University of Helsinki

The old building on Siltavuorenpenger

Physics has been a discipline in the University of Helsinki since its foundation in 1640.

Professor Gustaf Hällström (1775-1844) started his long career in physics (1801-1844) already when Finland belonged to Sweden. He acted as a professor in the Royal Academy of Åbo during its last years in Turku and in the Imperial Alexander university during its first years in Helsinki. He was a visible and respected person both in physics and in the university administration. Hällström was the professor in physics who benefited from a prebend, and was member of the chapter. Hällström was known for his studies of thermal expansion, especially density change of water with temperature. He also investigated acoustics, meteorology and astronomy, He made preparations for a reform of the university statutes, which came into force in 1828, when the university moved to Helsinki. He also took part in the planning of the transfer. Hällström also acted as rector magnificus in Helsinki during the first years 1829-1832. Physics got rooms in the new main building, where Hällström established the Physics laboratory.

The department of physics was founded in 1832 when the university main building was completed. In the beginning of the 1840's the department of physics moved to larger premises in a new building in the university library district.

A building planned specially for the department of physics (see the above picture) was erected on Siltavuorenpenger in the centre of Helsinki, where it was inaugurated in 1911. In addition to the new building, Physics was strengthened with another chair in 1895, the professorship in applied Physics. In connection with the language act and decree of 1937, according to which the official language of the university became Finnish, Physics got a Sedish speaking chair.

The increase of the number of students at the end of the 1940's led to the creation of new chairs. During the years 1958-1977 physics got four new chairs in addition to the previous three. Meteorology got a personal extraordinary professorship in physics 1921. The first chair in meteorology was founded in 1957. The Department of meteorology was situated in Porthania in the main campus from 1957-2001. The chair of geophysics was founded in 1966 and between 1967 and 2001 geophysics was a separate department.

The chair of nuclear physics that was founded in 1958 was changed into a professorship of elementary particle physics in 1978. The chair of theoretical physics was founded in 1964. The Department of nuclear physics, since 1978 the Department of high energy physics was situated between 1960 and 1995 at first in the same building as the Department of Physics, and then in the theoretical physics building completed in 1969. Theoretical physics had a separate department from 1969 ro 1995.

The new building for the department van de Graaff accelator, which became operational in 1956, was completed on Siltavuorenpenger in 1959. A building for the new accelerator was completed in Kumpula 1982, when the accelerator laboratoy of the department of physics was inaugurated. This was the first university campus building in Kumpula.

When the Department of physics had worked on Siltavuorenpenger for exactly 90 years it moved in 2001 to new premises, Physicsum, on the Kumpula campus. In connection with the transfer, the departments of meteorology and geophysics also moved to Physicum and were united with the Department od physics. Thus the Department of physical sciences was created. The name of the department was changed in 2008 to the Department of physics. Since 1998 the research fields of the department have expanded strongly, which is seen from the fact that the number of professorships and their fields have almost doubled.