The Department of Physics at Lady Brabourne College grew from a rather humble beginning to its present eminence. Physics teaching was introduced in the college as a two-year Intermediate Science course back in 1941. The Public Service Commission of West Bengal appointed Prof. Chameli Bose as the first Physics teacher of the department. Prof. Bose had the unique distinction of being the first woman to graduate with Honours in Physics from the Univeristy of Calcutta and was also the first Indian woman to secure a Post-Graduate degree in Physics. She set a high standard of teaching by demonstrating in class the basic principles of physics. Eager young students, fresh out of school, learned about the world around them and were encouraged to think and question.

The two year B.Sc. Degree course (Pass Course) commenced in the College from 1958 and in 1960 the first batch of Pass students appeared for their final University Examination. The three year. B.Sc. Honours course was introduced from 1963 under the leadership of Prof. Shovana Mukherjee. The Department of Higher Education, Govenrment of West Bengal and the then Principal of the college Prof. Roma Chowdhury sought collaboration and help from the Department of Physics, Presidency College. Prof. Shyamal Sengupta, Dr. Rashbehari Chakraborty and Dr. Moni Mitra of Presidency College helped set up a laboratory for the Honours students. Dr. P.K. Sen Choudhury and Dr. Hemen Mukherjee delivered lectures on Theoretical Physics in the initial stages.

The baton was then handed over to Prof. Jayanti Mahalanabis, Prof. Nilima Mishra, Dr. Evelyn Guha, Dr. Arundhuti Ghosh, Dr. Sunanda Guha, Dr. Arunima Mookerjea, Prof. Manimala Das, Smt. Bhabani Nag, Dr. Gouri Sanyal, Dr. Jonaki Choudhuri, Dr. Haimanti Chakrabarti and at present Dr. Keya Bose (in chronological order).

The Department had shifted to the New Science Building in the year 1965. Since then the Department has flourished with modern classrooms, well equipped laboratories and an enriched Seminar Library through the all-round efforts of its teaching and non-teaching members.

Over the decades the Department has not only grown in size but has also earned a reputation as an abode of quality learning/training which attracts meritorious girl students from all parts of the country and all cross-sections of the society. Post Graduate Course in Physics was introduced in the college in 2007, under the leadership of the then Head of the Department Dr. Jonaki Choudhuri. Initially It was an initiative of the Department of Higher Education of the State Government, followed by a tremendous co-ordinated effort from all the staff of the Physics department under the guidance of the then principal of the college, Dr. Sanghamitra Mukherjee. Thus Lady Brabourne College, became the second Government College in West Bengal after Presidency College to conduct a M.Sc. course in Physics. The Post Graduate laboratories were set up and they are still being upgraded and modernised through sustained efforts of the faculty members.

The three year Honours course has recently been replaced by a Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) since 2018. This hopes to instill in the students a more hands on approach, impart an interdisciplinary flavour while retaining the core strengths of the department.

Apart from teaching, most of the faculty members are engaged in active research work. Various Personal, Joint and Collaborative Research projects have been undertaken by them using the grants from DST-SERB, CSIR, UGC, BRNS, DST and others. This has been reflected in the number of publications in National & International Journals. In its effort to further its horizon the department had signed an MOU with Biotech Consortium, S.N.Bose National Centre and Tejpur University in 2013. The Department has a vibrant "Advanced Research Centre of Physics" . The broad thrust areas of research of this centre are Condensed Matter and Soft Condensed Matter.

The long tradition of excellence in the department which has been producing meritorious students well placed in academic and research institutions all over the world has been made possible by the dedication of teachers throughout the years.