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The National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is a nationally and internationally recognised research organisation in the field of pure and applied chemistry. The Institute was officially established in 1946 as the Chemical laboratory of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1953 the Slovenian Government and the University of Ljubljana joined the Academy as the Institute's co-founders. In the seventies, the Government's founder rights were transferred to the Consortium of the Slovenian Chemical Industry. At that time, the predominantly short-term industrial tasks were supplanted by long-term R&D programmes. This was also a period of intensified co-operation with the industry, with both universities and other Slovenian and foreign research institutions. In 1992, the formerly independent Boris Kidric Institute of Chemistry has been transformed into a public non-profit organization named the National Institute of Chemistry remaining a full-fledged research organization.
Primary activities of the Institute are basic and applied research, training and education of students as well as activities connected to the industry. Research is focused into five main areas: Structural and Theoretical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Ecology, Organic and Inorganic Materials, Biotechnology, and Chemical Engineering.
Research and development activities at the Institute are organised within 14 laboratories and six centres, of which the largest is the National NMR Centre, with top research equipment. The Institute has 203 employees: 150 of them are working in research and 96 have Ph.D. The Institute is managed and headed by the Scientific Council, elected by the Assembly of Scientists, the Board of Governors and the Director.
A considerable share of funds for applied research and development work is obtained through joint programmes with industry and other organisations. In co-operation with Slovenian pharmaceutical, chemical and related industry, more than 50 projects are currently underway and contribute to 20-25 of the Institutes budget.
Through the years of it's operation, the Institute maintains a close connection to faculties of both Slovenian Universities. The Institute is actively engaged in education of young researchers, with numerous diplomas, master and Ph.D. thesis carried out at the Institute.
Three laboratories are involved in the activities of NoE Nanofun-poly: Laboratory for Polymer Chemistry and Technology (L07), Laboratory for Spectroscopy of Materials (L02), and Laboratory for Biosynthesis and Biotransformation (L11). Their research activities are described in the annual NIC reports accessible at the web site http://www.ki.si/.
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