Interdisciplinary area where new and advanced materials, devices and systems are engineered based on a fundamental understanding of physics.

Our faculty and students push the envelope of new technologies. Research in the Engineering Physics Department emphasizes new engineering disciplines that have emerged in recent years. In these high technology areas the link between basic science and engineering application is particularly important. Research activities stress the fundamental physics that relates to the new technologies, as well as its application to practical engineering problems. 

Through strong ties to industry, government, and other centres of excellence, our researchers work with others around the world to create knowledge and find engineering solutions to many of society’s problems and challenges.

Devices that are constructed on the nanometer or micrometer scale are the technological backbone of modern society. Since the invention of the transistor in 1947 and the introduction of the integrated circuit in the early 1960’s, device components have continuously decreased in size and cost at an exponential rate, while increasing in speed and capabilities. The invention of fibre optic communications, essential for the internet, also relies on the development of optoelectronics, which is the study and application of electronic devices that generate, detect and control light. More recently, the fabrication techniques developed for the integrated circuit industry have also been extended to micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) which create tiny moving mechanical parts such as beams, gears, diaphragms, and springs that are used in inkjet-printers, accelerometers, inertial sensors, micro-mirrors, optical scanners, fluid pumps, and sensors. Novel micro-fluidic devices are also being developed for integration with lab-on-a-chip systems for biomedical and health care applications. The department is also developing nanotechnology to grow integrated circuits and systems directly on a chip.

The sun and stars are powered by nuclear fusion, a process whereby lighter elements are combined to form heavier ones, releasing energy. On earth, nuclear processes are controlled in reactors where nuclear energy is released and converted to electricity for human use. In nuclear engineering, we apply scientific principles, engineering design and analysis, and computer modeling and simulation for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Situated on campus is the university’s very own nuclear research reactor, with a long and proud tradition, providing many exciting and unique research opportunities in the areas of reactor physics, nuclear safety analysis, advanced nuclear materials, and nuclear fuel and waste management.

We also conduct extensive research in photovoltaics (solar electricity) in which semiconductor devices are used to convert sunlight directly into electricity. The efficiency by which sunlight can be converted to electricity is approaching 50%, but only by using expensive materials and processes. We are exploring alternative methods of producing high efficiency and low cost solar electricity using nanotechnology and micro-systems engineering.    

The branch of science & engineering that involves the generation, control, & detection of light to provide useful applications for society.

From manufacturing to medicine, the applications of light are everywhere. Photons are the quantum mechanical unit of light. They play a central role in many technologies. In the past two decades, photonics engineering experienced explosive growth in fibre optic communications, where light is used to transfer information over great distances. This formed the basis of the internet. The application of light also extends to many other industries such as medicine, displays, and sensors.

Photonics is also beginning to play a bigger role in clean, renewable electrical energy generation through solar and thermal photovoltaics (solar electricity). Our research encompasses a wide spectrum of projects involving light sources, lasers and light emitting diodes, photodetectors, sensors, photovoltaics, and optical displays. We are also conducting research in biophotonics, a fast emerging field in which light is used for applications in medicine, biomedical engineering, life sciences, agriculture, and environmental science.