UTSA physics doctoral program yielding great dividends

By Christi Fish
Director of Communications

(March 6, 2015) -- An annual survey by the National Science Foundation (NSF) found that the nation's students earned 52,760 doctoral degrees in 2013. Yet, physics students earned just 2,205 (4.2 percent) of those degrees, and among those physics degrees awarded, underrepresented minorities of Hispanic, African American or Asian descent only accounted for 145 (6.6 percent) degrees. The statistics illustrate the country's need to invest in and produce more physics doctoral degree recipients.

In 2009, UTSA received a five-year, $2.7 million Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) grant from the National Science Foundation to support increased participation of underrepresented minorities and to advance the understanding of the fundamental science of materials. The grant also supported educational outreach programs for high school and junior college students.

Over the last five years, UTSA's PREM grant has provided support to 13 Ph.D. students. The joint doctoral program in physics started in 2005 and to date 30 students have earned their doctoral degrees. Of those 30 students, 23 are UTSA students, six pursued their degrees from Southwest Research Institute and one was enrolled at UT-Brownsville. Most of these alumni have become faculty members at other universities, postdoctoral fellows or industrial scientists.

The UTSA physics department has transformed significantly since it was founded more than 30 years ago. The number of faculty members on staff has increased from four to more than 20, the majority being tenure-track professors. Enrollment in physics courses has multiplied from 15 to 20 undergraduate majors to 240 students currently enrolled in bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs. Fifty-three percent of the 170 students enrolled in the bachelor's and master's degree programs are underrepresented minorities and 34 students (24%) are female.

The graduate program, ranked the fifth largest in the state, currently has 86 students enrolled. Fifteen of those students (21%) are underrepresented minorities and 17 students (25%) are female.

One reason for the growing interest in the UTSA doctoral program in physics has been the addition of the ARM-200, nicknamed "Helenita," and the other pieces of equipment available in UTSA's Kleberg Advanced Microscopy Center (KAMC). UTSA faculty members and students extensively use the microscopy facility, in addition to researchers and industry professionals outside UTSA.

Over the last five years, UTSA has added sophisticated instrumentation in many areas to aide in nanotechnology and materials research. Those investments in sophisticated equipment have paid dividends for UTSA; UTSA's physics doctoral program has seen great growth.

Dhiraj Sardar, UTSA Ashbel Smith Professor of Physics, is also seeing increased interest from students. Sardar and his doctoral students conduct nanotechnology research with biomedical applications. The researchers use lasers to experiment with new nanoparticle fabrications. They aim to make bright nanoparticles for imaging, biosensors and photodynamic cancer research therapies.

"Materials science, especially nanomaterials and their applications, are very popular, particularly in biomedicine," said Sardar. "Nanomaterials have properties that are useful in biomedicine such as the detection of cancer and other medical applications. It's a new field that everyone is interested in and several of us are heavily involved."

The UTSA Department of Physics recently submitted a PREM renewal proposal to the NSF. If successful, it could mean another $3.3 million over five years to support UTSA doctoral students.

To learn more about the UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy, visit http://physics.utsa.edu/.

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