Тhe aim of the Scientific Research Department is to support the implementation of fundamental and applied research projects/contracts. NIS supports and helps the organisation of research carried out by members of the academic staff at Sofia University. It provides consultancy, expert evaluations, and other types of support activities in the fields of natural sciences and humanities.

The Scientific Research Department functions as a self-supported unit. The expenditure for every contract is covered by the income it ensures.

Every year the Scientific Research Department manages over 300 projects, over 60 of which within the framework of European Union programmes, and about 40 with foreign enterprises and organizations from Europe, Japan, and the USA.

The main areas of research include, but are not limited to:

• information technologies;
• microbiology and biotechnology;
• optoelectronics and nanomaterials;
• synthesis of new organic and inorganic substances;
• thermodynamics and hydrodynamics of disperse systems;
• plasma and gas discharge physics;
• lab technologies for production of chemicals;
• laser technology and equipment;
• ecology and environmental safety;
• radioactive pollution of the soil, air and water;
• regional geology and geological cartography;
• problems of higher education;
• social studies;
• religious studies;
• economic assessment of projects and companies.