Dr. Chang-Jong Kang from Chungnam National University, South Korea, visited FZU within the GAČR project SMTM-BEST to strengthen collaboration in the field of strongly correlated quantum materials.
At the end of May, an atom probe tomography (APT) laboratory started operating at the Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. It is an instrument that can examine a small piece of material atom by atom. The laboratory was funded by the OP JAK FerrMion project, in which the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences also plays a significant role.
Between 25 and 29 May 2026, the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (FZU) hosted Dr. Thomas Gouder, the principal scientist behind the development and operation of the Surface Science Laboratory Station (SSLS) at JRC Karlsruhe.
The 55th edition of the Journées des Actinides (JdA 2026) was held on 14–17 April 2026 in the historic town of Český Krumlov, Czech Republic. The conference was organized by Evgenia Chitrova (Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, FZU) together with Ladislav Havela (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, MFF).
In the presence of representatives of the European Commission, the Czech Academy of Sciences, ministries, partner institutions, and industry, the Surface Science Laboratory Station (SSLS) research apparatus was officially inaugurated on February 12 at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The apparatus was moved to Prague from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Karlsruhe.
The scientific work of our colleague, Mgr. Ing. Oleg Heczko, Dr., DSc., was recognized with the prestigious title of Doctor of Science.
Thomas Gouder’s life's work at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in Karlsruhe (JRC) is a state-of-the-art modular system for surface science. The instrument, used for cutting-edge research on nuclear fuel safety, corrosion, catalysis, and actinide chemistry, has served scientists from all over Europe, including teams from Prague. What is it used for, and what lies ahead for its future?
This year, we mark the tenth anniversary of International Women and Girls in Science Day with the life story of our colleague Evgenia Chitrova, head of the Rare-Earth and Actinide Science Research Group in the Department of Magnetic Measurements and Materials. Her story is the perfect proof that encounters with science and an indomitable curiosity shape a lifelong commitment to scientific work.
Like Jekyll and Hyde – such condition applies also to some materials. An international team led by Hanus Seiner from the Institute of Thermomechanics has discovered that in some directions the alloy of nickel, manganese and gallium is able to transmit elastic waves faster than steel, but in other directions the pulses propagate more slowly than in air. To describe the alloy's behaviour, scientists had to analyse every single atom. The study was published in the prestigious Advanced Materials journal.
Enthusiasm for science is the driving force behind success. This is also demonstrated by Lindau Meetings, where for decades young scientists from all over the world have been meeting Nobel laureates. "The atmosphere of togetherness and mutual support they experience there is an invaluable source of inspiration," says this year's participant Petr Veřtát, a postdoctoral fellow from the Department of Magnetic Measurements and Materials at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
The FerrMion project focuses on research and development of technical applications of ferroic materials, such as ferroelastic alloys with shape memory or multiferroics combining unique electrical, magnetic and mechanical properties. The planned research covers a broad spectrum of physical and technical fields and promises applications in energy, medicine and robotics. As part of the project, a unique 3D atomic probe material characterisation facility, the first of its kind in the Czech Republic, will be commissioned on the premises of the academic institutes in Prague Na Slovance.
