News & Events

Srdcom portfólia stretnutí E-MRS sú jarné a jesenné stretnutia E-MRS. Hlavná spoločenská konferencia, jarné stretnutie E-MRS, sa organizuje každý rok a ponúka v priemere 25 tematických sympózií. Konferencia je všeobecne uznávaná ako konferencia najvyššieho medzinárodného významu a je najväčšou svojho druhu v Európe s približne 2 500 účastníkmi ročne. Každé sympózium publikuje vlastný zborník, ktorý dokumentuje najnovšie experimentálne a teoretické poznatky o raste a vlastnostiach materiálov, využívaní nových pokročilých procesov a vývoji elektronických zariadení, ktoré môžu čo najlepšie využívať vynikajúce fyzikálne vlastnosti funkčných materiálov.

Viac informácií o konferencii nájdete tu:   https://www.european-mrs.com/meetings/2026-spring-meeting-exhibit

The news portal of Comenius University published a press release about the LAM laboratory:

For more info click here: link 

 The Research and Development Agency (RDA) has approved funding for the research project APVV-23-0202 on Ternary Chalcogenide Perovskites for Photovoltaics and APVV-23-0300 on Charging and Charge Transfer in Quantum Confined Nanocrystals. Congratulations!

 The Faculty of Natural Sciences organized the student conference to encourage undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students to present their work on April 25, 2024. The program featured two main sessions: a presentation and a poster session. An estimated 150 participants from various departments showcased their research. Three students participated from LAM: Sameer Kumar Tiwari presented on "Preparation of BaZrS₃ Thin Films at Moderate Temperature and its Mechanism." Ivana Božeková discussed her research "Using Gold Nanocrystals to Inhibit Bacterial Growth as a Possible Alternative to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance." This work contributes to advancing our understanding of nanomaterials in biomedical applications. Ehsan Rezaie Ahari presented a Photoluminescence study of BaZrS₃ Perovskite nanocrystals at a single nanocrystal level showing a phenomenon of photoluminescence intermittence, blinking. For more info click here https://fns.uniba.sk/svk

On 20.03.2024, members of the LAM team participated in an event organized by NextStep Science. This event focuses on creating contacts between those interested in career opportunities in the natural sciences, people from the field of science and the private sector. Members of the LAM team introduced the visitors to the scientific focus, work in the laboratory, and the possibilities of future use of nanomaterials and new materials that are being developed at LAM. 

https://nextstepscience.org/

An interview with the Director of the laboratory, Dr. Milan Sýkora, under the title "Research from Los Alamos brought to Bratislava", was published in journal „Naša Univerzita“ (Our University). You can read the entire interview in Slovak on page 16 of the magazine by clicking on „Ročník 70, 2. číslo, letný semester 2024)” here: https://uniba.sk/nu/. 

We have filed an international invention disclosure, based on our discovery of a new type of quantum confined nanoparticles with NIR photoluminescence that are suitable for use as contrast agents in bioimaging applications.

On January 29, 2024 LAM PhD student MSc. Namrata Jaykhedkar successfully defended her dissertation "Theoretical Modelling of Thermodynamic and Electronic Properties of Crystalline Solids" in front of a full conference room at the Science Park of Comenius University, thus fulfilling the final requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Congratulations! May this doctorate be the beginning of a very successful professional career! 

As part of the "LAM seminar series", Vice President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dr. Martin Venhart, accepted our invitation and gave an interesting lecture on the history of the Nobel Prize. The lecture took place on January 26, 2024 in the Science Park of Comenius University. 

Review article "Chemical aspects of halide perovskite nanocrystals", by Dr. M. Roy and Dr. M. Sykora, in collaboration with prof. M. Aslam, IIT Bombay, has been accepted for publication in the March issue of Topics in Current Chemistry. Congratulations! 

On January 12, 2024, LAM Director, Dr. Sykora delivered an invited public lecture, promoting the LAM research and more broadly the recent advances in the development and application of nanomaterials, in the Garden Reading Room of the Juraj Fándly Library in Trnava. The recording of the lecture can be found here.

The article "Type-II CdSe/ZnO Core-Shell Nanorods: Nanoheterostructures with a Tunable Dual Emission in Visible and Near-Infrared Spectral Ranges" authored by LAM researchers Dr. Anamul Haque, Mgr. Filip Zechel, Dr. Mrinmoy Roy and Dr. Milan Sýkora in collaboration with Dr. V. Vretenar from the Center for Nano-Diagnostics STU, has been accepted for publication in the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials, Congratulations! 

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó of Hungary and Drew Weissman of the United States for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. On December 15, 2023, we welcomed at the Science Park Dr. Peter Celec, the Director of the Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, who gave an engaging lecture on the Nobel Prize and talked about the science behind this groundbreaking discovery. Congratulations to the Nobel laureates!

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Aleksey Yekimov “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots”. On December 8, 2023, LAM Director, Dr. Milan Sykora, who has been working on development of quantum dots and related materials more than 20 years, has presented a lecture giving the background and history of the discovery of the quantum dots, which are now routinely produced at LAM. Just a few minutes after Dr. Sykora's lecture, we were directly connected to the live stream of the lectures by the Nobel laureates themselves. The recording of the Nobel laureates’ lectures can be viewed here. Congratulations to the Nobel laureates!

On November 24, 2023, LAM Director, Dr. Sýkora, delivered an invited lecture about LAM research titled “Green Synthesis and Optical Properties of Semiconductor Nanocrystals and Nano-heterostructures” at the conference "Novel Trends in Chemistry, Research and Education 2023", at the Faculty of Science, University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice.

An international patent application was filed based on LAM discovery of new method for preparation of chalcogenide perovskite materials, suitable for development of next generation of solar cells and optoelectronics.

Pranav Sasikumar joined LAM team as a PhD student. Welcome to LAM, Pranav!

On Aug 28, 2023, LAM Master's student, Bc. Daniil Zinoviev, successfully defended his Master’s thesis "Organic Photocatalysis with Quantum Confined Inorganic Nanocrystals". Congratulations, Daniil!!! We congratulate you on your academic achievement, cheers to your well-deserved success!  

On Aug 28, 2023, LAM PhD student, Mgr. Filip Zechel, successfully defended his dissertation thesis „Colloidal Syntheses of Quantum Confined Nanocrystals and Nano-heterostructures with Various Dimensionality“ and is now a Doctor of Philosophy. Congratulations, Filip!!! May this be a stepping stone of your future scientific endeavors! Happy Graduation!

LAM PhD student Namrata Jaykhedkar presented her research results in the poster session at the 14^th European Conference on Computational and Theoretical Chemistry (EuChemS CompChem 2023), organized by European Chemical Society at Thessaloniki, Greece. More information about the conference can be found here. 

Dr. Sykora was a guest of the series "Knowledge, Education, Science" in Radio Regina Zapad on May 15, 2023, where he talked about nanotechnology, nanomaterials and the possibilities of their use in everyday life. You can find the recording here.

On April 27th, 2023, LAM Director, Dr. Sykora, gave a public lecture "Nanomaterials for New Technologies" at the Centre of Scientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic (CVTI SR) in Bratislava, Slovakia. In his lecture he explained what are nanomaterials, how are they produced and how they can be used in the development of innovative technologies. The recording of the lecture can be found here.

On March 22, 2023, PhD students and researchers from the Laboratory of Advanced Materials participated in the NextStep Science Conference, which focuses on creating contacts between those interested in career opportunities in the natural sciences, people from the field of science and the private sector. Members of the LAM team introduced the visitors to the scientific focus, work in the laboratory, and the possibilities of future use of nanomaterials and new materials that are being developed at LAM. 

Director of LAM, Dr. Milan Sýkora answered questions for NextStepScience Podcast about his life as a researcher in the field of nanomaterials and about his career path. You can find the podcasts here and here. 

LAM Director, Dr. Sykora delivered an invited lecture about LAM research "Nanomaterials and advanced materials. New opportunities for chemists to participate in the development of innovative technologies", at the Faculty of Chemical and Food Tecnology of Slovak Technical University, promoting the LAM research.

LAM Director, Dr. Milan Sykora, presented an invited lecture at the meeting of Slovak Chemical Society as part of the Chemical Horizons cycle entitled "Nanomaterials and advanced materials. New opportunities for chemists to participate in the development of innovative technologies". The recording of the lecture can be found here.

MSc. Ehsan Rezaie Ahari joined LAM team as a PhD. student. Welcome to LAM, Ehsan!

LAM Director, Dr. Milan Sykora presented LAM research, at the International Conference NANOP 2022 (Nanophotonics and Micro/Nano Optics) held in Paris on October 25-27, 2022.  LAM PhD student Mr. Gokul Raj Mini Rajendran presented his research results at the Poster Session, with the title of his poster “Effect of charging on electronic structure and plasmonic properties of derivatized anthracenes”. More details about the conference can be found here.

Members of LAM team participated in the 6th year of the international conference NFA 2022 - Nanomaterials Fundamentals and Applications, which was held under the High Tatras at Štrbské pleso. Ten scientists from LAM had the opportunity to present the latest discoveries in their research and share their knowledge with many other participants from Slovakia and abroad. The conference was organized by PF UPJŠ and the Slovenská chemická spoločnosť. You can find more information about the conference here and the abstracts here.

The LAM team participated in a Europe-wide one-day public outreach event, European Researchers' Night 2022, which took place in Bratislava's Stara tržnica. The goal was to stimulate the interest of general public, particularly elementary and high-school students, in science and also to highlight the importance of critical thinking. The visitors had opportunity to learn about various scientific disciplines through interactive demonstrations and experiments. In LAM presentation booth we showed visitors what are nanomaterials, how are they prepared and what is their importance and use in our daily lives. You can find more information about the event here.

LAM PhD student Namrata Jaykhedkar presented her research results at an international conference, Psi-K, in Lausanne, Switzerland. More information about the conference can be found here.

Mgr. Ivana Božeková and Mgr. Filip Zechel participated in ChemoUK summer school - an outreach activity aimed at talented high school students. Ivana and Filip prepared and guided students during a laboratory exercise focused on “green” synthesis and characterization of Copper nanocrystals.

LAM Director, Dr. Sykora delivered an invited lecture, promoting the LAM research, at the international conference ”From Solid State to Biophysics X” in Dubrovnik, Croatia. More information about the conference can be found here.

LAM Director, Dr. Sykora delivered an invited lecture, promoting the LAM research, at the University of Regensburg, Germany.

LAM Director, Dr. Sykora delivered an invited lecture, promoting the LAM research, at the Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic.

The research proposal for studies of properties and applications of 2D nanomaterials was approved for funding by the Scientific Grant Agency of Slovak Ministry of Education (VEGA). Congratulations!

LAM Director Dr. Sykora and LAM research administrator, Mgr. Žárska particpated at the online Conference organized by NextStepScience (https://nextstepscience.org/), which took place via Zoom on 17. March 2021. The conference focused on professional networking between people looking for carrer oportunities in natural sciences and local companies, start-ups, enterpreneurs, initiatives and inspiring individuals from science and technology. LAM was one of the thirteen invited organizations. At the conference Dr. Sykora presented to the attendess information about the goals, scientific focus and career opportunities at LAM and answered number of questions to interested particpants.

On Jan 18, 2021 the Director of LAM – Dr. Milan Sýkora gave a Career talk during the online event. The participants could learn about his research work in the Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA and in Laboratory for Advanced Materials in Slovakia. Networking activities were an interesting part of the event, facilitating new contacts and collaboration opportunities.

The research proposal for studies of properties and applications of Ternary Chalcogenides was selected for funding by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV) just last week. Congratulations!

Laboratory for Advanced Materials is now a partner of the Summer school – CHeMoUK. During the first week of July students will have an opportunity to learn more about research in the field of novel materials during a lecture and a discussion led by the head of the LAM, Dr. Milan Sýkora. The participants will also take part in an interesting practical lab exercise, sponsored by LAM. More details about the CHeMoUK program and this year’s summer school can be found here and here.