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Cake prepared for the 10th anniversary of AGH University ACMiN, Photo by Dr Andrii Naumov
The AGH University Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The official celebration organised by the Centre was not only an occasion to eat some cake and drink a glass of champagne. The festivities were accompanied by an open day, during which anyone interested had an opportunity to visit particular labs, talk with their supervisors, and even examine the samples they could brind along.
All academic employees, doctoral students, and students who came to ACMiN that day could, e.g. visit the Laboratory of Ultra Low Temperatures equipped with, among others, a 3He/4He dilution refrigerator with integrated superconducting magnet. The apparatus which is used for i.a. examining superconducting materials, allows for stabilising samples even in temperatures near to the absolute zero (−273.15 °C) and generating a magnetic field of 14 T.
Visit to the Laboratory of Ultra Low Temperatures. A dilution refrigerator with closed-cycle cooling system and integrated superconducting magnet visible in the background, photo by Dr Andrii Naumov
One of the stops during the visit was also the Laboratory of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy which has at its disposal a device for imaging conductive surfaces of samples with the resolution of a few atoms. Also, the apparatus collected here makes it possible to obtain information on the local electron structure of samples by measuring localised and delocalised electron states near the Fermi surface.
Demonstration of the scanning tunneling microscopy, photo by Marianna Cielecka
The participants could also listen to a short lecture by Prof. Dr hab. Eng. Marek Przybylski, the AGH University ACMiN director, who summed up the 10 years of the unit’s activity. The scientist reminded about the idea at the very core of the Centre’s establishment, namely supporting the development of innovative economy by buying and providing special research apparatus. When creating the unit, the experience of similar centres operating in the USA had been taken into consideration. The director of ACMiN emphasised that the specialistic laboratories could not function without well-trained staff. As he pointed out, being able to handle the equipment and prepare samples is an art itself.
Prof. Dr hab. Eng. Marek Przybylski, director of the AGH University ACMiN, photo by Dr Andrii Naumov
The AGH University Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology was established in 2013. It conducts interdisciplinary research in modern engineering, physics, chemistry of materials, nanomaterials, material nanodiagnostics, and nanotechnologies. The employees collaborate with AGH University units, other science institutions, as well as third parties, but they also perform own research. What is more, the Centre undertakes didactic activity and has its own doctoral students in the AGH University Doctoral School.
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