Stakeholder Spotlight – CEITEC
Tell us a little about your organisation. How do the areas of nanotechnology and sustainability impact your work?
CEITEC is an interdisciplinary centre of scientific excellence for life and material sciences established in Brno in 2011. It is a consortium of 6 partners, four universities and two research institutes, where every partner institution has got its own organisational unit with local management. An integral part of CEITEC is also PhD School, offering education in Advanced Materials and Nanosciences programme and Life Sciences and Molecular Medicine programme. CEITEC puts strong emphasis on modern research infrastructure which is accessible for internal as well as external researchers. In the field of nanoscale research, CEITEC operates CEITEC Nano research infrastructure – an open access cleanroom nanofabrication and nanocharacterization centre, which creates a perfect base for addressing interdisciplinary questions in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this facility, researchers from many diverse research areas (ranging from chemistry and physics through electrical and bioengineering to medicine) work on nanotechnology projects that can potentially make our life better, easier and more sustainable.
What is the newest/most innovative development in nanotechnology that you and/or your organisation is excited about now?
Right now, I am excited about the work of one research group here at CEITEC which is developing devices for wireless neural stimulation. doi: 10.1038/s41551-021-00817-7.
What, in your opinion, is the most important thing (tool, process, support, etc.) that is needed right now to help grow and strengthen the nanotechnology community?
For all researchers working in basic research, it is definitely enough funding. Facilitating contacts and collaborations by connecting people from different fields of nanotechnology is another important thing. And of course, making the most from the more and more complex and expensive fabrication tools and analytical equipment by sharing it within e.g. research (or industrial) infrastructures can accelerate the growth of the field by allowing more people to make their ideas possible without the need for huge initial investment into instrumentation.
What, in your opinion, are important factors or influences that will affect the direction of the nanotechnology community in the future?
I think energy efficiency and fighting climate change will be more and more important topics also in nanotechnology.
Interviewee person: Dr. Michal Urbanek
For more information, please visit: CEITEC – výzkumné centrum
