Structure Polish Academy of Sciences

Name: Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, PAS

Address: ul. Reymonta 25, 30-059 Kraków, Poland

Website: http://www.imim.pl/english

Description:

The Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences is one of the leading research centers in the field of fundamental and applied materials science. The research activities correspond to the priorities of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Polish Academy of Sciences and programs of the European Community. The research activities performed are mainly based on long-term cooperation with varies scientific institutions from Poland and other countries such as: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, Slovakia, USA, Japan, Holland, Slovenia, Ukraine, Taiwan and Korea. Eighty-nine people are employed in the institute, including 46 scientific staff: 11 full professors, 20 associate professors, 15 assistant professors.

For many years, the Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences has been authorized to award Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees, conduct doctoral studies. The Institute has been recognized by the Polish Academy of Sciences and Government Evaluation Committees as one of the best in country in the field of materials science.

Disciplines: materials engineering

Fields of activity: 

• Environmental friendly technologies and materials: lead-free soldering, silicon solar cells and new biomaterials for artificial heart device;
• Amorphous, nano- and microcrystalline materials: amorphous and nanocrystalline Al alloys, electrochemically deposited coatings with superior tribological and anticorrosive properties, metals and alloys with new properties obtained by severe plastic deformation, metallic materials with ultrafine grains for stomatological implantology;
• Knowledge based functional materials: metallic materials for hydrogen storage, phase transformations and thermophysical properties of functional materials, martensitic and magnetic transformation in alloys based on Heusler'a structure showing shape memory and magnetocalorimetric effect, structure modelling in multilayer materials;
• Development of research tools and diagnostic techniques: development of advanced research techniques in SEM and TEM, such as: analysis of crystallographic orientations and misorientations in micro- and nanoscale, data processing from local measurements of crystallographic orientations and assessment of material degradation during exploitation based on depth profile of crystallographic texture and internal stresses in near-surface areas.

Latest achievements:

• Development of new materials for solar cells and modules;
• Improvement of functional biomaterials with coatings for special applications in vascular systems and bone implants;
• Materials with shape memory effect on the basis of single crystals and thin layer structures;
• Description of phase transformations, thermophysical and thermomechanical properties of the chosen intermetallic phases;
• Investigation of the thermal and thermomechanical properties of alloys and other materials and experimental verification of the phase diagrams;
• Development of new lead-free solder materials and soldering technologies;
• The influence of deformation on material properties of nanomaterials produced by severe plastic deformation methods;
• Description of the role of grain boundaries and second phase particles in nucleation during the process of recrystallization.

Research facilities:

• Laboratory of analytical electron microscopy,
• Laboratory of x-ray diffraction,
• Photovoltaic laboratory,
• Physicochemical testing laboratory,
• Laboratory of calorimetry.

Contact person:

Professor Maciej Szczerba
Scientific Director
m.szczerba@imim.pl
(+48 12) 295 28 23