The aim of the Institute of Physics of Materials of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. (IPM ASCR, v.v.i.) is to elucidate the relation between the behaviour and properties of materials and their structural and microstructural characteristics.

History
The Institute was created from the Laboratory for the Study of the Properties of Metals of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, which was founded in 1955 and changed to the Institute of the Properties of Metals in 1963. In 1969, the name was changed to the Institute of Physical Metallurgy. The current name was adopted in 1994. The Institute is located near the city centre. More about history of the city of Brno you can find here.

Mission
The Institute of Physics of Materials of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., has been active in the interdisciplinary field of materials science since its foundation in the year 1955. The position of the institute in this rather broad scientific field lies prevailingly in the research of metallic materials. There are two main research areas:
(i) physical nature of processes taking place in metallic materials during creep, fatigue, creep/fatigue and under other types of mechanical loading
(ii) structure of materials and selected thermodynamic, diffusion and magnetic properties.

Institutional research plan for the period 2005-2010
Physical properties of advanced materials in relation to their microstructure and processing
Principal investigator: Petr Lukáš

This institutional research plan covers the main part of the Institute's activity. All the research groups participate on its solution by the dominant parts of their activity. The aim of the institutional research plan is to contribute to the gradual deepening of understanding of the relation between microstructure in the bulk as well as at surfaces and interfaces on the one hand and properties on the other hand. On this basis it is possible to optimise both the microstructure and the properties and design completely new materials. In the concrete, the research is centred on ultrafine-grained materials, microcrystalline, nanocrystalline and amorphous materials, intermetallics, superalloy single crystals and polycrystals, advanced steels, advanced magnesium alloys, advanced iron and nickel alloys, shape memory alloys, composite and nanocomposite materials, metal laminates, lead-free solder materials, magnetic semiconductors and half-metallic magnets, magnetic multilayers and transition-metal silicides. The investigated physical properties include relevant mechanical properties (creep, fatigue, brittle fracture) and/or selected electrical and magnetic properties.

Staff
At present the institute has altogether more than one hundred employees. One half of them are scientific workers and co-workers (i.e. PhD or equivalent degree) and second half is supporting staff and administration, technicians and workshop included.
(click for organisation chart)

Annual Report 2008 (in Czech)
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Annual Report 2007 (in Czech)
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Annual Report 2006 (in Czech)
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Annual Report 2005 (in Czech)
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