Karazin University, in partnership with Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics won a Grant Competition to Establish a Scientific Laboratory in Kharkiv

Karazin University, in partnership with the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics of the Max Planck Society in Halle, Germany, secured victory in the competition held by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to obtain a grant for establishing a "Center of Excellence" (CoE) in Kharkiv. This CoE will serve as a scientific laboratory adhering to the highest global standards, and the project has been named PLASMA-SPIN-ENERGY.

Within the framework of CoE, advanced plasma technologies developed by experts from Karazin University will be implemented in state-of-the-art nanoscale spintronic devices, a development led by German partners.

The preparation of this project took over two years, with graduates of Karazin University, Andrii Stervoyedov and Oleksiy Biletsky (Education and Research Institute "School of Physics and Technology"), along with Kyrylo Dronov (School of Computer Science), being the initiators of the project at the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics.

The project also involved active participation of the leading research fellow of the Education and Research Institute "School of Physics and Technology," Stanislav Dudin, Professor Igor Hirka of the Education and Research Institute "School of Physics and Technology," and Professor Oleksiy Chechkin from the University of Potsdam in Germany.

This project received support from the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, the Kharkiv City Council, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the National Science Center "Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology," Joint-Stock Company "FED," and the Technological University of Queensland in Australia.

The selection of projects for funding was highly competitive, with the collaboration between Halle and Kharkiv being among the 12 teams chosen after rigorous screening at the first stage, granting them the right to prepare a detailed plan for the establishment of the CoE.

On October 16, 2023, four winners were announced, including two centers to be established in Lviv, one in Kyiv, and one in Kharkiv, based at Karazin University.

Due to the ongoing military actions in Ukraine, the decision has been made to initiate the center's work in Germany with subsequent relocation to Kharkiv when appropriate conditions are established. It is hoped that the center will operate in the restored building of the Education and Research Institute "School of Physics and Technology" in Piatykhatky in the future.