About Our School

The School of Physics Sciences brings together and consolidates the University’s broad range of cutting edge research in the fundamental disciplines of chemistry, earth sciences and physics.

The School is also the home to two of the University’s Research Institutes, ARC Centres of Excellence and several Research Centres.
A full range of undergraduate degrees with majors and postgraduate studies at different levels, Honours, Master of Science and Philosophy of Doctorate, programs, are offered by the School.
Our staff and students are active in the field both learning and doing research within our departments of

Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry provides students and researchers with a study of the structure, physical and chemical properties and reactions of elements and compounds.  Students learn how to apply this knowledge to develop new and useful chemicals such as plastics, fuels and pharmaceuticals, for use in manufacture, medicine and the environment.

Research within the field of chemical sciences has international recognition for excellence in the areas of laser & ion chemistry (one of the leading facilities in the southern hemisphere), medicinal & biological chemistry, organometallic chemistry, molecular recognition, and new materials.   Chemical research is a multidisciplinary endeavour that overlaps with biology, physics, medicine, and material science.

Earth Sciences

The Department of Earth Sciences involves the study of how our planet is built, how it works and how its precious resources can be located and used.  Geology and Geophysics is one of the most diverse of the sciences covering everything from meteorites to dinosaurs and from gold deposits to volcanoes.

This discipline undertakes research into our planet, investigating the earth, from its surface, through its crust and to its deep mantle using outcropping rocks, boreholes and geophysical remote sensing. From cataclysmic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to imperceptibly slow surface weathering, we investigate the processes that have shaped our planet, its resources endowment and its environment throughout its 4.5 billion year history.

Physics

The Department of Physics provides an understanding of the structure of matter and the nature of the universe.  Students may choose to develop a detailed knowledge of relativity, optics and photonics, lasers, mathematical physics, nuclear or solid state physics. Mathematical and Computer Science courses are often taken along with Physics.

Research areas include Environmental Luminescence, High Energy Astrophysics, High Energy Particle Physics, Medical Physics, Optics and Photonics, Space and Atmospheric Physics and Theoretical Physics.