Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM)

Undergraduate teaching and research in the areas of biology, chemistry, materials, applied physics, theory, modelling and more are conducted at this department.

About IFM

Photo credit Thor BalkhedThe Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, or IFM, is one of the original departments of Linköping University and was founded in 1969 as the Department of Physics and Measurement Technology. In the beginning there were thirty employees including three professors at the department. Since then a lot has changed and IFM is now one of the biggest departments at LiU.

Current organisation

Today the department has more than 400 employees, including 50 professors and 150 doctoral students. Each year, about 20 doctoral students receive their doctorates at IFM. In addition to this, the department receives guest researchers from all over the globe. The yearly budget exceeds 500 million SEK, the majority of which related to research projects. IFM also offers over 200 undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate courses each year.

Funding 

Xiongyu Wu, IFM, tillsammans med student. Photo credit Anna NilsenOur great expansion in research has been possible thanks to generous grants from external funding agencies such as the Swedish Research Council (VR), Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), VINNOVA, Formas and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Added to this is also increasing research funding from the EU Framework Programmes. Materials Research has received a number of major contributions as strategically important and excellent environment: VR Linnaeus Center LiLi-NFM, Vinnova Excellence Center FunMat, SSF's strategic research center MS2E and the government's strategic research grants for materials research - AFM.

Read more about Funmat and AFM at the links below:
FunMat
AFM

Upcoming events at the Department of physics, chemistry and biology (IFM)

15 December 2023

Public defence of doctoral thesis in theory and modelling in natural sciences: Julia Åkesson

1.00 pm – 4.30 pm BL32 Nobel, B-building and via Zoom

Julia Åkesson, Department of physics, chemistry and biology (IFM), defends her doctoral thesis "Network-based biomarker discovery for multiple sclerosis". Opponent is Professor Lukas Käll, KTH. For Zoom link, please email henrietta.winslow@liu.se.

Contacts

20 December 2023

Research at the Department of physics, chemistry and biology (IFM) 

Hanne Løvlie
At IFM, research is conducted in collaboration with eminent researchers from all around the world Anna Nilsen

Prominent research and host for doctoral schools and larger research projects.

At the Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, we research in the areas of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. IFM also host two multi-disciplinary research schools, Forum Scientium and Agora Materiae, as well as a number of major research projects and centers such as Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CeNano) , Biosensor and Bioelectronics Centre and Swedish Interdisciplinary Magnetic Resonance Centre (SIMARC) . 

Research groups and projects at the Department of physics, chemistry and biology

Pedersen group

Pedersen Group

The Henrik Pedersen research group at Linköping University is working on chemical vapour deposition (CVD) with the aim to develop better CVD routes to, primarily, electronic materials.

Material

Advanced Functional Materials

Laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials, AFM, contributes at the highest level to the creation of knowledge. The work in highly competitive Centers of Excellence has been evaluated as excellent to outstanding by the VR, SSF, and Vinnova.

Bilden visar vår svarv designad för studier av skikt under bearbetning vid synkrotronljuskällan Petra III i Hamburg

FunMat II

FunMat II is a second generation competence center in material science, focusing its efforts to the areas of functional surfaces for cutting tools, fuel cells and batteries.

Education at the Department of physics, chemistry and biology (IFM)

Education and teaching at IFM

Prominent research and undergraduate education at IFM with a comprehensive range of courses in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology.

The research dominates the activities at IFM, but the teaching within undergraduate education is extensive. Each year, IFM offer more than 200 courses within civil and engineering programs, bachelor's and master's programs in physics, chemistry, and biology, teacher training programs, technical/science foundation year, as well as standalone courses.

Study programmes at the Department of physics, chemistry and biology (IFM)

Study programmes given in English at IFM

Doctoral studies at the Department of physics, chemistry and biology (IFM)

Graduate schools at the Department of physics, chemistry and biology (IFM)

Articles about the Department of physics, chemistry and biolgy (IFM)

Read more about about the latest news and popular science from the department.

Man holds golden plate (Urban Forsberg).

He has a key to solving the semiconductor shortage

The semiconductor shortage is becoming increasingly urgent. Linköping University conducts materials research in close collaboration with industry, with a view to increasing the semiconductor production rate in Europe.

Portrait of two persons.

Two new Wallenberg Academy Fellows at LiU

Researchers Olaf Hartig and Alexander Gillett have been appointed Wallenberg Academy Fellows at LiU. The five-year grants are intended to make it possible for young researchers to make important scientific breakthroughs.

a trainer stands on the edge of a dolphin pool measuring exhaled air, a researcher works on a computer at the pool edge

Zoo biology course opened interesting opportunities for degree project

LiU student Ioulia is doing research for her master thesis on energy requirements in doplhins in both Kolmården Wildlife Park and Oceanografic de Valencia.

Contact

Visiting address

Campus Valla, Buildings B and F

Mail address

Linköping University
IFM
581 83 Linköping

Department management

Directors of studies

Staff

Staff