V001 / JSI

On July 15, 2026, the new U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia, Her Excellency Asel K. Roberts, visited the Jožef Stefan Institute. The director of the Jožef Stefan Institute, Prof. Dr. Leon Cizelj, began by introducing her to Slovenia’s largest scientific and research institution, which undoubtedly offers excellent opportunities for cooperation with the United States in various fields. “The fields of artificial intelligence, the TRIGA reactor and nuclear technologies, quantum technologies and superconductivity, as well as projects related to the CERN and ITER accelerators, are at the forefront of the Jožef Stefan Institute’s work. We are already collaborating with the U.S., and during today’s visit, we explored possibilities for even better expanding this cooperation and collaboration with Ambassador Roberts,” said the Institute’s director, Prof. Dr. Leon Cizelj. Most of the JSI’s formal international ties are linked to the European Research Area; cooperation with the U.S. takes place primarily through joint research projects, scientific publications, researcher exchanges, and participation in major international research infrastructures. Both Cizelj and Roberts shared their hope for continued broad cooperation.

Disordered superconducting materials are widely used in quantum devices—qubits, microwave resonators, photon detectors, and more. Their performance is limited by unexplained energy loss at low temperatures. Prof. Mikhail Feigelman of the Department of Complex Matters, together with his colleague Anton V. Khvalyuk, has developed a new microscopic theory that explains how energy loss depends on temperature (T) and frequency (ω) under typical operating conditions, when both T and ω are low compared to superconducting energy scales. The key discovery, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, is that losses are dominated by localized collective modes arising from irregularities in the superconducting state—another manifestation of disorder. The energy loss to these modes increases rapidly with frequencies and decreases with temperature—an unusual consequence of the local structure of these modes. The theory explains recent experiments on thin films of materials such as indium oxide, titanium nitride, and niobium nitride, and points to practical strategies to reduce energy loss in quantum hardware.

Dr. Nerea Sebastián, a senior researcher at the Department of Complex Matter (F7) at the Jožef Stefan Institute is the recipient of the prominent Samsung Prize for Mid Career Achievement awarded by the International Liquid Crystal Society for contributions physics of liquid crystals at Jožef Stefan Institute. She received the prize at the recent 30th International Liquid Crystal Conference in Canada (Quebec City). The Prize is awarded biannually to two best mid-career scientists for their demonstrated scientific excellence in the general field of liquid crystal science. Since beginning her PhD in 2008, Dr. Nerea Sebastián has made important contributions to understanding the physics of liquid crystals, particularly the newly discovered ferroelectric nematic phase. Her research has advanced the understanding of dielectric properties, polarization control, and nonlinear optical phenomena, opening new opportunities for photonic technologies. In addition to her scientific achievements, she has actively served the international liquid crystal community through conference organization and other professional activities. Congratulations!

On 19 June 2026, Member of the European Parliament Dr. Vladimir Prebilič visited the Jožef Stefan Institute. The Institute’s Director, Prof. Dr. Leon Cizelj, and his colleagues briefed Dr. Prebilič on the Institute’s activities, its research fields, and its role within the European Research Area. The visit continued with a tour of robotics research activities at the Department of Automation, Biocybernetics and Robotics, where guests were presented with robotic systems and a robotics demonstrator that will also be showcased at the European Parliament in Brussels on 2 September this year as part of the event “Towards a Major European Robotics Initiative.” The delegation then visited the Hydrogen Laboratory, where ongoing research and development activities in the field of hydrogen technologies were presented. At the conclusion of the visit, Dr. Prebilič emphasized: “Institutions such as JSI, and the people who work in them, are clear evidence of Slovenia’s outstanding development potential. For this reason, I will continue to strongly support efforts that place Slovenian knowledge, innovation, and research among the very best in Europe.”