It seems that the New Year had just begun, but it is February already. For ISSP UL it is the most significant month of them all and not only because of the annual scientific conference (this year it will be 37th and will take place virtually from February 23-25), but also because the institute has its anniversary (43rd this year).
In addition, 2021 marks 50 years since the foundation stone of the ISSP UL building was laid. Construction at Ķengaraga Street 8 took place from 1971 to 1974. In 1975, the new building on the bank of the Daugava River housed the laboratories of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics (FFM) of the State University of Latvia (SUL) (Laboratory of Semiconductor Physics founded in 1960 as well as the Laboratory of Segnetoelectrics and Piezoelectrics Physics founded in 1968). By merging the two laboratories, on February 24, 1978, the newly established ISSP UL or at that time - Solid State Physics Scientific Research Institute of P. Stučka State University of Latvia was opened.
On February 9, the ISSP UL is thrilled to invite all the members of the big European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) family (more than 600 members in 35 countries) to the LIVE EPIC virtual tour at the institute. Participants of the tour will be able to explore one of Europe’s photonics centers of excellence specializing in materials research and impressive work on adaptive optics.
Usually February also is one of the two months when the ISSP UL sees the most of the school youth from different parts of Latvia. Traditionally, the Job Shadow Day takes place in the second week of February. This year, due to the global pandemic situation and all the epidemiological requirements related to it, the Shadow Day was cancelled. The second time when the hall and corridors of the institute see even more school students is in May, when the Solar Cup competition takes place. Hopefully, after the last year’s competition had to be cancelled due to the same old pandemic situation, this year circumstances will allow for the ISSP UL to hold the competition and organize the best event so far (the registration is already open). This year, the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO joins the supporters of the event, inviting the UNESCO Associated School Network in Latvia to participate in the competition.
