An interdisciplinary Ph.D. program is jointly offered with the Departments of Physics, Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry & Chemical Biology. This program aims to address the increasingly cross-cutting nature of doctoral research in these disciplines. The interdisciplinary Ph.D. program aims to take advantage of the complementary educational offerings and research opportunities in these areas. Any student who wishes to enter this interdisciplinary program needs to obtain the consent of the two departments involved and the subsequent approval of the Dean of Academic Administration. The student will follow a study plan designed by his/her faculty advisor(s). The student will be granted official candidacy in the program upon successful completion of a qualifying exam that will be administered according to the applicable guidelines of the Office of Graduate Admissions. All policies of the Office of Graduate Admissions that govern the credit and thesis requirements apply to students enrolled in this interdisciplinary program. Interested students should follow the normal graduate application procedures through the Dean of Academic Administration.

Research

A thesis for the master’s or doctoral program can be completed by participating in one of the following research programs of the department.

Polymeric Biomaterials - Professor Matthew Libera

Electron Microscopy of Soft Matter - Professor Matthew Libera

Heterogeneous Catalysis: Catalyst Development, Characterization, Testing and Molecular Modeling - Professor Simon Podkolzin

Biofuels from Renewable Feedstocks (e.g., Algae, Lignocellulosic feedstock) - Professor Adeniyi Lawal

Microchemical Systems and Process Intensification - Professor Adeniyi Lawal

Polymer nanocomposites, polymer-grafted particles for energy applications, self-assembly strategies for functional nanoparticles, dynamic heterogeneities in polymer nanocomposites - Professor Pinar Akcora

Electrochemistry for Functional Materials, Battery Materials Design, Solid-State Chemistry - Professor Jae Chul Kim

Human Tissues on a Chip - Professor Woo Lee

Rheology, Simulation and Processing of Complex Fluids, including polymers, microgels, highly filled suspensions and nanosuspensions - Professor Dilhan Kalyon

Development of Novel Processing Methods for the Fabrication of Graft Substitutes, Implants and Tissue Scaffolds and Constructs - Professor Dilhan Kalyon

Fundamentals of Flow and Deformation Behavior and Wall Slip of Viscoplastic Fluids - Professional Dilhan Kalyon

Surface Modification at Multiple Length Scales, Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Sensing and Imaging, Novel Fiber Optic Sensors - Professor Henry Du

In addition to the Ph.D. program in Physics, the Department of Physics offers an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in cooperation with other departments at Stevens Institute of Technology. This program aims to address the increasingly cross-cutting nature of doctoral research. The interdisciplinary Ph.D. program aims to take advantage of the complementary educational offerings and research opportunities in multiple areas. Any student who wishes to enter an interdisciplinary program needs to obtain the consent of the participating departments and the subsequent approval of the Office of Graduate Education. The student will follow a study plan designed by his/her faculty advisor. In particular, the student must declare which department will be the home department (i.e. the department where the majority of courses is being taken), and arrange for written consent of advisors in both departments involved.

The student will be granted official candidacy in the program upon successful completion of a qualifying exam that will be administered according to the applicable guidelines of the Office of Graduate Education. For all interdisciplinary programs involving the Physics department as either the home or secondary department, the student is required to pass the first part of the regular Ph.D. Qualifying Exam of the Physics Department (general Physics, based on core courses PEP 538, 542, 554, 555) as well as the corresponding Qualifying Exam of the other participating department.

All policies of the Office of Graduate Education that govern the credit and thesis requirements apply to students enrolled in this interdisciplinary program. Identical to the Physics Ph.D. program, the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program requires 84 credits. For students with the Physics department as the home department, the following additional guidelines apply:

A master’s degree comparable to the Stevens’ Master of Science in Physics will be recognized and be accounted for, with up to 30 credits, whereby the following courses (or equivalent) must be part of the Masters PEP 542 and PEP 554.