As of 1 September 2023, our hosting institution, the Department of Physical Electronics, has changed its name. The name of the Department of Physical Electronics needed to be revised. The new name is the Department of Plasma Physics and Technology (abbreviation DPPT), and the Czech equivalent is Ústav fyziky a technologií plazmatu (abbreviation ÚFTP).
The main reason for the change is that the name needs to fully reflects to what the researchers at the Department of Physical Electronics has been doing in recent years. Prof. Petr Vašina, Director of the Department of Physical Electronics, adds: "The name Department of Physical Electronics has represented us for over twenty years. Research in the physics of electric discharges, low-temperature non-equilibrium plasma, and its applications, including the solution of current technological problems, is now the main focus of our work. The new name, the Department of Plasma Physics and Technology, reflects the current focus of the Department's scientific activities more accurately.
There was a broad discussion on the Department's name change, and staff were challenged to make suggestions. The debate took place in two phases. The best three names for the Department were selected in the first phase. In the second phase, the employees discussed only these proposals. The clear majority favored the Department of Plasma Physics and Technology. It is an apt name that covers most of the activities of the Department very well. The most extensive discussion was on the word "technology."
Prof. Vašina explains, "Our traditional strength is basic research in plasma physics. We are the most important contributor from the Czech RepublicIn to the most prestigious journal in the field. In recent years, we have even been the eighth most important contributor in the world. The results of cutting-edge-oriented basic research are subsequently transformed into final industrial applications in cooperation with industrial partners in the Czech Republic and abroad. We provide environmentally friendly and economically significant solutions for preparing new advanced materials or the surface refinement of traditional materials. This strategy is common in countries with a high level of innovation. Still, among Czech research organizations, even within Masaryk University, we are unique in this way of our work. A name without "technology" would not reflect this strength of ours. People often ask me how useful we are, and I always surprise them with how many companies we cooperate with and what practical things we have already done."
The change of the Department's name naturally involves many administrative tasks. The TOO (Technical and Operational Office) staff are already replacing the outdoor orientation signs in the Kotlářská campus. The name change will take place in the university's IS, INET, and rumbur systems from the night of 31 August to 1 September 2023. The names will be automatically switched. However, it is possible that, especially for manually entered information, the changes will not be reflected in the university systems and will be corrected gradually. For the Department's staff, the name change means getting used to the new name and starting to use it everywhere – from writing projects to changing the signature in an email.
The Heart of Europe workshop is a traditional gathering of scientists dealing with thin films. The center of Europe is presented by the Technical University of Vienna, Masaryk University in Brno, and Comenius University in Bratislava.
Prof. Christoph Gerhard and his colleagues visited their project partners at the Department of Plasma Physics and Technology and the CEPLANT Centre in the second week of April 2024. Together, they are working on the functionalization of fibers.
