Jan Hrabina, Ph.D.

Institute of Scientific Instruments is one of 54 institutes of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR), public non-university scientific institution of the Czech Republic encompassing a complex of research institutes engaged primarily in basic research. ASCR formulates and pursues conceptual policy of science and research, participates in national and international research programmes, promotes cooperation with application sphere, and fosters the development of education, scholarship and culture.



The Institute of Scientific Instruments (ISI) was established in 1957 as an institution providing instrumental equipment for other institutes of the Academy of Sciences in many areas. During the process of transformation of the Academy of Sciences, which began in 1989, the structure of the scientific departments of the institute was changed, so that it gained from the research activities of the projects solved by the research teams. The teams dealing with related problems are organised into departments. In these days, the Institute of Scientific Instruments employs about 150 workers (approximately 35% is technical staff) and it consists of 3 scientific departments:

1) Coherence Optics

• Coherent Lasers and Interferometry I
• Coherent Lasers and Interferometry II
• Optical Micro-manipulation Techniques

2) Electron Optics

• Detection Systems
• Electron Optical Computer Simulations
• Laboratories for Electron Microscopy and Image Analysis
• Microlithography
• Low Energy Electron Microscopy
• New Technologies

3) Magnetic Resonance and Bioinformatics

• Cryogenics and Superconductivity
• Measurement and Data Processing in Medicine
• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance