Introduction
The Institute of Physics carries out research activities in a variety of fields, with a high standard of academic excellence, covering the main topics of contemporary physics, from elementary particles to galaxies, from atoms and molecules to condensed matter. The scientific investigation not only fulfils our needs for understanding and explaining the world we live in, but also provides basic knowledge for the development of technologies for the well-being of society and for helping to solve challenging today's global problems, such as energy supply and climate changes. Some areas, particle and nuclear physics, solid state, and low temperature physics, have a quite long tradition at the Institute of Physics. Others, introduced more recently, have been driven by the development of new technologies or are due to the new engagement of physics with other fields, mainly biology and materials, comprising interdisciplinary areas. They include quantum optics, atomic and molecular physics, materials science, nanophysics, complex fluids, biophysics, atmosphere physics, and plasma physics. The development of theories and models, with the help of computational methods, are the concern of our theoreticians. Quantum mechanics, electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, and other fundamental physical theories, as well as nonlinear dynamics, are their basic area of investigation. Research in physics education, with attention to the historical and cultural aspects of science, is also a concern of our researchers. The scientists organize themselves into groups, acting through national and international collaborations, such as those related to high-energy physics. The experimental work at the Institute of Physics is carried out in several research laboratories, the largest one being the Nuclear Physics Laboratory.
Research Areas
1. Particle, fields, strings, and cosmology
2. Nuclear Physics
3. Atomic, molecular and optical physics
4. Condensed matter
5. Soft matter, biophysics
6. Statistical physics
7. Atmospheric physics
8. Plasma physics
9. Applied physics
10. Physics education
