Mission of IP SAS
The mission of the Institute of Physics of Slovak Academy of Sciences(IP SAS) is to understand the physical phenomena at the macro- and the micro scale through experimental and theoretical research. Studies are realized both on our facilities, and in collaboration with leading European and world laboratories. We focus mainly on materials research, nuclear and subnuclear physics, research of quantum information and complex systems. By the popularization of our results we want to attract and motivate talented young people to take up research activities. In cooperation with universities, we want to contribute to the improvement of the intellectual potential of Slovakia by good doctoral studies, to increase its global competitiveness and its ability to face the technological challenges of modern society.
Who we are?
Institute of Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) was originally founded as Cabinet of Physics SAS on October 1, 1955. Professor D. Ilkovič, the co-worker of the Nobel Prize winner Prof. Heyrovský, was the director during the initial period. In 1957 the Cabinet was transformed into the Laboratory of Physics SAS and in 1963, Institute of Physics SAS was established. Finally in 2022 it was transformed to Institute of Physics SAS, v. v. i., more in History of the Institute.
The Institute is primarily aimed at experimental and theoretical research in physics. Close collaboration with many research institutions in Slovakia and abroad has been established during the existence of the Institute. The Institute provides scientific education for graduate students to obtain Ph.D. degree and for undergraduate students to prepare their diploma thesis.
From the very beginning of its existence, the research teams concentrated their efforts on solid state physics and nuclear and subnuclear physics. In particular, the mass and charge transfer as well as mechanical and thermal properties of solids were studied. In nuclear physics, original results were achieved in the study of nuclear reactions induced by fast neutrons, activation analysis, and pre-equilibrium model of nuclear reactions. Much work was devoted to the development of the technology and theory of amorphous rapidly quenched metals, transport properties of crystalline solids. The theoretical problems of high energy and elementary particle physics were worked out. Electroacoustics and psychoacoustics studies were also subjects of research in the past.
Current research at the Institute focuses on condensed matter physics (rapidly quenched materials, multilayers, semiconductors, theory of low dimensional systems), nuclear physics (nuclear structure, mechanism of nuclear reactions,positron utilization), subnuclear physics (phenomenology of high energy collisions, nonperturbative QCD, properties of hadron spectra) and quantum information. The Institute is involved in a broad scientific collaboration within European scientific projects and cooperates closely with world most famous research centers (e.g. JINR Dubna, GSI Darmstadt, ESRF Grenoble, DESY Hamburg, CERN Geneve, ICTP Trieste, etc.).
The excellent results achieved
- in the preparation of metallic materials by unique technologies which lead to excellent features and combinations of performance arising from the peculiar structural arrangement at the atomic level
- in the modeling of systems and processes for nanotechnology based on first principles and their application to the design of new 3D and 2D materials, nanotribologie, quantum transport and spintronic circuits
- in theoretical research of quantum properties and fundamental concepts with the goal of developing quantum information and communication technologies and tools for simulating quantum systems
- more in Research
Institute vision
Institute of Physics SAS wants to continue in the started activities and research projects, and fully endorses Long-Term Development Intentions of the SAS – SAS 2020, which has the motto
„Science is the future“