The institute was established on May 1, 2011 through the merger of the Department of Physics and the Department of Nuclear Physics and Technology. Within the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, the institute carries out educational, research, and development activities within its field of expertise.
Both former departments have a rich history, with each having been established as an independent unit.
History of the Department of Physics
The history of the Department dates back to 1939, when the Institute of Technical Physics was established at STU (then SVŠT). Work began almost entirely from scratch. The inventory was extremely modest, and even the assigned rooms lacked furniture—there were no desks or chairs, not even in the lecture hall. Initially, staffing the teaching process was also problematic, as there were too few lecturers for the number of enrolled students. All these issues were gradually resolved. Throughout its history, the Institute of Technical Physics (renamed the Department of Physics in 1950) provided the study program Solid State Physics as well as a wide range of courses for students across the entire SVŠT. These included Experimental Physics, Geometrical Optics, Physical Measuring Instruments, Fundamentals of Vector Calculus, Electromagnetic Theory of Light, Seminar in Theoretical Physics, Atomic Structure, Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory of Gases, Heat Theory, Physical Chemistry, and Atomic Physics. The development of the department was slowed in the late 1970s by a restructuring of university studies. As a result, the total number of lectures in the basic physics course was reduced from up to 240 hours to 120 hours. Unfortunately, this trend continued, and at present only 72 lecture hours are allocated to physics, spread over two semesters. As the Department and SVŠT as a whole grew, the former Department of Physics underwent two divisions. After the completion of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, the Department of Physics relocated and provided instruction in the basic physics course as well as specialized subjects within the field of Electromaterials Engineering. Each year, 15 to 20 students successfully graduated, and since 1962 more than 500 engineers have obtained degrees in these fields. Nearly 200 of them earned the scientific degree CSc (PhD), and 10 achieved the degree DrSc. Many went on to become leaders of scientific research teams and held significant positions in various institutions and internationally renowned laboratories abroad.
- Dionýz Ilkovič, a commemorative volume published on the occasion of what would have been his 80th birthday
- A brochure dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Institute of Technical Physics, The cover of the brochure
- The legendary Ilkovič demonstration experiments during lectures
History of the Department of Nuclear Physics and Technology
The Department of Nuclear Physics and Technology was established on September 1, 1961, in response to the need to educate electrical engineers with a focus on the application of nuclear physics and nuclear technology. From its inception, the department was involved in teaching within the study program Solid State Physics, where it provided the courses Experimental Methods of Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Physics. Following the restructuring of studies in 1969, a specialization in Experimental Electrophysics was created within the field of Electrotechnology, and the department was entrusted with its coordination. Later, due to the state’s nuclear energy program at the time, the specialization Nuclear Energy was established, in which the department also ensured instruction in quantum and statistical physics, nuclear physics, nuclear reactors, and dosimetry. The department’s scientific research activities focused on the construction of an accelerator, Mössbauer spectroscopy, protonography, and electron–positron annihilation.