INSTITUTE OF MAGNETISM OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OF UKRAINE AND THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE YOUTH AND SPORTS OF UKRAINE

Their core work

The Institute of Magnetism in Kyiv is a specialist physics research centre under the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences, focused on the fundamental and applied science of magnetic materials and phenomena. Their core work covers two closely related domains: spin wave dynamics (magnonics) and spintronic materials — specifically the design and characterisation of multilayered metal-oxide thin films engineered for tunneling magnetoresistance effects. In practical terms, they investigate how to build and control nanoscale heterostructures, including compounds like strontium ferromolybdate, that could serve as active elements in next-generation magnetic memory and sensing devices. They contribute deep materials physics expertise to international consortia, typically providing specialist characterisation, modelling, or fabrication knowledge that generalist partners cannot supply in-house.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 engagement (MagIC, 2015–2019) the institute worked on the physics of spin waves — collective excitations in magnetically ordered materials — which is a relatively abstract, phenomena-driven field. By the time of SPINMULTIFILM (2018–2023) the focus had shifted toward concrete spintronic materials engineering: specific compound families (strontium ferromolybdate), defined physical effects (tunneling magnetoresistance), and structured nanoscale geometries (nanoheterostructures). This trajectory suggests a move from studying magnetic phenomena to synthesising and tailoring materials that exploit those phenomena in device-relevant configurations.

The institute is deepening into materials-by-design for spintronics — a field with direct relevance to magnetic random-access memory (MRAM), magnetic sensors, and quantum-adjacent computing architectures — making them an increasingly application-proximate partner despite their academic base.

How they like to work

The institute has never held a coordinator role across its H2020 history, always joining as a partner or third party — a pattern consistent with a specialist group that contributes targeted technical expertise rather than managing broad project logistics. Both participations were through MSCA-RISE, a staff exchange mechanism, which means their collaboration style is built around researcher mobility: hosting visiting scientists and sending their own staff to partner labs. Despite only two projects, they connected with 15 distinct partners across 10 countries, suggesting they integrate well into diverse international consortia rather than working exclusively within a fixed network.

The institute has built a surprisingly broad network for its project volume — 15 unique partners across 10 countries from just two MSCA-RISE participations, pointing to a well-connected position within the European magnetism and condensed matter physics community. No strong geographic concentration is evident beyond a general European reach.

What sets them apart

As one of the few dedicated magnetism institutes in Eastern Europe operating under a national academy of sciences, this organisation brings a depth of in-house expertise in magnetic phenomena that university physics departments — which spread attention across many subfields — typically cannot match. Their specific combination of magnonics background and spintronic materials work (particularly oxide-based heterostructures and TMR) is a niche that overlaps with both classical magnetics and the emerging field of spin-based electronics, making them a useful bridge partner for consortia that need to connect phenomena-level physics with materials fabrication. For any consortium assembling a team around MRAM, magnetic sensors, or spin-wave-based signal processing, they represent specialist knowledge that is hard to replicate from Western Europe alone.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SPINMULTIFILM
  The only funded project in their portfolio (EUR 90,000 via MSCA-RISE), it is also the most materials-specific work — centred on strontium ferromolybdate multilayers and tunneling magnetoresistance, which are directly relevant to MRAM and magnetic sensor device research.
• MagIC
  A multidisciplinary magnonics consortium covering spin wave dynamics and complexity, showing the institute's grounding in fundamental magnetism before the shift toward applied spintronic materials.