National Institute of Research and Development for Technical Physics (NIRDTP)
Iaşi, Romania
(Institutul Naţional de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Fizică Tehnică – IFT Iaşi)
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
December 2011
Institutional development plan for the next 4 years (maximum 15 pages)
The mission of the NIRDTP Iasi will be to focus on specific fields in which the international scientific community plays or is likely to play a significant role and can provide a considerable boost mainly to knowledge-intensive industry and other sectors of society by developing world-class scientific, research and technical output in magnetics (particularly magnetic materials and devices) and related disciplines. This goal will be achieved by providing a focal point for research, education, technology transfer, and consultancy in magnetics and related disciplines.
The main scientific mission of NIRTDP Iaşi over the next 4 years period is the development and study of novel multifunctional materials and devices aimed for multidisciplinary applications. The associate mission is to capitalize on these materials and develop new applications which can be turned into good account by means of technology transfer and/or direct commercialization. From these missions, an overall strategy has emerged with the focus on the following general objectives:
· to increase the performance and efficiency of the research, technological development and innovation activities carried out at NIRDTP;
· to increase the synergy between basic and applied research in order to develop new, market-driven applications using the results obtained from the fundamental investigation of the novel materials and phenomena;
· to promote the results of basic and applied research, i.e. new products, technologies and services based on such results, at national and international fairs and exhibitions;
· to translate its research results into successful innovations for knowledge valorization;
· to promote technology transfer through the licensing of existing technology and know –how;
· to increase the national and international visibility of the institute;
· to develop its highly specialized human resource through the training of young researchers on the existing research infrastructure and through collaborative activities carried out in high level national and international partner institutions.
· to develop new strategic partnerships in order to set up regional, national and international consortia on various research topics and to strengthen the existing collaborations;
· to promote the collaboration between NIRDTP and industrial partners, mainly SMEs;
· to develop partnerships with the higher education institutions for both research activities and for human resource training.
1. Scientific SWOT analysis.
The scientific SWOT analysis of NIRDTP has been formulated logically following an analysis of NIRDTP’s current organizational strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and the expected opportunities (O) and threats (T) from the external environment over the next 5+ years.
NIRDTP’s SWOT analysis also takes into careful consideration the main priorities identified by the National Strategy for R&D and innovation for 2007–2013, by the National R&D policy and by the general strategy of NIRDTP for 2006–2013. The main priorities identified include: i) the need to increase involvement in EU research and development programs; ii) the need to concentrate development capacities in novel multifunctional materials for multidisciplinary applications; and iii) the need to increase the number of researchers in these areas.
Strengths (S) and Weaknesses (W) / Opportunities (O) and Threats (T)Strengths
S1. Strong multidisciplinary research team (physicists, chemists, engineers, bioengineers, medical doctors, computer scientists) with a solid expertise of the individual members;
S2. Expertise in the participation of large-scale national and international research projects;
S3. Expertise in the innovation and development of new multifunctional materials;
S4. Expertise in the innovation and development of new multidisciplinary applications based on such multifunctional materials (e.g., micro- and nano-sensors, transducers, biosensors);
S5. Expertise in the development of new techniques and complex equipment for state-of-the-art and beyond state-of-the-art applications;
S6. Expertise in the characterization of novel magnetic materials using state-of-the-art characterization methods and equipment (electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, XRD, magnetometry, etc.);
S7. NIRDTP has a range of novel technologies for sample preparation, characterization and sensor testing (rapid solidification techniques, thin film deposition, electrodeposition, clean room, Faraday room, etc.);
S8. Culture of communication, networking and forming research partnerships on national and international levels (more than 20 collaborative national projects and over 15 European and international projects ongoing);
S9. Strong communication infrastructure (broadband internet access with an intranet of over 100 computers – many of them connected to the preparation, characterization and testing facilities). / Opportunities
O1. Potential to further enhance the participation in national research projects funded by National Authority for Scientific Research and EU Structural Funds (multiple proposals submitted very recently);
O2. Potential to participate in new FP7 ICT and NMP projects (proposal currently in development for submission in early 2012);
O3. Potential for further research capacity building via European Structural Funds;
O4. Potential to develop RTD projects with international as well as private clients;
O5. Potential to improve the international visibility and proposal success rate in FP7 through collaborative research and technology transfer, as well as through dissemination vehicles such as publications in top scientific journals and participations in high-level international conferences.
Weaknesses
W1. Some equipment has limited abilities compared to the requirements of the existing work load, e.g. existing RF sputtering equipment has limited performance due to lack of laser ablation deposition thereby limiting the types of deposited alloys;
W2. Limited number of experienced staff and fewer new graduates/PhDs and postgraduates joining - so unable to fully exploit every new scientific developments;
W3. Lack of access to some required equipment, e.g. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) equipment – for surface composition and chemical bonding investigations;
W4. Insufficient national funding to invest in R&D equipment and expert researchers;
W5. Some of skills required for strategic collaborations and international R&D projects management in ERA are not fully developed;
W6. Insufficient international visibility with reference to the inclusion in European consortia for FP7 applications. / Threats
T1. Continued brain-drain of well qualified Romanian researchers to international, local and multinational companies and organizations;
T2. Fluctuation in national R&D funding due to changing political priorities;
T3. Reduced (Limited) number of adequately trained researchers and research managers to fully exploit opportunities with FP7 ICT/NMP projects;
T4. Reduced private investment in state-of-the-art applications of research results due to global economic crisis;
T5. Reduced employment opportunities due to global economic crisis.
2. Strategic scientific objectives and directions.
The global research strategy embraced by NIRDTP for next 4 years derives from its established medium- to long-term strategy, which envisages the following main points:
· to establish the priority research directions and topics in correlation with the profile and expertise of the institute and with the main national and international research priorities;
· to develop inter- and multidisciplinary research activities (physics, chemistry, electrical and electronics engineering, biology, medicine, agronomy, energy, security, etc.) according to the thematic priorities established at national and European level;
· to develop NIRDTP’s own research program in the field of advanced multifunctional nanostructured and nanocomposite materials for multidisciplinary applications in top level technological fields;
· to increase the number and quality of the research projects prepared in order to attract substantial funding for supporting the high performance research activity carried out at NIRDTP;
· to increase the amount of funding attracted from private sources (companies);
· to increase the performance of research and the visibility of the obtained results through high quality publications in top level ISI journals and through national and international patent applications;
· to continue to synchronize the research priorities of NIRDTP with those established at national and European level;
· to identify niche applications for the advanced materials and devices developed at NIRDTP;
· to enhance the international visibility of the institute by continuing to organize various international meetings (ANMM own conference series, workshops, summer schools, etc.).
The specific scientific strategic directions and objectives for the next 4 years, derived from the main mission, are the following:
2.1: Development of novel multifunctional materials with enhanced properties and characteristics aimed for state-of-the-art and beyond state-of-the-art applications.
Multifunctional materials are versatile materials with various shapes and sizes (particles and nanoparticles, wires and nanowires, ribbons and nanoribbons, powders, thin films, bulk materials, etc.), and with various structures and characteristics, e.g. amorphous, nanostructured, magnetic, magnetostrictive, etc. They offer the necessary support for the manifestation of a significant number of specific phenomena and effects, and therefore they can represent the sensitive elements in various sensing devices developed for multiple applications (e.g., automotive, medical, etc.).
This strategic direction is concerned with the development of novel such multifunctional materials, with the study of their properties and structures, and with the investigation of their potential use in the development of novel applications.
2.2: Investigation and applications of magneto-transport phenomena.
Magneto-transport phenomena such as magneto-resistance and magneto-impedance exhibit certain peculiarities which make them extremely useful for the development of new applications, such as sensors, microsensors and nanosensors with ultra-high sensitivity and accuracy, to be employed in state of the art applications such as magnetocardiography and magnetoencephalography.
This strategic objective aims to establish the effective ways of controlling the magneto-transport phenomena in various magnetic materials, as well as the methods to increase the sensitivity and response of these materials to external stimuli (extremely low magnetic fields, mechanical stresses, etc.), and also to find new magneto-transport phenomena and novel materials in which the known ones display improved characteristics, and to find new applications of these phenomena.
2.3: Sensors and actuators (including bio).
The requirement for new sensing devices has increased drastically in the last decade. Each of the new smartphones launched recently on the market includes a number of sensors. The continuous miniaturization of such sensing devices is a permanent preoccupation of engineers and scientists. The price of the various sensors is decreasing, whilst their performances (sensitivity, accuracy, overall durability) are expected to increase. Moreover, recent trends in this direction imply multiparameter sensing and various types of intelligent arrays of hybrid sensors. Therefore, the effort put into this strategic direction is very large. The potential for applications is practically limitless, from monitoring the health status of people to monitoring and controlling the condition of buildings, complex industrial systems and even processes.
The preoccupations under this strategic direction are aimed to achieve new intelligent devices with beyond state-of-the-art sensing capabilities, with enhanced autonomy (therefore energy harvesting is an important component of the envisaged research in this area), including communication abilities and which are aimed to read multiple parameters, allow fast data fusion and establish the complex state of a system or person. These sensor systems will be developed in close synergy with the strategic direction of multifunctional materials.
2.4: Novel materials for spintronic applications
The interest for developing novel spintronic applications such as racetrack memories, magnetic domain wall logic devices, domain wall diodes and oscillators, and devices based on field driven domain wall motion, has grown exponentially in the last few years. This extraordinary development requires novel materials with enhanced characteristics to be employed in this type of applications.
NIRDTP’s aim in this strategic objective is to develop novel spintronic materials at a much lower cost while preserving or improving their specific properties in comparison with those of the existing materials which are currently employed for testing the spintronic applications. One very recent example is the development of rapidly solidified amorphous nanowires at NIRDTP, material with significantly improved characteristics as compared to the planar nanowires used in domain wall logic applications at present.
2.5: Magnetic resonance
The study of this phenomenon continues to reveal novel but specific aspects of magnetic materials, aspects which are difficult to investigate through other techniques.
This strategic objective aims to develop at NIRDTP novel characterization methods of the magnetic materials with various shapes and sizes, as well as to develop new types of biomedical sensors based on the magnetic resonance. One project on this topic has been recently submitted to the last national call for research projects.
A number of supporting objectives will ensure the necessary backing for the above scientific strategic directions:
i. Develop NIRDTP’s Strategic Research Partnerships
The objective is to exchange know-how and experience through bilateral cooperation activities with well-known European research centers.
ii. Increase NIRDTP’s Human Resource Potential
The objective is to increase the human potential of NIRDTP, which has difficulty to attract and retain top research students because of high salaries in other EU countries and overseas developed countries. In order to achieve this, NIRDTP will offer competitive salaries to hire young experienced Romanian researchers (i.e. Post-Doctoral researchers) with backgrounds in materials and microsensors for various applications, e.g. medical, automotive, etc.
iii. Increase NIRDTP’s Technology Potential
The main objective is to develop NIRDTP’s existing R&D facilities. In order to achieve this, a number of equipment items will be upgraded or purchased through existing and future capacity building projects funded through national and European grants, including EU structural funding.
iv. Increase NIRDTP’s Scientific Visibility
The objective is to support knowledge transfer at national and international levels, and facilitate research policy development in the field of multifunctional materials for multidisciplinary applications. This will be achieved through NIRDTP’s organization of scientific events, thematic international sessions and seminars.
v. Increase NIRDTP’s technology transfer for socio-economic needs
The objective is to maximize the transfer and promotion of research results and activities in Romania and across the EU. A multilateral approach will be adopted to achieve this: (i) promotion of research activities and results through NIRDTP’s website; (ii) publication of research results in peer reviewed journal and presentation at international conferences; (iii) organization of workshops to make research proposal submissions to relevant calls from the FP7 Work Programs; and (iv) publication and syndication of S&T features aimed at “layman audiences”.