Experimental studies of the interplay of plasticity and magnetism in alpha-iron and chromium

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Roman Gröger

Institution: CEITEC-BUT, IPM - Institute of Physics of Materials, Czech Academy of Sciences

Field of Study: Advanced nanotechnologies and microtechnologies

About my project

The project focuses on mutual interplay of plasticity (i.e. fundamental carriers of plasticity - dislocations) and its effect on magnetic properties of materials and vice versa.

My main responsibility in this project is to carry out the experimental work on testing the plastic behaviour of samples of Fe and Cr single crystals before/after exposure to magnetic field. This procedure was tested recently (without magnetic field) on non-magnetic bcc elements and steel with my active involvement. I will also coordinate activities between the experimental part of the group (headed by myself) and the theoretical-computational part, which is the domain of expertise of my supervisor. The fact, that I have been working at the Institute of Physics of Materials of CAS for two years makes it much easier to communicate with other colleagues across the Institute. This open atmosphere is especially instrumental in helping me to learn the processes that have to be employed to achieve single crystals of very high purity, and not to rely blindly on sample purity supplied by commercial vendors. Besides

this new insight, I will newly learn to operate the uniaxial testing machines, scanning probe microscope (incl. correlative-probe electron microscopy in conjunction with scanning electron microscope) and transmission electron microscope. In the shared core facility CEITEC Nano, I will utilize more advanced techniques such as high-resolution electron and scanning probe microscopy.

Where I see myself in my career in 10 years

In 10 years, I expect to have completed my post-doctoral stay abroad and start developing my career as a junior researcher.

What I like most about Brno

Since Brno is a university city, I adore the wide range of research centres, universities and companies producing cutting edge technologies, which creates a lot of opportunities for students to get their career going.