Research

Today, the Department comprises 11 research groups, concerned with the investigation of different forms of matter, including advanced metal alloys, polymer-metal nanocomposites, complex fluids, soft-condensed biopolymers, hybrid ceramics and, of course, more traditional materials. The Department now is home to about 200 undergraduate and graduate students, 40 post-doc fellows, 40 senior scientist staff, and 40 administrative and technical staff members. Its research endeavors produce about 30 Ph.D. and 30 Master’s theses, about 350 publications in a broad range of scientific journals, and 15 patent applications per annum. In addition, the past few years have witnessed the formation of a number of spin-off companies, based on technology developed by Department members. This development reflects our concern and initiatives regarding technology transfer.

In the past decade the Department has gained an excellent reputation, as was concluded during a critical evaluation by an external committee consisting of authoritative international scientists. According to the committee the Department "has established outstanding, world-class facilities that are staffed by a highly interactive faculty … in which world-class collaborative and high-quality, high-risk innovative projects are carried out".