The Rudjer Boskovic Institute, located in Zagreb, is the largest multidisciplinary research centre in Croatia with strengths in basic science and applied science research as well as higher education. It was founded in 1950 as a centre for advanced research and named after the famous 18th century Croatian scientist Josip Rudjer Boskovic (1711- 1787). The multidisciplinary character of the Institute is manifested in different research fields in physics, chemistry, oceanography (including marine and environmental research and geosciences), biology, biomedicine, computer science and electronics/engineering. The Institute gathers a staff of nearly 900, including over 500 research staff (over 300 PhDs). It is a public research institute, funded to a large extent by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.

The activities of the Department of experimental physics are focused on experimental and theoretical research in nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics, and recently also on quantum information. There are over 60 staff members, including more than 30 PhDs, which makes DEP by far the largest concentration of physicists working in nuclear and particle physics in Croatia. The physicists of the department are involved in numerous experiments and experimental complexes abroad and in Croatia, and are active in both basic and applied physics research. Local experimental work involves, among others, basic and applied research at the RBI Tandem Accelerator facility, which constitutes the largest experimental facility in Croatia. The department hosts groups active in CERN related projects, with involvement in the ALICE, CMS, NA61 (former NA49) and CAST experiments at CERN, as well as in the OPERA experiment at the Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy.

In addition to basic research and development of innovative research, participation in higher education and increasing public awareness of the importance of knowledge and science in modern society represents one of the primary tasks of the RBI which is conducted in a cooperation with universities, scientific institutes and other similar institutions in Croatia and other countries. Scientists of the Institute regularly participate in graduate and undergraduate teaching at Croatian universities, and many graduate students conduct their PhD work at RBI.