In a bold move to orientate the traditional science degree towards an interdisciplinary focus, the departments of Physics and Materials Engineering have introduced new options into the University of Cape Town's Physical Sciences Programme. The project, which is being spearheaded by senior lecturers Dr. Candy Lang (Mat. Eng) and, Dr. Margit H„rting (Physics) aims to produce graduates with the necessary qualifications for both industrial research and management who have a solid grounding in the Physics of Engineering Materials. After graduating with a joint degree in Physics and Materials Engineering, students will also be eligible to either continue their academic studies further on the Physics Departments internationally renowned Honours programme or to complete further training as an engineer.
The new curriculum is the result of three years intensive discussions in both departments and by a working group consisting of Drs Lang and Härting and their colleagues Craig Comrie, David Britton (both Physics) and Kashif Marcus (Mat Eng). According to Assoc Prof. Britton the new programme has given the Physics Department the chance to introduce a new flavour to the senior Physics courses, which has a more applied orientation and should appeal to students who may not see their future in an academic environment. Besides articulating with the Materials Engineering courses, to produce a coherent well rounded degree programme, this flavour of physics will almost certainly appeal to science students in other non-mathematical academic programmes.
The new stream will be open in the coming academic year to returning second year students, who have completed full first year courses in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. In the second year, students will experience a full course in Physics (comprising Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, the Physics of Solids, and the Physics of Fluids), and a half course in Materials Engineering (covering the Science of Materials, Materials Science in Engineering, and Electrical Materials). Additionally students will be expected to take a half course in Applied Mathematics and one additional course of their own choice. In their third year students will major jointly in Physics (with courses in Thermal, Optical, Solid State, Computational, and Experimental and Applied Physics) and Materials Engineering (with courses in Materials under Stress, Polymers, Ceramics and Metals).