The Physics Society of IISER Thiruvananthapuram - PSI(T) has been an open organization under the guidance of the School of Physics with the primary objective of promoting Physics among students across all levels. It aims to serve as a friendly platform that promotes conceptually intriguing and thought-provoking discussions to facilitate learning and coursework.

Owing to the pandemic, most of the club's activities had to take place virtually. A brief overview of the activities is given below.

Foundation Week 2021 (18/01-24/01) To commemorate the club’s start, the club had organised engaging activities throughout the week from 18-24 January 2021. The celebrations kick-started with a virtual webinar by Prof Sunil Mukhi, IISER Pune, followed by compelling webinars by Dr Tanumoy Mandal, SoP, IISER-TVM and Dr Joy Mitra, SoP, IISER-TVM spread throughout the week in the mini-symposium. Boltzmann Brains 2.0, a physics themed quiz and a debate competition, Bhautik Dialectics 1.0, were conducted. The week-long programme saw wide-ranging participation from the students of the institute and beyond.

Talk Series The club had the opportunity to host speakers worldwide, including Dr Manik Banik, SoP, IISER-TVM; Dr Anil Shaji, SoP, IISER-TVM; Dr Rajaram Nityananda, Azim Premji University; Prof Jutta Kunz, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany. Following the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020, Dr Soumen Basak and Dr Bindusar Sahoo were invited to present a webinar in collaboration with Anvesha - The Annual Science fest To guide the students and expose them to available career opportunities and ongoing research, the club organised webinars by Alumni of the School of Physics. Jyotishraj N, Georgia Tech, Atlanta; S Mahesh Chandran, IIT Bombay; Kanchan Soni, IUCAA Pune interacted with the students and guided them, presenting their research work. Subrabalan M, BS-MS Batch 17 and Kartik Bhide, BS-MS Batch 17 from the School of Physics, presented webinars as part of the Student Talk series to introduce various physics concepts.

Contests Apart from the contests during Foundation Week, fun Physics themed quizzes, Boltzmann Brains 1.0 and Boltzmann Brains 2.0 were organised. PSI-ART 1.0 was conducted to showcase the extra-curricular skills with a theme of Physicists and their contributions.

Social Media
The club has an active social media presence on Instagram and Facebook with more than 1100 followers. Content is curated and shared regularly to make physics more enjoyable and accessible to everyone.

New Members
Several new members have joined PSI(T) and are currently helping the club work nominally and further expanding club activities.

The club has several upcoming activities, including developing a website, featuring research work at the SoP as part of a forthcoming physics newsletter, and exposing the students to an ocean of opportunities.



Dates for events:

Foundation Week:
18/1/21 -24/1/21
Boltzmann Brains 1.0: 6/11
Boltzmann Brains 2.0: 24/01
PSI-ART 1.0: 26/02
Bhautik Dialectics 1.0: 23/01

Faculty Talks:

Dr Manik Banik: 27/08
Dr Anil Shaji: 16/09
Dr Rajaram Nityananda: 21/12
Prof Jutta Kunz: 2/03
Dr Bindusara Sahoo and Dr Soumen Basak: 21/10
Prof Sunil Mukhi: 18/01
Dr Joy Mitra: 22/01
Dr Tanmoy Mondal: 21/01

Alumni Talks:

Jyotishraj N: 28/12
Mahesh Chandran: 26/03
Kanchan Soni: 2/04

Student Talks:
Subrabalan: 4/11
Kartik Bhide: 10/11