The School of Physics and Electronic Engineering

Mission

The mission of the School of Physics and Electronic Engineering is to cultivate innovative talents with strong foundation in physics, broad international vision, all-round development of morality, intelligence, physique and art and strong self-development ability to meet the needs in the scientific and industrial frontiers of physics, materials science, optical information, electronics and Internet of Things.

 

General Information

The School of Physics and Electronic Engineering was founded in 2004. It consists of the Department of Physics, the Department of Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering, the Department of Internet of Things Engineering and the Department of Physics Education. The school offers PhD program in astronomy, Master programs in astronomy, physics, materials science and engineering, electronic information, materials and chemical engineering and physics education. The school offers Bachelor of Science in physics and Bachelor of Engineering in materials science and engineering, photoelectric information science and engineering and Internet of Things engineering. The physics program is the national first-class undergraduate program under the project of “Double Ten-Thousand Undergraduate Programs" by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and the program in optoelectronic information science and engineering is the provincial first-class undergraduate program.

The school has 109 staff members, to include 19 professors, 25 associate professors and 5 senior engineers. Many of them have honorable achievements or awards, to include 2 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (adjunct), 1 holder of National Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 1 holder of a national overseas high-level scientist program, 1 winner of National “May 1st” Labor Medal, 1 leading talent and 5 Tier-2 talents of Guangdong provincial talents programs, 2 distinguished professors of the Guangdong Province Pearl River Scholars Scheme, 1 distinguished professor of Yunnan Province Yunling Scholars Scheme.

There are more than 1,200 undergraduate and 130 postgraduate students. In recent years, students have taken an active part in various national and provincial extracurricular science and technology competitions, such as "Challenge Cup", "Internet Plus", and have won 8 national first place prizes, 12 second place prizes and 18 third place prizes.

2. Academic Programs

Undergraduate programs and curriculum

 

Physics Program

The four-year undergraduate program in physics helps students to master the basic theory, knowledge and experimental skills of physical sciences and physics pedagogy for teaching in secondary schools. The program provides a broad range of curriculum to include Advanced Mathematics, Mechanics, Thermology, Electromagnetics, Optics, Atomic Physics, Theoretical Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Solid State Physics, Astrophysics, Astronomical Technology and Methods, Introduction to Cosmology, Electronic Circuit, Electrotechnics, Computer-aided Teaching, C and Python Language Programming, Microcomputer Principle, Educational Theory, Teaching Practice, Modern Physics Experiment and the like. After graduation, students are mainly employed by secondary schools, education and research institutions and enterprises in the Pearl River Delta region, or pursue Master’s degrees. In 2020, this program was selected as the national first-class undergraduate program by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.

 

Program in Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering

The four-year undergraduate program in optoelectronic information science and engineering offers a broad range of curriculum on the theory, technology and engineering application of optical engineering, laser technology, optoelectronic information processing, optoelectronics, optical fiber communication, aiming to cultivate students the relevant professionals in optoelectronic information industry. Main courses include Signal and System, Analog/ Digital Circuit Technology, Engineering Optics, Laser Principle and Technology, Optoelectronic Technology, Optical Information Processing Technology, Digital Signal Processing, Introduction to Communication, Optical Fiber Communication, Photoelectric Detection and Signal Processing, Optical Fiber Sensing Technology, etc.

Optoelectronic information industry is one of the strategic industries in China and Guangdong Province. The Pearl River Delta is an important place gathering global optoelectronic information industries. The graduates of this program have a bright employment prospect, who can engage in research and development, application, management, maintenance, operation and other positions in the enterprises of various optoelectronic functional devices, equipment and systems, as well as communications.

This program has been selected as the Guangdong provincial first-class undergraduate program by the Ministry of Education.

 

Program in Materials Science and Technology

As one of the three pillars of modern science and technology, materials have always been in the leading position. The discovery of new materials or the new design of material structures not only directly promote the development of science and technology, to include solar energy utilization, bio gene chips, information storage, nanotechnology, but also provide strong support to the development of high-tech industries such as aerospace, automotive electronics. Based on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the four-year undergraduate program in materials science and engineering aims to meet the social and economic development of the bay area by cultivating innovative talents with profound material science foundation and long-term learning ability. The curriculum covers a wide range of basic theory, knowledge and experimental skills on novel energy materials, information engineering materials, polymer composite materials and engineering.

 

 

Program in Internet of Things Engineering

The technology of internet of things is currently a globally hot research field, known as the third wave of world information industry after the computer and the internet. Internet of Things is an information network that connects things and things, people and things, and exchanges information through various access networks and the Internet through various information sensing devices and global positioning systems according to the communication protocols, so as to realize intelligent identification, positioning, tracking, monitoring and management. Internet of Things technology is a combination of the technologies of perception, transmission and application, which is a new information acquisition and processing technology. It is mainly supported by communication technology, network technology, electronic technology, sensor technology, information processing technology, etc. Internet of Things is a national strategic emerging industry, which requires a large number of senior professional and technical personnel.

The four-year undergraduate program of the Internet of Things Engineering helps students to acquire the basic knowledge, theory and experimental skills that are needed in the research of mobile Internet technology, smart home technology, intelligent transportation technology, smart grid technology, etc. The curriculum includes Engineering Mathematics, Probability Theory, Discrete Mathematics, Analog Electronic Technology, Digital Electronic Technology, Electromagnetic Field and Microwave, Sensor Technology, Embedded System, Signal and System, Communication Principle, Internet Of Things Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Mobile Computing and 5G Mobile Communication etc.

 

Graduate programs and curriculum

 

PhD and Master’s Degree in Astronomy

 

The School offers highly competitive PhD and Master’s degree in astronomy which ranks the 8th place among Chinese universities according to the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

 

Research fields of the programs include active galactic nuclear (AGN), compact stars, star formation and interstellar medium and astronomical techniques. Research projects involve AGN, galaxies and cosmology, black hole, interstellar medium, star formation, pulsar and magnetar, gamma ray burst and fast radio burst, astronomical big data technique, etc. Many of these projects are closely related to the key science of state-of-art astronomical telescopes (e.g SKA, FAST, Fermi, HXMT). The courses mainly include Astrophysics, General Theory of Relativity, Radiation Mechanism in Astrophysics, Observational Astrophysics, Astronomical Data Processing Techniques, Astronomical Image Processing, Active Galactic Nucleus, X-Ray Astronomy and Radio Astronomy. There are 18 faculty members working in the programs, to include 7 professors, 4 associate professors, and 7 lectures, among whom 6 are PhD supervisors and 15 are postgraduate supervisors for master students.

 

 

Besides the above programs based in Guangzhou University, the school also offers a double degree PhD program in astronomy jointly supported by Guangzhou University and the University of Padova, Italy. PhD students spend one and a half years in University of Padova and the rest one and a half years in Guangzhou University.

 

Guangzhou University is a member of the project of Square-Kilometer-Array (SKA) overseas doctoral program supported by China Scholarship Council (CSC). Students have the opportunity to be selected to pursue doctoral degree or postdoctor in UK or Australia, conducting researches relevant to the SKA science or technique.

 

Master’s Degree in Physics

 

The Program of Master’s degree in Physics was established in 1996 and is one of the Guangdong Provincial key Master’s degree programs. There are three research areas: condensed matter physics, theoretical physics and optics. The research projects include condensed matter physics, cold atomic physics, particle physics, nano and quantum optics, semiconductor quantum dots, photoelectric materials and devices, condensed matter optics, spin electronics and other programs.

 

There are 22 faculty members in this program, to include 8 professors and 5 associate professors, among whom 1 is PhD supervisor and 21 are postgraduate supervisors for Master students. The program has made great achievements in cultivating talents. Students in this program have been awarded outstanding graduate students in Guangdong Province every year recently. The main courses include: Advanced Quantum Mechanics, Solid State Physics, New Progress of Quantum Mechanics, Lectures on Physics Frontier, Quantum Statistical Physics, Group Theory, Quantum Field Theory, Green's Function Theory, Solid Electronic Materials, Semiconductor Physics, Magnetism and other programs.

 

Master’s Degree in Electronic Information

 

Master’s degree in Electronic Information is related to a wide range of disciplines of electronics, communication, control, computer and other fields, as well as the emerging disciplines of cyberspace security, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, integrated circuit, etc. The program in School of Electronic and Engineering is comprised of four main research areas; intelligent Internet of Things and mobile data, integrated circuit engineering, intelligent information processing and optical engineering. Facing the forefront of electronic information manufacturing industry, this program involve the researches of modern communication and 5G mobile communication technology, Internet of Things chip and system application, high-precision wireless positioning technology, theory and application of artificial intelligence technology, application of intelligent Internet of things in industrial intelligent manufacturing and smart city construction, research of new multiplexing technology in optical communication, and nonlinear transmission and control and signal processing. There are 10 postgraduate supervisors in this program, to include 3 professors and 3 associate professors.

 

Master’s Degree in Materials Science and Engineering

 

Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering is a new program preferentially supported by Guangzhou University which aims to cultivate highly competitive talents in the research of materials science and delivers high-level R & D personnel for novel materials enterprises and institutions. The main research areas include optoelectronic information materials, novel energy materials and composite materials. The program is jointly supported by Huangpu Graduate School of Guangzhou University and Guangdong Materials Laboratory of Songshan Lake, Dongguan. The program also cooperates closely with high-tech enterprises engaged in materials research to run this program. At present, there are 14 postgraduate supervisors, and new faculty members will join this program in the near future.

 

Master’s Degree Program in Physics Education

 

The School offers 3-year academic type and 2-year curriculum type Master’s degree in Physical Education.

 

The main research fields of the academic type program are high-school physics curriculum and teaching reform, psychology in physics learning and physics education survey and statistics. The program seeks to incorporate the modern educational research methodology and educational theories into high-school physics curriculum and teaching, aiming to promote students' abilities in research and teaching.

 

The major research areas of the curriculum type program are practices and researches on new courses of physics, reform and of physics teaching, physics learning in middle school and science outreach for teenagers. The purpose is to strengthen the graduate education theory, curriculum theory and research methods of middle school physics education, and improve the ability to engage in middle school physics teaching and curriculum development.

 

The main courses include Education Concept and Education Development, Adolescent Psychological Development and Education, Primary and Secondary Education Research Methods, Curriculum and Teaching Theory, Modern Education Technology Topics, Physics Curriculum and Teaching Theory, Physics Education Research Methods, Physics Education Research Case Analysis, SPSS Application in Physics Education Research, Middle School Physics Difficult Problems Analysis, Middle School Physics Teaching Design and Implementation, Introduction to Theoretical Physics, Methods of Physics, Selected Reading of Physics Education Research Literature, Psychology in Physics Learning, etc.