Jozef Stefan Institute
Jozef Stefan InstituteJozef Stefan Institute,
Jamova 39,
1000 Ljubljana,
Slovenija
tel: +386 61 177-3900 (operator), direct dial: +386 61 177 + ext,
fax: +386 61 219-385
Director: Prof. dr. Vito Turk (see also the list of former directors)
Organizational Structure
Research projects
financed by MZT
Honorary and Associate Members,
External Advisers, Scientist Emeritus
E-mail addresses and personal pages
of people at IJS
IJS Science Information Centre (library)
Local computing environment
(interesting for IJS only: application forms, ...)
Events, activities
and announcements
(seminars, lectures, happenings, art gallery)
Messages, news (information for IJS staff)
The J. Stefan Institute (named after a distinguished physicists of the 19th century Jozef Stefan) is the leading Slovenian research organization, covering a broad spectrum of basic and applied research in the fields of natural sciences and technology. The staff of around 710 specialize in research in physics, chemistry and biochemistry, electronics and information science, nuclear technology, energy matters and environmental sciences.
Having great awareness of the international nature of science, the Institute has devoted great efforts to international cooperation. Today it cooperates with more than 70 leading scientific research institutions worldwide. Many basic and applied achievements of the Institute have received international recognition, and many of its staff are scientists of international repute.
The basic philosophy and goals of the Institute are to provide top-level scientific and applied output in the form of processes and products, and to produce well-trained young scientists. Both of these can be achieved only if based on a high level of scientific research. Hence the Institute has a diverse character, with strong links to universities, other research institutions and industry.
The J. Stefan Institute was founded at time when research and scientific activities were expanding rapidly throughout the world, as well as in Slovenia. Initially, in 1949, the Institute was founded within the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts as an Nuclear Physics Institute, and later became the Jozef Stefan Nuclear Institute. Eventually research spread to non-nuclear fields, given the modest potential of domestically-developed nuclear technology in general. Today, the Institute deals with other related fields of scientific and economic interest. After 45 years of achievement in scientific and other fields, the Institute has become part of the image of Slovenia.
The Institute is closely connected with both Slovenian universities, the University of Ljubljana and the University of Maribor. Many scientists who once had the opportunity to develop their research talents at the Institute have later been appointed to teaching posts, while still retaining their research positions or leading research teams at the Institute. Altogether, 70 scientists have full-time teaching posts at the two universities. They supervise the work of postgraduates on their master's and/or doctoral theses, as required by the Universities.
The Nova Gorica Municipality and the J. Stefan Institute founded in the year 1995 the first postgraduate school in Slovenia - School of Environmental Sciences. School has a status of independent faculty, providing courses leading to master's and doctoral degrees in environmental sciences.
With their size and expertise, the laboratories at the Institute are well-equipped to tackle demanding projects. They are fully available to university research groups and other users. In some areas of endeavour, the Institute's laboratories offer the only possibility of carrying-out advanced, scientific or applied research in Slovenia, and are therefore an indispensable asset to the universities.
To meet the requirements of the general national interest, the laboratories also support various projects of multi-disciplinary nature. The development of new technologies and products is based on an advanced knowledge of materials. For example, advanced technologies in electronics and high-temperature ceramics, superconductors, liquid crystals, surface coatings, fluoride compounds, and similar fields have been successfully transferred to industry. Work on the optimization of energy consumption, control, and consultation on energy problems in industry, all based on modern computing methods, is carried out in collaboration with other institutes. Since the very beginning of the use of nuclear energy, the safety of nuclear facilities has also been considered of vital importance.
Other important multi-disciplinary projects include environmental monitoring and consultation, the improvement of existing non-polluting technologies, and the development of new automation, robotics and information sciences.
In respect of supporting research in the field of ecology, the J. Stefan Institute joined the founders of ERICo Velenje (Institute for Ecological Research), the first institute in the Salek valley.
Various forms of close collaboration with the University Medical Centre have resulted in the development of medical equipment (tomography, electrical stimulators and appliances), the provision of isotopes for clinical research and treatment of patients, and the introduction of new research techniques and diagnostic methods in clinical medicine. To establish a centre of advanced interdisciplinary research in engineering, physics and mathematics in medicine the J. Stefan Institute and Orthopaedic Hospital Valdoltra founded the Research Institute Valdoltra.
The Institute devotes efforts into bringing the results of its research and knowledge to productive use and to the market. It was in this context that some years ago, the Technology Park at the J. Stefan Institute, the predecessor of the regional Ljubljana Technology Park, was established. Today the Institute is a founder and a major shareholder of the Ljubljana Technology Park. The Institute uses this hi-tech enterprise support to create an environment in which research, innovation, financingand production interact to accelerate the development cycle of innovative products.