Research Opportunities for Undergradates at CUHK Physics

 

 

        In CUHK, we strongly encourage our undergraduate students to participate in research projects.  The physics curriculum and other student-centered learning activities provide ample opportunities for undergraduate research. Year 1 students may work on projects to earn credits (PHYS 371s, PHYS372s), or in some cases, even stipends. Many students also make informal arrangement with professors to take up study or research projects during the summer in our summer mentorship program. Year 3 students may elect to take up final-year projects (PHYS4610, 4620) and carry out research work alongside graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and professors.  Professors in CUHK Physics are all actively engaged in research, and their specialties cover a broad range of interest, including astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, econo-physics, physics of complex systems, quantum chemistry, quantum computing, mathematical physics, materials science, optics, and turbulence. The department provides a balanced exposure to experimental and theoretical, as well as applied and pure physics research opportunities.

        A unique opportunity for CUHK Physics students is The Summer Undergraduate Research Exchange (SURE) program. Entering its seventh year, the program has arranged and provided financial support for over 40 students to take up summer research projects at leading research groups in the US and UK. For details about the program, please visit www.phy.cuhk.edu.hk/sure.

Another program which has just been launched this year is the Overseas Program for Undergraduate Students (OPUS). This offers an opportunity to our students to go to the University of California-Berkeley, Peking University or Fudan University to take courses and to carry out summer research. There were four students went to UC-Berkeley in 2006 and five students went to Peking University and UC-Berkeley in 2007.

        The department has also arranged for summer internships for undergraduate students in local companies and institutions, including secondary schools (Summer Teacher AppRenticeship program www.phy.cuhk.edu.hk/star), Hong Kong Observatory, and companies in the industrial sector.

       

         Serious undergraduate research work, coupled with our solid curriculum, has trained generations of students, many of whom are working as professional physicists in industries, laboratories and universities all around the world. In recent years, nearly 60% of our students pursue further studies upon graduation.