Sir Mark Oliphant was the founder of the School and its first Director from 1950 to 1963. The school was originally called the "Research School of Physical Sciences" with "Engineering" being added to its title in 1990 to highlight the large amount of engineering work that is undertaken in the school. The name was again changed in 2008 to the "Research School of Physics and Engineering" to coincide with the merger with ANU's undergraduate physics teaching department. In support of a university strategic focus on the discipline of Engineering at ANU, the School name was changed to “Research School of Physics” in August 2019.  Nonetheless, the Research School of Physics retains a strength in graduate research in the fields of electronic materials, optics and instrumentation engineering. The long history of engineering physics remains an attraction for students and staff who work between the disciplines of physics and engineering.