Checking the cleaning process of nanoscale particles in ultra high vac­uum apparatus.

Superconductivity, quantum phenomena, and special relativity are all topics Physics students encounter early on in their studies at the UDE. In the process, they benefit from an ideal research environment, one which will secure the Faculty of Physics' leading role in basic research for years to come. The Faculty is currently home to no less than four DFG Collaborative Research Centres, each with 15 to 20 projects of its own, in which researchers work together on specific questions. In addition to these are a number of similarly DFG-funded Research Training Groups and Research Units, and various EU projects. Together they account for over five million Euros in external funding per year.

In the Statistical Physics and Nonlinear Dynamics field of research, the Faculty is top of the current DFG Funding Ranking in Germany, with a total of 1.7 million Euros in grants for the three-year period under review. At 7.7 million Euros, Condensed Matter is fifth nationwide and thereby top of the list for North Rhine-Westphalia.

The UDE is one of the most important nanotechnology centres in Germany. The very fruitful networking of disciplines with engineering sciences is one of the reasons behind this success. Empirical educational research in science teaching is another such area of interdisciplinary work. The preferred fields of research include solid state and surface physics, magnetism, ultra-short-time physics, the physics of thin films, quantum systems, structure and phase transitions, the physics of traffic, and the formation of planets.

The outstanding calibre of the experts at the Faculty of Physics was demonstrated once again when Prof. em. Dr. Dr. h.c. Robert Graham was awarded the honourable Max-Planck Medal, the highest accolade of the German Physical Society. Professor Graham conducts extremely successful research into quantum-mechanical aspects of quantum optics and is among the world's most revered theoretical physicists.

The Faculty also proves popular with school pupils: a taster course which will have been in operation for ten years in 2010, the nationally acclaimed freestyle-physics competition which has attracted more than 12,000 young people to the UDE, and practical training are all designed to give potential students an insight into the research laboratories and what it is like to study physics at the university. The Faculty of Physics is also currently setting up a school lab which will be operated jointly with the Faculty of Engineering. It is designed to demonstrate the applications of nanotechnology in everyday life through hands-on experiments.