Ours is a premier basic science department  in this university, and has a remarkable history of about 45 years in its interaction with and contribution with the society has been largely through our active contacts and collaboration with science colleges, other universities in the state and in India, and also abroad.  In last 15-20 years our scientific interaction has also percolated down to higher secondary and even primary schools around Vallabh Vidyanagar and Anand. This has become possible due to our extension/outreach activities and programmes, aimed at public understanding and awareness on science.

Our students, both past and present are our ambassadors to the society at large. In the last four decades this department has provided successful teachers and professors to a large number of schools and science colleges in Gujarat. Our Ph.Ds. are Professors and HODs in colleges/University departments even outside Gujarat state and our country. A few of our brilliant students are serving as scientists in prestigious national and foreign laboratories / institutes / organizations etc.  Some of our students have also joined industries and are using their basic knowledge for applications.

Apart from this we have contributed to the education of Physics through our active involvement in various academic bodies, like Boards of study, Faculty of Science and other committees for specific academic purposes. Another mode of our involvement at the state and the national level has been through our activities in various professional organizations. These are Indian Physics Association (Vallabh Vidyanagar Chapter), Indian Association for Physics Teachers, Gujarat Science Academy etc.

One of the distinguishing features of the department that it has all the time remained, since its inception, is that it has been a leading centre of research in the field of Condensed matter Physics resulting in securing name nationally and internationally. Large many numbers of projects have been sanctioned to the department by almost all the relevant major funding agencies of India, such as UGC, CSIR, DST, DNES, DAE, DRDO, IPCL, GUJCOST etc. Many of the faculty members and researchers of the department have visited foreign countries receiving awards under Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowships/scholarship, DAAD, Fulbright, Humböldt, INSA, and other exchange programmes of UGC, MHRD, etc. The countries visited on academic assignments include U.S.A., U.K., Canada, USSR, Russia, Italy, Iran, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Cuba, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Holland, France etc

Finally, an important annual activity being done in our department for the past 15 years is the celebration of “National Science Day” on February 28. This day is observed throughout the country to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect, by Prof.C.V.Raman who got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930. The science day programme consist of poster/chart exhibition, popular lectures etc. on Physics/Science, for the benefit of students, teachers, and general public.