Master in Condensed Matter Physics At MEGA-Science Facilities

• Level of education: Master program
• Type of instruction: Full-time
• Duration: 2 years
• Language of instruction: English

The training plan of the master’s program enables graduates to know the fundamentals of the physics of the interaction of neutron and synchrotron radiation with matter (solid-state matter, soft matter, objects of living nature, nano- and heterostructures) as well as a physics-mathematical apparatus, which describes the processes of generation, propagation, and scattering of coherent radiation and control the parameters of the neutron and synchrotron beams.

Program Mission

This Master’s program targets graduates who completed Bachelor’s or Specialist’s programs in the areas of study related to physics, chemistry, and biology.

The program is focused on training highly qualified specialists and experts in the field of condensed matter physics. It is on the basis of the Department of Nuclear Physics Research Methods, possessing the ‘Master’ level competencies in accordance with the educational standards of St Petersburg University.

Graduates of the program will be in demand in such industries as a complex of MEGA-class research facilities – neutron and synchrotron research centers in Russia and worldwide; information technology; nano- and biotechnology; heavy and light industries; and instrument-making industry.

They will be able to have successful careers as physicist-researchers and physicist-engineers and teachers of higher education institutions. They will also be able to design and develop high technologies in government and business entities.

Research and innovative activities

• all types of research activities using the methods of diffraction, small-angle scattering, reflectometry, and spectroscopy of neutrons and synchrotron radiation to study the properties of condensed matter on macro-, micro-, nano-, and atomic scales in relation to the structure of solids and defects of crystal structure; phase equilibria and phase transitions; research methods of crystal and magnetic structures and their dynamics; the effect of radiation on the properties of solids; interaction of penetrating radiation with matter; and the theory of condensed matter and magnetic and electronic properties of solids.
• developing the condensed matter theory, the theory of small-angle scattering, diffraction, and reflectometry of radiation or flows of particles and quasiparticles on solid-phase and liquid objects.
• research and development aimed at developing techniques and methods used to study, design, and produce nanostructures, devices, and systems. They include targeted control and modification of the shape, size, interaction, and integration of their constituent nanoscale elements (about 1-100 nm), the presence of which leads to an improvement or to the appearance of additional operational and/or consumer characteristics and properties of the products obtained.
• the use of tools and processes of nano- and micro-designing to create devices for studying biosystems and applications for drug delivery, diagnostic testing, etc.
• data processing services and data processing activities.
• development and upgrading of innovative research equipment of synchrotron and neutron stations that use synchrotron radiation sources, free-electron lasers, research reactors, and pulsed neutron sources.
• training and producing qualified specialists as a specific innovative product.

Managerial activities

• ensuring the operation of the experimental equipment lines for the synchrotron radiation and neutron channels at research reactors in a user mode, coordinating work on research and innovation projects, and managing research teams;
• application of neutron and synchrotron research methods in related fields of knowledge: chemistry, geology, medicine, and biology;
• participation in public discussions and discussions that require the ability to show and explain to society the role and importance of condensed matter physics and MEGA-science facilities in various aspects of life;
• presenting reports at scientific conferences;
• delivering lectures in educational institutions of secondary general education (schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, and colleges).

Main Courses

• Role of Social Sciences and Humanities in Contemporary Natural Sciences
• Fundamentals of Cognitive Sciences
• History and Methodology of Physics: Key Experiments in Physics of the 20th to 21st Centuries
• Layered Structures, Polymers, and Colloids: Small-Angle Scattering and Reflectometry of Neutrons and Synchrotron Radiation
• Nanosystems and Physical Fundamentals of Nanotechnology
• Structure and Properties of Macromolecules, Liquid Crystals, Colloids, and Biological Molecules
• Scientific Seminar ‘Role of Social Sciences and Humanities in Contemporary Natural Science’
• Complementarity of Computational Methods of Quantum Chemistry and Neutron and Optical Spectroscopy of Biologically Active Materials Simulation of Neutron Instruments and Neutron Scattering Processes

During training, students will acquire skills in obtaining, processing, and analyzing information produced at neutron and synchrotron stations as well as knowledge of new methods of registration and processing images, diagnosing various objects and processes, and studying the fundamental properties of matter. They will be able to plan research into new functional materials using modern methods that use neutron and synchrotron radiation.

Prospects for a future career in research and business

Students have an opportunity to be involved in the implementation of projects supported by grants from Russian and international scientific foundations: the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, the Russian Science Foundation, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to name just a few. Students are also fully engaged in schools and conferences organized by the National Research Center ‘Kurchatov Institute’ and B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute: Winter School on Condensed Matter Physics; a conference on small-angle scattering (SAS) ‘MURomets’; a workshop on inelastic neutron scattering ‘Spectrina’; a school on polarised neutron physics, and others.

Key positions

• R&D and its management in the field of natural sciences, technical sciences, and nanotechnology
• nondestructive testing
• computer simulation