The Department of Physics was established in 1964 for B.Sc. (Physics) course. The intake capacity of the B.Sc. (Physics) course is 20. Also, the M.Sc. (Physics, Solid State Physics) was started in 2018 with intake capacity of 40. The Department has always placed equal emphasis both on teaching and active research. The number of students from our department have been placed in the merit list of the University and few of them have topped in the University merit list. In total, 03 students of our department have received "President of India Medal for General Proficiency, Shivaji University, Kolhapur". This award was received by our meritorious students Miss. Sonali Beknalkar (2017), Mr. Satyajeet Patil (2019) and Mr. Saurabh Patil (2021). Master students could publish their research work carried out during their M.Sc. Research Project in Peer reviewed International Journals with high impact factor.
Experienced faculty of the Department is devoted to research in their respective areas of specialization. The Google Scholar Citations of Dr. Sanjay S. Latthe (7047, h-index: 46, i-10 index: 70), Dr. S. I. Inamdar (618, h-index: 07, i-10 index: 07), Dr. G. J. Navathe (155, h-index: 05, i-10 index: 05), Dr. T. U. Urunkar (151, h-index: 09, i-10 index: 07), Dr. N. A. Narewadikar (27, h-index: 03, i-10 index: 01), Mr. Abhijeet Shinde (72, h-index: 04, i-10 index: 03), which depicts the quality of their research work.
The Department of Physics has signed International MoU with Henan University, China in the year 2022. Under this functional International MoU, till now, our 01 M.Sc. student Miss. Alsaba Sayyad has been selected to pursue Ph.D. in Henan University from September 2023 and also research articles in International Peer Reviewed Journals are jointly published.
Total 07 Ph.D. scholars are working under the guidance of departmental faculty. The major research areas of the department are ceramics, supercapacitors, thin films, photodetectors, gas sensors, aerogels, superhydrophobic coatings and photocatalytic coatings for self-cleaning applications, nanofiber membranes for oil-water separation application, sol-gel processed materials, solar cells, and others. The guest lectures and invited talks by the eminent professors and researchers from India and abroad are arranged to create awareness amongst the students about the advancements in Physics and research in Materials Science.
The total research grant received by the department from various funding agencies is over Rs. 0.35 Lakhs. The instruments available for smooth conduct of research are Dip Coater, Spin Coater, Spray Coater, Hydrothermal Unit, Spray Pyrolysis Unit, Centrifuge, Oven, Furnace, Magnetic Stirrers, Ultrasonic Cleaner, UV-Light Chamber, Digital Balance, KBr Press Unit, Distilled Water Plant, Micropipettes, pH Meter, etc. All the cabins, staff room, lecture halls and laboratories in the department are equipped with computer and internet facilities. The department has its own mini-library with a collection of about 78 text/reference books.