About us
In 1981, the Department of Physical Sciences (DCF) was born with the newly constituted Universidad de La Frontera. Heir to the tradition of academics and teachers from the Universities of Chile and Técnica del Estado, the DCF has evolved from its beginnings as a department dedicated mainly to undergraduate teaching, outreach, and extension, to become a department of Physical Sciences that currently offers three graduate programs: Master of Science with a major in Physics, Master in Medical Physics, and PhD in Physics. The latter program was inaugurated in 2024 and represents the crowning achievement of the work carried out under the previous development plan. In addition, the DCF has demonstrated interesting levels of scientific productivity, with a large percentage of articles published in journals ranked in the Q1 and Q2 quartiles, solid links at national and international levels, and outstanding visibility at regional and national levels. Such is its impact that we can safely say that the Department of Physical Sciences is a reference in the cultivation of physics both in the Araucanía Region and in the south of the country.
In its 43 years of history, the Department of Physical Sciences has undergone significant transformations. Along with the natural renewal of the academic staff, it has promoted the improvement and specialization of its members through support for the completion of master's and/or doctoral programs. As a result of these initiatives, there has been a notorious formation and consolidation of productive research groups, as well as the establishment and strengthening of its graduate programs. In addition, through funds awarded within the framework of a project for the Improvement of the Quality of Higher Education (MECESUP), a two-story building was constructed that has housed the Department of Physical Sciences since 2006. However, due to continuous growth, this building had to be expanded in 2011, which allowed the creation of new offices for academics and spaces for research laboratories on a third floor built on a wing of the main building.
Our department offers an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering Physics. Additionally, It has two graduate programs accredited by the Chilean Commission on Accreditation and Postgraduate Studies (CNAP): the Master of Science in Physics (four years, until October 2025) and the Master in Medical Physics (six years, until July 2030). Also noteworthy are the five versions of the Diploma in Radiological Protection, offered with great success by the Medical Physics Research Group. In addition to all these programs, the Doctorate in Physics, which opens its call for applications in December 2023, has already enrolled students and is currently working on its self-evaluation.
In addition, the University offers, through the Department of Physical Sciences, basic training subjects for all the careers of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, and for several careers of different Faculties.
In the field of scientific research, the study of Condensed Matter Physics and Statistical Physics were the first areas to develop to significant levels, highlighting an early collaboration of this group with national and international universities and institutes. In addition, the annual organisation of the South Workshops on Solid Physics was a milestone that consolidated both this research group and the Department of Physical Sciences in the field of national physics. Over the years, several lines of research have emerged, eventually consolidating three more: Photonics and Remote Sensing; Cosmology, Gravitation and Quantum Field Theory; and Medical Physics.
These four research lines have achieved outstanding levels of scientific productivity, with an average of 35 publications indexed in the Web of Science per year, as well as outstanding national and international visibility. This is evidenced by the high attendance and participation in scientific events organised by the Department of Physical Sciences, such as the Symposium of the Chilean Physics Society (2010), the IX Iberoamerican Meeting on Optics and the XII Iberoamerican Meeting on Optics, Lasers and Applications (RIAO/OPTILAS 2016), the Latin American Conference on Analysis by X-Ray Techniques (2018), and the Intensive Seminar on Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics. The latter is an annual event that has achieved international status since 2019.
Nowadays, the DCF is preparing to host the Chilean Physics Society Symposium, this time in its 2024 edition.
The extensive trajectory of the DCF in the dissemination of the discipline is also remarkable. The annual organisation of the Regional Physics Olympics is an activity that effectively connects the Department of Physical Sciences with the region and the country. At the regional level, a series of activities are carried out with schools and high schools, such as: outreach talks given outside the University by academics; experimental physics sessions held in the building of the Department of Physical Sciences; and the application of the tests to the participants. On the other hand, at the national level, it is usual for the same students who win the regional stage to have an outstanding performance in the national competition, as happened during 2018.
In addition, the Department of Physical Sciences manages the agreement that the University maintains with the National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin). Furthermore, it has established effective links with the National Forestry Commission (CONAF), Clinics, and the Regional Hospital. In addition, in recent years, the project framed in the 2023 Public Challenges call of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation stands out: "Geospatial system to support decision-making in emergency situations".
