Physics was introduced in 1924 as one of the subjects for the intermediate course with Mr. S. V. Subbaiyar as the first faculty member. In 1927 Natural Science was introduced and Rev. Fr. Schneider S.J., joined the Department. In 1942 Mr. Thomas Joseph and Rev. Fr. Laurent S.J., were appointed. Mr. P. Chidambaram joined the institution in 1950. After 25 years of service Rev. Fr. Schneider S.J., retired in 1952.
B.Sc., Physics was introduced in 1956. Mr. N. R. Krishnamoorthy was appointed as the head of the Department. He left the Department in 1958 and Mr. Thomas Joseph was promoted as the head of the Department.
Later Mr. I. Soosairethanam, Mr. P. Meenakshi Sundaram, Mr. Cyril Fernando and Mr. J. A. Stephen were appointed.Mr. Peter Angelo was appointed in the place of Mr. Cyril Fernando who left the Department. When Mr. Peter Angelo left the Department in 1961, Mr. Y. Pauldurai joined the Department. In 1965 Mr. S. Ambrose was appointed. In 1969 Rev. Fr. John Bosco, S. J., was appointed. Mr. M. Kanakaraj joined the Department in 1975 and Mr. C. Devaraj in 1976.
After 19 years of service, Mr. I. Soosairethinam died in 1975. Rev. Fr. S. M. Irudayam. S. J., joined the Department in 1976 and he became the Principal later. Mr. Y. M. Tharsius was appointed in 1977 and Mr. I. Sebasdiyar in 1978. After 20 years of service as head of the Department, Mr. Thomas Joseph retired in 1978.
Rev. Fr. S. M. Irudayam. S. J., retired in 1981. Mr. J. A. Stephen was promoted as the head of the Department in 1981. He retired in 1992 and Mr. Y. Pauldurai was promoted as head of the Department. When Mr. Y. Pauldurai retired in 1994, Mr. C. Devaraj was promoted as the HOD. Dr. S. Paulraj was appointed in the place of Mr. Ambrose who was appointed as the head of the Department of computer science.
Dr. J. Benet Charles was appointed in the year 1995 in the place of Mr. J. A. Stephen. After serving the college for 30 years, Mr. M. Kanakaraju passed away on Feb 5, 2005. Mr. C. Devaraj retired on March 31, 2005 and Y. M. Tharsius was promoted as head of the Department on April 1, 2005. Rev. Dr. J. Danis Ponnaiah, S. J., was appointed in the place of Mr. M. Kanakaraju.
M.Sc., Physics was started during the academic year 2007-08 as a self-financing course. Ms. Mary Jenila, Ms. Anna Venus, Mr. S.G. Rejith and Mr. M. Augustin were appointed as lecturers to handle self-financed courses.
Dr. D. Prem Anand was appointed in 2007 in the place of Mr. C. Devaraj. Mr. I. Sebasdiyar has been servicing as the Head of the Department since 2010. The Department was upgraded as a research centre in the year 2010. Mr.Y.M.Tharsius and Mr.I.Sebasdiyar retired in May 2012. Dr. S. Paulraj was promoted as the Head of the Department in 2012.
Dr. V. Sivashankar and Dr. G. David Rathinavelu were appointed in the place of Mr. I Sebasdiyar and Y.M. Tharsius in the year 2012. Dr. B. Helina was appointed in the place of Dr. J. Benet Charles who has passed away in the year 2014. In the year 2017 Dr. D. Prem Anand was appointed as the Head of the Department. B. Sc Physics was started in the Self supporting scheme in the year 2019. Dr. S. Anna Venus was appointed in the place of Rev. Dr. Dannis Ponnaiah in the year 2019. Dr. B. Helina was appointed as the Head of the Department from July 2022.
Presently there are 14 Teaching Staff and 4 Non Teaching Staff in the Department. Of the 14 Teaching Staff 13 holds Ph.D. Degree in Physics. There are 9 Research Guides under whom more than 25 Scholars are registered for their Ph.D. Degree. The area of research being carried out in the Department are Solid State Physics, Nano Materials and their Characterization, Crystal Growth, Polymers and Thin Films. There are about 250 books in the Department library. The Department has very well equipped laboratories for conducting its programs. There are two laboratories one for UG and other for PG and two for Research.