who here studies condensed matter physics? i'm wonder how much of it will bear relevance in the upcoming years, and if i should pursue graduate studies on it.
I don't study condensed matter in particular, but I have experience in a lab that has done some incredible research in recent years, and I'm more or less familiar with the theory. I attended the Prospects in Theoretical Physics lectures held by Princeton and IAS in 2015, which was on quantum matter.
https://static.ias.edu/pitp/2015//home.html
Topological band theory is a HUGE development in condensed matter, and the kind of materials that are being created (which host novel properties) could prove very very useful to advanced electronic systems. I really am unable to say if developments in this field will yield a new material that will completely change the electronics and computing industries, or even affect them slightly. I do know that it's incredibly interesting physics though, and that should be enough to convince a researcher that condensed matter is worth studying.
It will undoubtedly bear more relevance than high energy physics, if that's what you're asking.
If you've completed your undergraduate coursework on quantum mechanics, check out the book in the picture. It's the first stepping stone.
