Researchers from IT4Innovations have succeeded in the Czech Science Foundation (GACR) funding competition. They will carry out three standard research projects, including one as the principal investigator and two as project partners. The supported projects focus on advanced materials, 3D-printed structures, and topological phenomena in electronics.
In 2026, the Czech Science Foundation will support more than 300 standard research projects spanning a wide range of basic research fields. Among the successful applicants are once again experts from IT4Innovations.
One of the projects focuses on the research of nitride materials for advanced energy conversion technologies. The researchers will investigate phonon–electron interactions in various types of nitrides and explore ways to tailor their composition to improve energy conversion efficiency. “We will focus on phonon-electron interactions in metallic (NbN, HfN), semimetallic/semiconducting (ScN, CrN), and dielectric (AlN) nitrides. Using ab initio calculations on supercomputers, we will analyse phonon dispersions, electron-phonon coupling, as well as the thermoelectric and phonoelectric properties of these materials,” explains Dominik Legut from IT4Innovations, the principal investigator of the A new era for nitrides – towards more efficient thermoelectricity and phonoelectricity project (26-21973S). Experimental work on the project will be carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
A better understanding of these materials will help push the boundaries of materials research. Such insights may in the future form the basis for new technologies that handle energy or heat more efficiently, for example in sensors, electronics, or thermal energy processing.
Dynamical behavior of 3D printed magneto-active polymer structures: Experiments and modelling project (26-21297S) is the title of the project led by the Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. IT4Innovations is a project partner, with Petr Ferfecki acting as co-proposer on behalf of the partner institution. The project focuses on research into 3D-printed structures for electromagnetic-mechanical components, such as novel vibration dampers, actuators, and other smart structural elements. Through experimental research and advanced computational modelling, including numerical simulations carried out on supercomputers, the project aims to study the dynamic response of magnetoactive polymer structures controlled by the temporal and spatial distribution of an external magnetic field.
The results will be crucial for the design of advanced engineering solutions and industrial applications based on 3D-printing technologies and exploiting coupled physical phenomena.
Urszula D. Wdowik from IT4Innovations will contribute to project 26-20860S at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences entitled Strongly-correlated magnetic topological materials by band engineering. This project focuses on the study of topological phenomena in strongly correlated f electron materials, where complex interactions give rise to a variety of quantum states. Topological effects in these strongly correlated f electron systems will be investigated using supercomputers and advanced quantum-mechanical modelling.
The research aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the f-electron behaviour in advanced materials and provides a foundation for future technologies in electronics and quantum systems.