Engineering Fields

If you want to be considered a physicist then you should do physics.

Many fields of engineering have specialties that use a lot of physics. Examples:

materials science/engineering: many branches are applied solid state physics

electrical engineering: electromagnetics; photonics; semiconductor physics; plasma physics (in some departments)

mechanical engineering / theoretical and applied mechanics: mechanics (of course); fluid dynamics; solid mechanics (elasticity, fracture mechanics, etc).

engineering physics: while I know quite a few schools have majors in this, I am only familiar with one of them. They did plasma physics; optics; biophysics; etc.

I'm sure others exist. You cannot pinpoint one as being "closest" to physics. It greatly depends upon the specialty within the fields... If you are interested in 19th and 20th century classical physics then clearly mechanical and electrical engineering have nice options; for more modern physics electrical and materials have nice options. But the work and research is usually more applied than what you will find in a pure physics department.

jason

 

Aerospace --> Orbital Trajectory analysis. It's not new physics, but it's pure physics nonetheless.

 

I can tell you're thinking in terms of labels. I've met CS, math, EE, ME, systems engineers, and technicians that could pass off as physicists and physics degree holders that still think the acceleration of gravity is zero at the max height of a ball thrown into the air.. Do what you find interesting and throw in some physics then learn it deeply.