Institute of physical engineering

about us

The Institute of Physical Engineering, as we know it today, has its origins in 1994 when the study program in Physical Engineering was added to the already existing Optical Engineering program within the then Department of Physics. During this period, the institute also expanded its research activities, establishing collaborations with numerous foreign research teams. We continue to maintain and expand these collaborations.

Today, the Institute of Physical Engineering is internationally recognized for its teaching and research in the field of applied physics and its application in high-tech industries and innovations. The institute maintains this position thanks to close ties with the CEITEC research center at Brno University of Technology, industrial partners in the field, and other research partners both in the Czech Republic and abroad.

The institute cannot be simply described as a collection of activities. The Institute of Physical Engineering is, above all, a community of people passionate about physics, united by a shared drive to expand the boundaries of knowledge.

The institute fosters a friendly and collaborative environment. Students often work together on class assignments, professors maintain an open-door policy, and nearly everyone knows each other. This positive atmosphere undoubtedly plays a key role in the high quality of our outcomes and achievements.

institute’s facilities

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, where the Institute of Physical Engineering is located, has been undergoing gradual renovations since 2020. In the summer of 2023, we moved back into the renovated A2 building, where we now have several floors of offices for staff, classrooms for laboratory teaching, and research labs, including clean rooms essential for nanostructure preparation. Students have access to newly built study rooms and a computer lab.

Undoubtedly, the most popular spot is our “kafárna,” which is a favorite among both faculty and students. It serves as a meeting place for research groups, a study space where students prepare for exams, and a hub for sharing ideas—often the best ones, right after the labs.

laboratories

At the Institute of Physical Engineering, we integrate lectures and theoretical exercises with hands-on work in the laboratories. Starting in the second semester, students engage in both basic and later advanced physics and optics experiments in the labs, ranging from Stirling engines to X-ray diffraction.

Students also gain additional laboratory experience through elective semester projects and their final theses. IPE is equipped with its own clean rooms for the fabrication and characterization of low-dimensional structures, advanced microscopy and spectroscopy labs, and a laser spectroscopy laboratory.

CEITEC NANO labs

The close connection between our institute and CEITEC BUT exists both at the personnel and infrastructure levels. In addition to using the facilities at the faculty, our staff and often students also utilize the clean rooms and other laboratories at CEITEC for their research activities. The most frequently used equipment includes deposition apparatuses and electron microscopes—both scanning and transmission. You can find more information about the equipment at CEITEC Nano here:

collaborations

We collaborate on research with both international universities and companies that are leaders in their respective fields.

Thanks to these collaborations, our students and staff have the opportunity to participate in internships abroad at partner institutes or companies.