Researchers of the Department of Nanostructured Materials, within the framework of the recently implemented K7 Autonomous Laboratory, have secured a project (Orchestrated Platform for Experiment Reproducibility and Automation in Research Infrastructures, OPERA-RI) to develop and implement the operational layer required to configure, execute, monitor, validate and reuse complex experimental workflows across heterogeneous instruments, laboratories and facilities. Over 48 months, the consortium composed by 15 institutions, led by AREA Science Park (Italy), aims to validate the framework in operational Research Infrastructure settings, targeting TRL 6–7 through complex multi-instrument and cross-site demonstrations. By making experimental workflows portable, reproducible and reusable, OPERA-RI intends to strengthen Open Science, improve the efficiency and sustainability of RI services, and provide a scalable foundation for future capability-driven, interoperable and user-centred infrastructures. The total estimated value is €10 million, 100% financed by the European Commission. |
The Encyclopedia of Particle Physics was recently published; it is intended to provide an educational introduction to the field for a wider audience of physicists. The encyclopaedia is divided into sections on General Concepts, Hadron Physics, Electroweak and Higgs Physics, Neutrino Physics , Beyond the Standard Model and Experiments. It is particularly pleasing that the authors include a colleague from the Department of Theoretical Physics, Prof. Dr Saša Prelovšek Komelj, who wrote a chapter entitled Lattice QCD calculations of hadron spectroscopy, which introduces ab-initio theoretical studies of states composed of quarks. This four-volume set brings clarity to a complex and rapidly developing field and serves as an indispensable, comprehensive fundamental reference work to which researchers will return time and again. It contains approximately 165 chapters, written by world-leading experts in the fields of hadron and particle physics. Encyclopedia provides an overview of the large variety of ongoing and planned experiments in hadron and particle physics, including coverage of general experimental concepts across all existing major international facilities and experiments. |
On 12 November 2026, the kick-off meeting for the MARRS project is taking place in Arlington, Virginia, with representatives from the “Jožef Stefan” Institute attending alongside the University of Szczecin. The “Mechanisms for Increasing the Rate of Fusion Reactions in Solids” initiative MARRS is funded by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and aims to investigate mechanisms that increase the rate of nuclear fusion reactions, with potential applications for low-cost, clean and safe fusion reactors for a sustainable future. The MARRS project intends to investigate the latest breakthroughs in theoretical predictions and experimental evidence relating to nuclear fusion reactions in metallic lattices, also known as ‘Lattice Augmented Nuclear Reactions’, ‘Low Energy Nuclear Reactions’ or ‘Cold Fusion’. These results show that fusion rates increase significantly when deuterium atoms are embedded in a metallic lattice. The selection of these two European institutions is the result of the exceptional findings produced by the European Union’s ‘CleanHME’ project; these findings have demonstrated the existence of a previously unknown deuterium-deuterium fusion channel. This is an exceptional honour for the researchers and their work at the JSI. |
Member of the European Parliament Zala Černilec Tomašič visited the Jožef Stefan Institute on 6 November 2026. The Director of the Institute, Prof. Dr Leon Cizelj, presented the Institute’s activities, its research areas, and its role within the Slovenian and European research landscape. The visit highlighted topics of particular importance for the future development of Slovenia and Europe, including new energy technologies, energy efficiency, environmental protection, and the development of advanced materials. The visit continued with tours of the laboratories of the Department of Systems and Control and the Department of Environmental Sciences, where the research infrastructure, ongoing research activities, and the development of technological solutions in the fields of energy and the environment were presented. The visit continued with tours of the laboratories, where the research infrastructure, ongoing research activities, and the development of technological solutions in the fields of energy and the environment were presented. The visit provided an opportunity to exchange views on the role of science and research organisations in supporting the green transition, technological development, and the strengthening of European competitiveness. |
