Jožef Stefan Institute Open Day Visit Programmes

Department of Thin Films and Surfaces F3
The main research activity of the Department of Thin Films and Surfaces are hard coatings for protection of tools and machine parts against wear. Hard coatings considerably decrease both wear and friction, therefore the tool lifetime increases several times.

Department of Theoretical Physics F1
The research activity of the Department is focused on current theoretical problems in solid state physics, statistical physics, nuclear physics, elementary particle physics and field theory, and in biophysics and physics of soft condensed matter.

Department of Condensed Matter Physics F5
The research program is focused on the study of the structure and dynamics of disordered and partially ordered condensed matter at the atomic and molecular level with special emphasis on phase transitions. The purpose of these investigations is to discover the basic laws of physics governing the behavior of these systems, which represent the link between perfectly ordered crystals on one side and amorphous matter, soft condensed matter and living systems on the other.

Department of Low and Medium Energy Physics F2
Department’s researchers perform a basic and applied research in the low and medium energy physics. The first is related to the work in the atomic physics while the second contributes to the knowledge of the nuclear physics. The researchers deal with radiological environmental protection mainly concerned with the monitoring of environment in the vicinity of nuclear power plant and with the monitoring of the radioactivity in the food.

Centre for Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis CEMM
Centre for Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis (CEMM) is JSI infrastructure unit which comprises analytical equipment for various electron microscopy techniques that are necessary for R&D work of JSI departments. CEMM comprises three scanning electron microscopes (JEOL JXA-840A, JEOL JSM-5800, JEOL JSM-7600F), two transmission electron microscope (JEOL JEM-2100, JEOL JEM-2010F) and equipment for SEM and TEM sample preparation.

Department of Surface Engineering and Optoelectronics F4
The research activities conducted within the Department are associated with vacuum science, technology and applications. The main activities are focused on non-equilibrium plasma generation, sustenance and characterization, tailoring surface properties of advanced nano and biomedical materials by selected plasma species, surface characterization of inorganic, polymer and composite materials, deposition and characterization of thin films, modification and characterization of fusion relevant materials, thermodynamics of trapped gases and methods for sustaining ultrahigh vacuum environment, vacuum optoelectronics, and basic research in the field of surface and thin film characterization by electron spectroscopy techniques.

Department of Advanced Materials K9
The Department is involved in basic and applied research in the field of the synthesis and characterization of advanced materials and also participates in the education process. The Department’s research aim is to acquire the knowledge that is required for the development of new materials and technology and is characterized mainly by a high level of applicability and by an innovatory approach.

Laboratory for Open Computer Systems and Networks E5
The focus of the Department’s activities is on research and development of next generation networks, telecommunication technologies, components and integrated systems, and information society services and applications.

Department of Biotechnology B3
The researchers are investigating biological molecules of microbiological, fungi, plant and animal origin for the use in human and veterinary medicine, for the protection of plants, preparation of quality and safe food and for the protection of environment.

Department of Complex Matter F7
The research within the Department of Complex Matter encompasses a variety of research fields, ranging from the synthesis of new materials to fundamental investigations of elementary excitations, self-organising behaviour and adaptive functionality in complex systems. These include anything from nano-biosystems and biomolecules to superconductors and nanowires. The experimental methods used are suitably diverse, from synthetic chemistry to biomedicine, femtosecond laser spectroscopy and magnetometry.

Department of Physical and Organic Chemistry K3
Department of Physical and Organic Chemistry comprises Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Laboratory of Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry. Basic research of the department is focused on the experimental and theoretical study of various physico-chemical processes at surfaces and in atmospheric chemistry. The main attention in the field of organic chemistry is directed to the halogenated, in particular fluorinated, organic molecules.

Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences B2
The research program of the Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences is focused mainly on basic research in molecular toxinology using techniques of protein biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and genetics. The primary goal of our investigations is the acquisition of new understanding of mammalian (patho)physiology with the aim of improving human and animal health.

Department of Experimental Particle Physics F9
Departmental research is devoted to experimental studies of elementary particles, to reveal the ultimate building blocks of matter and the nature of the interactions between them.

Department of Nanostructured Materials K7
The Department of Nanostructured Materials brings together scientists, experts and young researchers from various complementary fields of science: chemistry, technology, physics, materials science and mineralogy. The basic and applied research in the department includes ceramic materials, intermetallic alloys and minerals. Our research encompasses conventional processing as well as the development of new technologies and methods for preparing new materials with novel properties.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology B1
The major goals of the Department’s research are to characterize the individual proteases (primarily from the cathepsin family) and their inhibitors (stefins, cystatins and related proteins) and to unravel the molecular mechanisms of processes leading to programmed cell death or regulating the immune response of the organism. In addition, the Department’s research is focused towards understanding the roles of proteases in various pathological processes, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and different neurological disorders (Huntington disease, …). One of the important areas is also understanding of the 3-D structures of biological macromolecules and their complexes at the atomic level, thereby linking the sequencing information with the mechanism of molecule action. In this way, the research is focused in target identification and validation, which are key areas of research in the field of biomedicine in connection with biotechnology.

Department for the Synthesis of Materials K8
At the Department for the Synthesis of Materials, we are researching materials and their properties, and develop new useful materials. The main topics of our researches are:

• Magnetic nanomaterials; Magnetic materials are an integral part of many devices without which we cannot imagine our lives. They are located in computers, loudspeakers, radios, televisions, mobile phones, cars … But we are researching nano size magnetic materials that might be suitable for use in medicine, ecology and engineering.
• Fluorescence nanoparticles that are interesting as contrast agents in modern medical diagnostics and bio-analytics.
• Semi-conductive ceramics, whose resistance to electrical resistance changes sharply with temperature. Such materials are used to protect electronic systems against overheating.

Department of Intelligent Systems E9
The principal goals of the Department of Intelligent Systems are to contribute to the computational theory of intelligence and to develop high-impact practical applications in areas such as intelligent information systems, data analysis, intelligent web retrieval, decision support, intelligent agents, medicine, ecology, language technologies, intelligent manufacturing, and economy.

Department of Systems and Control E2
The activities of the Department of Systems and Control include analysis, control and optimization of various systems and processes. Several activities are performed within this frame: research and development of new methods and algorithms for automatic control, the development of procedures and software tools to support the design and building of control systems, the development of special measuring and control modules, and the design of computer aided systems for control and supervision of devices, industrial and other processes.

Department of Gaseous Electronics F6
The department is researching materials and gaseous states, which uncover the world beyond molecules or even atoms. The research is focused on science about gases and gaseous discharges, plasma nanoscience, chemistry, and electrochemistry, plasma biotechnology and biomedicine, advanced sensors, electronics of surfaces and crystals, advanced vacuum science and technology. The mission of the Department is to inspire the world with science and innovative technologies on the field of gaseous electronics for a better tomorrow.

Department of Electronic Ceramics K5
The Department performs research, development and educational activities in the fields of synthesis, characteristics and use of materials in electronics. Activites are based on the fact that the development of electronic components aims towards decreasing dimensions, higher efficiency and reliability, increased complexity of electronic components and a lower impact on environment.

Department of Communication Systems E6
The core activities of the Department of Communication Systems comprise research, development and design of next generation telecommunication networks, technologies and services; wireless communication, embedded and sensor systems; and new procedures and algorithms for parallel and distributed computing.

Department of Environmental Sciences O2
The multidisciplinary research of the Department of Environmental Sciences focuses on the combination of physical, chemical and biological processes that influence the environment, man and human activities. Therefore, the work is based on three main areas: development, optimisation and validation of analytical methods, study of geochemical processes that influence cycling and transformations of substances and elements, and environmental impact assessment which evaluates the risk that human activities present for human health and for the environment.

Department of Computer Systems E7
The Department is concerned primarily with the development of advanced computing structures and efficient algorithms for massive-data processing, and systems for effective human-computer interaction. Within this broad area, we are concentrating on self-reparable and self-organizing systems, modeling and optimizing of complex, dynamic and nondeterministic systems. Our research results are implemented within applications for production, transport, energy, environmental sustainability, bioinformatics, health, and medicine.

Department of Knowledge Technologies E8
The mission of the Department of Knowledge Technologies is to develop advanced information technologies for the acquisition, storage, management and discovery of knowledge, especially data mining, machine learning, decision support and language technologies.

School of experimental chemistry
School of experimental chemistry operates within the Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Technology, maintaining crucial connections between the Institute and schools, both primary and secondary, while interest exists also amongst kindergardens. In the form of trainings and visits, children are able to experiment and discover characteristics of substances.

Department for Automation, Biocybernetics and Robotics E1
The Department is developing knowledge about the movement and dynamics of robots and people and applies that knowledge in industry, sports and medicine. The researchers use such knowledge in modern technical areas, including advanced automatics, intelligent and service robotics and in target human fields of biocybernetics and ergonomy.