The Institute of Applied Physics was set up in 1946 under the directorship of Professor Dr Eduard Justi. From its early days the ITP was highly focussed on applied research work. Multiple investigations were carried out e.g. on the conduction mechanism in metals and semiconductors, thermo-electric phenomena, Peltier elements, and solar cells. A little known fact is that Professor Dr E Justi was the actual pioneer of the now popular fuel-cell technique. In 1972 on his initiative the unique High Magnetic Field Facility of the TU Braunschweig was initiated.
In 1974 Professor Dr Wolfgang Gey became the new Head of the Institute and successor to Professor E Justi. His major research work was focussed on low and extremely low temperatures like the superconductivity in crystalline and highly disordered systems. The Institute's speciality was investigations in high magnetic fields as well as investigations at high static pressure. Another important activity was studies of semiconductor materials for solar cells and of transport characteristics of semiconductors carried out by the groups of Professor Dr Günther Schneider and Dr Detlef Schneider.
From 1999 to 2025, Prof. Dr. Andreas Hangleiter was the director of the institute. The institute's main research focus was once again on application-oriented semiconductor physics, particularly in the form of micro- and nanostructures based on III-V semiconductors for applications in optoelectronics, electronics and sensor technology.
In 2018, Prof. Dr. Uta Schlickum was appointed to the Institute and took over as its director in 2025. With her field of work, ‘nanosystems,’ and the methods of scanning probe microscopy, her research group rounds off the Institute's range of topics.
The research work carried out by the Institute of Applied Physics covers a wide spectrum from fundamental research, supported by the "Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft", to direct cooperation with Industry, in the development and optimisation of opto-electronic devices.