Karazin University participates in the competition for a grant to create a scientific laboratory in the field of plasma technologies in Kharkiv

Karazin University, in partnership with the Institute of Microstructure Physics of the Max Planck Society in Halle (Germany), is participating in a competition of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for a grant to create a scientific laboratory of the highest world standards (Core of Excellence — CoE) — PLASMA-SPIN-ENERGY in Kharkiv.

It is planned to implement the advanced plasma technologies developed by Karazin University specialists in the latest nanoscale spintronics devices developed by German colleagues.

The Institute of Microstructure Physics, with the support of its director, Professor Stuart Parkin, initiated the request from Karazin alumni: Andrii Stervodov and Oleksii Biletskyi (Educational and Research Institute "School of Physics and Technology"), as well as Kyrylo Dronov ("School of Computer Science"). Stanislav Dudin, a leading researcher at the Educational and Research Institute of the School of Physics and Technology, Ihor Hirka, Director of the Educational and Research Institute of the School of Physics and Technology, and Alexei Chechkin, Professor at the University of Potsdam (Germany), took an active part in the project preparation.

Leading experts in the field of plasma physics, materials science, and spintronics have been invited to join the project’s international supervisory board: Ane Anesland, founder and CEO of ThrustMe (France), Ursel Fanz, Professor, Head of the ITER Technology and Diagnostics Department at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (Germany), Bronislaw Gorr, Professor, Director of the Institute of Applied Materials Science at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), Daniel Loss, Professor at the University of Basel (Switzerland), Konstantin Ostrikov, Professor at the Queensland University of Technology (Australia)and graduate of the Educational and Research Institute of the School of Physics and Technology, Yurii Pershin, Professor at the University of South Carolina (USA) and graduate of the Educational and Research Institute of the School of Physics and Technology. During the first phase of the project, Nina Efymenko, a graduate student of the Educational and Research Institute of the School of Physics and Technology, and Lisa Mala, a master’s student, completed an internship in Halle as part of their research programs.

As a result of the selection, the Halle-Kharkiv collaboration was among the twelve teams that were entitled to prepare a detailed plan for the creation of the CoE.

On April 26, an international meeting was held, where representatives of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Kharkiv City Council, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the National Research Center "Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology", FED Joint Stock Company, and the Queensland University of Technology (Australia) expressed their support for the project.

On April 30, the first stage was completed, and the project to create the PLASMA-SPIN-ENERGY CoE was submitted to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

We hope to win the second stage of the selection process, which should determine four winners out of twelve applicants.