I guess "physics based approach" could mean a few things (for context, my background is physics, not CS), but quantum chemistry [1,2] definitely stands in a very physics-y area while involving QC very directly. There is also QC for solid state physics, for more or less the same reasons you'd use QC for chemistry (scaling problems with the classical solutions).

On the other hand, quantum control (physically manipulating your quantum computer) has a lot of physics in it, but also crosses into EE. Likewise, looking into physical systems that can behave as a quantum computer is physics and EE. However I'm very much unfamiliar with that part, so I can't say anything there.

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms5213

[2] https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/18/2/02...