The mission of the Physics Department is to provide students with the skills and tools to develop the underlying technologies and support knowledge necessary for the technological-industrial infrastructure of Kazakhstan and the larger Central Asian region. A career in physics is exciting because physicists are trained to be natural problem solvers and creative thinkers. Kazakhstan’s economy is undergoing a transformation that reflects worldwide trends – the know-hows and technical innovations become the most important asset. In order to develop the necessary underlying technologies to support this transformation, highly skilled physicists and engineers are required.

If you like the freedom of active discovery, the power of invention, the language of mathematics, and a good-sized paycheck, then physics is a great career choice.

Our faculty members conduct cutting-edge research and publish in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals in the following areas: Laser-based Material Science (Zhandos Utegulov), Functional Nanomaterials for Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics, Micro- and Nanofabrication (Askhat Jumabekov), Electromagnetics and Acoustics (Bakhtiyar Orazbayev), Radiation Material Science (Alexander Tikhonov), Ultrafast Photonics, Solitons and Topological Photonics (Anton Desyatnikov), General Relativity, Cosmology, Black Holes (Daniele Malafarina), General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, Quantum Field Theory (Michael Good), Atomic and Molecular Physics, Quantum Chemistry (Sergiy Bubin), Computational and Theoretical Astrophysics, Radiation Transport (Ernazar Abdikamalov), Observational Astrophysics, Polarimetry and Star Formation (Dana Alina), Intense pulsed beam Accelerators and Radiation Material Science (Marat Kaikanov).

Directed research opportunities exist including research internships within Nazarbayev University, National Laboratory Astana, and many foreign universities. Contact members of the physics department for details on becoming a physics major and choosing a research area that interests you.