The article is written by Dr. Ayan Khan, Associate Professor at the Department of Physics, Bennett University. He is a Ph.D. from the University of Camrino, Italy and has completed his M.Sc. from IIT Guwahati, India. His research interests include BCS-BEC Crossover, Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC), Quantum Liquid and Applications to Quantum Technology.
Engineering Physics, popularly known as EP, is a unique branch of its own. The B.Tech in Engineering Physics has been a very popular course in the western world for the last several decades. The course was germinated in the war-ravaged west, to bridge the gap between science and technology in the late 1940s. After the success of this course in the US, Canada and Europe, in India EP was first introduced in the early 1980s at IIT Bombay. Then slowly it started spreading across the nation with the second entrant being IIT Delhi in the 1990s. However, in the last couple of years, we observe the interest in EP has increased manifold and thus breaking the initial inertia the course is now adopted in several IITs and NITs across India.
Though the fundamental objective of the program is building a strong foundation in Physics, it also takes the students through various applications of the principles of physics. The excellent grounding in Physics, along with rigorous training in Mathematics and Engineering allows the students to be able to handle a variety of problems and prepares themselves for a variety of careers.
Building the Essential Foundation
Nevertheless, general awareness about EP is still lacking. One simple reason is that we are very familiar with B.Sc Physics. Hence, we get confused about EP. The primary question that arises is, does EP deal with science or engineering? But as mentioned above, the vision of this course cannot be dealt with a direct answer rather it encompasses myriads of intellectual tryst. The fundamental objective of EP is to shorten the long journey from laboratory prototype to industrial production. However, the rigorous training adds extra wings to the graduates, and they start flying toward diverse opportunities ranging from R&D to finance or IT to higher education. The success stories of the graduates from a handful of IITs have given the impetus to several other IITs and NITs to come up with B. Tech EP courses. However, rather surprisingly no university system in India, be it government or private, actually offers the B. Tech in EP degree with only exception being Bennett University. Bennett University happens to be a relatively new entry in the pantheon of higher education in India located in the Delhi NCR region and run by the illustrious Bennett and Coleman (Times of India) group.
A university system in comparison to the technical education institutions adds more dimension for a regular student. As students from diverse disciplines harbor the same premises, the probability of a more holistic intellectual development rises significantly. For example, teaming up of an engineering and a management graduate can lead to an exciting voyage towards entrepreneurial venture whereas a partnership of a science and a law graduate can have serious ramification of the evolution of intellectual property rights.
Diversified Learning via Projects
At Bennett University EP Program, a student get opportunity to do Minor in diverse subjects across schools such as Management, Law, Media or Liberal Arts and not to mention the courses in Computer Science or Electronics. This allows a graduate to develop multidimensional skill while honing their talent and passion in Physics. The experience of Minor courses can lead a student toward scientific writing, patent management, entrepreneurial ventures to name a few. The program also allows the student to carry out Honors in cutting edge research topics such as Quantum Technology and Material Science. It must be noted here that Material Science and Nanotechnology is in the forefront of research across the globe and Quantum Technology happens to be the future. The center for innovation and entrepreneurship is the torch bearer for the students who have entrepreneurial mindset.
It is evident that these aspects make the EP course at Bennett University an exciting prospect. In its short journey, the Physics department, which offers the B. Tech in EP degree, has witnessed several such success stories where the passion for Physics and Mathematics has catapulted the students to win international accolades. Students themselves are coming out with innovative ideas to shape Physics in a more lucid way through their own start up with the support from the university incubation center. As some students are winning opportunities to study abroad, some are joining educational startups with healthy packages.
It must be noted that the EP program actually germinated in the realm of a university system only and still today the leading lights happen to be the private universities such as Stanford, Princeton, Harvard. However, in India it happens to be relatively untrodden territory with only contribution from a handful of eminent technical institutions as mentioned earlier. Therefore, the offering of Bennett University is a complete new experience for any Indian. The internationally acclaimed faculty with an unmatched rigorous curriculum makes the student ready to apply the concepts of physics to tackle engineering challenges of this century, and to apply hands on engineering experience to address the questions in physics. The four-dimensional approach in teaching and learning is adding value to this mission.
It is an unfortunate fact that Engineering Physics at Bennett University is only competing with itself among the universities. However, the renewed interest of the technical institutions in this course may encourage more and more universities to come up with such a course which has the potential to redefine the future of technology.
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