quantum mechanics to enable high-speed calculations that are impossible with classical computers and cryptography that cannot be broken in principle. In both cases, there is a direct link between the fundamental principles of physics and state-of-the-art applications, and our department has become a world-class research center.

Our department has prepared a curriculum of both physics and engineering. Based on the basic skills developed in this way, fourth-year students dive into state-of-the-art research as a member of a laboratory for their graduation research projects. We believe that students will have a stimulating life in which they will challenge cutting-edge research topics.

Today, the world is undergoing a period of drastic change. In such an environment, physics has a universality that is powerful anywhere in the world and remains a fundamental principle no matter how the times change. Department of Applied Physics hopes to be a department that provides a strong foundation for students to play an active role in such society.