SAS
Mgr. Martin Škrátek, PhD.
Head of Department
The department has been an inseparable part of the institute since its establishment in 1953. In its early years, as part of the Laboratory of Measuring Instruments, it actively participated in the construction of new instruments and experimental equipment.
At present, it provides comprehensive development and design of scientific equipment and instruments:
- technical support for the institute’s scientific departments, as well as cooperation with many other scientific institutions and industrial enterprises,
- instrument design, design of their components, and preparation of technical drawing documentation,
- manufacture of components and instruments for the implementation of experiments,
- manufacture of fixtures for measurement and calibration,
- construction of instruments and equipment for practical applications.
Support for the Activities of the Institute’s Scientific Departments
The 70 years of work of the Institute of Measurement Science, SAS, have resulted in many special instruments for physicians, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, technologists, research, and other fields. During the last 20 years, the focus of the institute’s scientific activities has shifted more toward theoretical work, which led to a reduction in the number of employees in the department. In the past, there were as many as 25 employees. However, experimental data remain the foundation of the work, and these data are still obtained today through measurements on complex experimental apparatuses. Their designs are continuously improved and modified. In this way, the department contributes to the work of all scientific departments of the institute. This includes research on heart activity, NMR tomography, brain activity research, production of measuring instruments, and more. Suitable instrumentation generally forms the basis of scientific research in any field.
Implementation of Instruments for Partner Organizations and Cooperation
Through project-based cooperation, the Department of Development and Innovation of Instrumentation provides the development and implementation of numerous unique measuring instruments and fixtures for the academic sector:
- Institute of Chemistry SAS, Institute of Informatics SAS, Institute of Physics SAS, Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics SAS, Institute of Electrical Engineering SAS, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SAS, Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University, Biomedical Research Center SAS
As well as through cooperation with companies:
- Comenius University – Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Nuclear Physics and Technology FEI STU, Tatramed s.r.o., TECTRA s.r.o., Siemens, Slovak Legal Metrology, Datalan a.s., B&K, Mesing Brno, Galaalumínium, and others.
Of special significance is the long-standing cooperation with the Slovak Institute of Metrology, carried out simultaneously with several departments of the institute.
Examples of Implemented Instruments
Development and production of sensors for testing cast blocks of automobile engines in cooperation with Datalan a.s.:
Among the department’s major outputs are original systems for monitoring the spatial stability of reactor vessels in the Jaslovské Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power plants:
Additional Developed Instruments:
The need for the development and production of special measuring instruments for scientific research continues, although to a lesser extent than in the past. In practice, many problems still occur in the field of measurement. These often involve non-standard quantities or conditions under which the measurement must be carried out. In such cases, it is necessary to modify or completely redesign the measurement method from the ground up and to develop and manufacture a measuring instrument or measuring system that meets the needs of the future user. Measuring systems are becoming increasingly important, for example in final inspection in mass production on modern production lines. Their application leads to improved production quality, economic savings, and even the protection of human health and life. This is the area in which the knowledge, experience, and craftsmanship of the department’s staff are applied.
List of Department Staff:
- Mgr. Martin Škrátek, PhD.
- Vlado Jacko, Ing., PhD.
- Manfred Gürth
- Andrej Kulišov
- Rudolf Tanglmajer