There is a common misconception among students and parents in Cambodia that all university graduates that major in physics eventually become teachers of that discipline. This paper aims to debunk this myth and show that physics graduates are in high demand in a fast-developing country like Cambodia. Various studies have shown that physicists are well equipped with critical skills for problem-solving using complex data sets. They are familiar with data collection, analysis, and processing. With their strong background in physics, they are well trained in modeling and computer programming that are valuable technical tools for all socioeconomic sectors, from engineering to finance and from medicine to architecture. As such, physicists can turn countless ideas into impactful commercial and social projects. Physicists are also well prepared to cope with the emergence of new digital technologies because of their logical minds and powerful reasoning skills.
In 1952, immediately after the death of Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president, Albert Einstein, a Nobel Prize winner for discovering the photoelectric effect and famous for the special and general theory of relativity – one of the world’s greatest physicists, was offered to be the President of Israel. It comes as no surprise that Einstein is globally well-known for his intellectual achievement in physics, and people believed that he would be a great leader. Why would physics be essential for policymakers? Many, if not all national leaders’ momentous decisions are related to cutting-edge technologies, for instance: reliable, affordable, secure, and clean energy, cybersecurity, CubeSats – i.e. mini satellites, to name a few. Then, the knowledge of physics would inform crucial decision-making processes. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, physics plays ubiquitous roles from generation and aerosolisation of virus-laden respiratory droplets to airborne dispersion and deposition on solid surface. Physics has also reinforced sanitary measures in the form of face masks, hand washing, social distancing, and speeding up the design and production of vaccines.
Physics for Health
The two main applications of medical physics in healthcare include medical imaging/radiation treatment and healthcare informatics/computational physics. The most well-known applications of physics to medicine are the use of equipment to detect diseases, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerised tomography (CT), nuclear medicine, and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. Others are the different types of radiotherapy machines used in the treatment of cancer. Qualified medical physics experts are required to utilize radiation safely and effectively for healthcare purposes. Computational physics is used to manage medical data, bioinformatics, and telemedicine. During this ongoing pandemic, physics instruments such as cryo-EM (X-Rays crystallography) enabled Chinese scientists to accelerate the identification of the corresponding viral spike protein. The molecule was then quickly shared through an open-source platform to all scientists across the globe, paving the way for the design and production of the mRNA vaccine, the first of its kind in the history of vaccines.
Physics for Finance
The financial sector needs experts who understand math and quantitative skills, while physics graduates are comfortable working with large data sets. Furthermore, financial securities investment requires specialised expertise from physicists who understand complex mathematical models to generate profits and decrease risks. Another field where physics concepts are essential is econophysics, an emerging academic discipline that capitalises on the unique role of physicists in solving economic problems. Their research focuses on new conceptual approaches deriving from physical science. Finally, the advent of big data opens even more opportunities for physicists who can deal with complex systems. As such, physicists are highly desired for business intelligence, quantitative finance, and trading stocks.
In other words, physicists are equipped with scientific rigour and trained to deal with systems and their components, all valued skills for creating and analysing financial models. Although the job market and employers in Cambodia might not yet fully realise the potential for physics graduates to excel in the field of finance, companies that take the first step in investing and developing this scarce pool of experts to work in finance will benefit from their unique transferable skills. Moreover, providing new career paths and job opportunities for physics graduates outside the field of physics will highlight their true value in the job market, aside from the conventional options of becoming a physics teacher, researcher, or lab technician. From an optimistic view, this shift in mindset might rebrand physics as a more appealing academic path to follow in Cambodia.
Physics for Smart Factories in IR 4.0
Albert Einstein once said, “A theory should be as simple as possible, but no simpler”. Indeed, the word theory, e.g., physics, has sounded impractical for practitioners despite its usefulness for predicting natural events or phenomena yet to be observed. The question of how a manager of a manufacturing company could undoubtedly increase productivity at low costs and generate higher revenue with attractive customer service remains difficult. Understanding physics, which objectively explains the solution for a particular problem, could be lifesaving for such managers. How does physics help us to understand factory management? Just about 20 years ago, Moog Inc., a specialised designer and supplier of aircraft and missile components, faced a significant problem of meeting customer deadlines, while losing market competitiveness. George Cameron, the materials manager who had attended the Factory Physics Seminar, utilized scientific tools to understand the underlying manufacturing issue and implemented improvements accordingly. Inspired by physics, the team decided to rearrange buffers and reduce waste in the fabrication areas, which solved their inefficiency problems. Today, physics plays a fundamental role for the smart industry, including agile value networks, advanced manufacturing processes and services, the synergy of man and machine, and interoperable digital manufacturing platforms.
In conclusion, physics is not just about obscure theories – there are endless applications outside the classroom. The aim of this paper was to raise awareness on the importance of physics to inspire more students in Cambodia to pursue this major as part of STEM education. Without physics, industrial development is not possible. The famous expression goes: “No physics, no life”, as we all live in a physical world and must understand how it works.
KUOK Fidero, PhD is the Director General of the National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation at the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology, and innovation
CHHEM Siriwat, Master in Digital Technology Management is the Director of the Centre for Inclusive Digital Economy (CIDE) at the Asian Vision Institute (AVI
This article was originally published via the Centre for Inclusive Digital Economy (CIDE) of the Asian Vision Institute (AVI).
- Tags: physics, University