The International Phd Program at ICFO
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HAPPENINGS COLLABORATION PEOPLE THE LAST WORD 3D Printing Advances The International PhD Careers in Academia Interview with p.6 Program at ICFO William D. Phillips p.7 p.10 p.12 37 Community News Fall 2018 A Home for Curious Minds creating, exploring and advancing 2 ICFONIANS FALL 18 2 HAPPENINGS COLLABORATION PEOPLE THE LAST WORD Electronics and Photonics AXA Research Fund Chair Frontiers of Quantum John Integration Meeting at ICFO Physics 2017 Mather p.1 p.2 p.3 p.4 EDITOR’S CORNER COVERICFONIANS 30 Community News Spring 2017 Brook Hardwick When curious young Coordinating minds are brought Editor together in an Stay Curious environment that encourages creativity and What does it take to build exploration, the stage is set a successful career in science? for scientific advancement. AICFO’s home for founding mission curious minds was to develop the careers of PhD...since 2002 students and postdoctoral researchers and over the past sixteen years, has expanded opportunities to undergraduate and Masters students as well as high schoolers in Summer Science programs. INDEX “I believe that people are born curious and society or prise. To test the waters, many young students forego our educational system tends to squeeze that curiosi- typical beach holidays to spend a portion or all of their EDITOR’S CORNER 2 ty out of them”, mused Bill Phillips in our interview for summer vacation in a research group at ICFO. Out- the High Profile section of this edition. The scientific standing high school students join the institute for a HAPPENINGS 3 enterprise is lucky to have Bill Phillips as an ambassa- few weeks of introductory activities, while university dor, having assumed a responsibility for science advo- undergraduates and Master’s students visit for longer ICFO NEWCOMERS 3 cacy along with his 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics. stays as part of a formal internship program, participat- ing in frontier research projects and gaining solid re- ICFO NEWS 4 He and a host of inspired teachers, museums, re- search experience. searchers and outreach professionals, including mem- LATEST ADVANCES 5 bers of the ICFO community, dedicate a great deal of Further contemplating the academic pipeline in this time and energy to cultivating the curiosity of young edition, we take an in-depth look at the PhD experi- BUSINESS NEWS 6 people. They aim to play a role in a solid scientific ed- ence. “It always looks impossible until it is done”, ad- ucation, and hope that some of the most outstanding verts Nelson Mandela in the ICFO reception area. It is students may find the inspiration to take their inquisi- almost as if he is speaking directly to the PhD students COLLABORATION 7 tiveness to the next level, entering into successful ca- as they struggle through the trials of the highest aca- IN FOCUS-TRAINING 7 reers in science. demic degree. The PhD experience is a formative one that provides scientific training as well as a full skill set Many years ago as I was settling into ICFO, a Group INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 8 for project management, teamwork, and written and Leader told me “You won’t find people at ICFO who did oral communication. The challenge does not end with not like school. ICFOnians like to learn”. I now recog- YOUNG TALENT 8/9 a successful thesis defense however. As we learned nize that this is just one of the traits that distinguishes in the BEYOND ICFO Panel with Alumni who have a person that chooses to embark on a scientific career. achieved Junior PI positions, advancing up the career PEOPLE 10 I have observed that ICFO researchers tend to nurture ladder in academia has many rewards but also requires a strong and persevering curiosity for just about every- BEYOND ICFO 10 hard work and sacrifice. thing, a general enthusiasm for a challenge, a growth mindset that keeps them open to new ideas, and of This edition’s focus on academia is well timed, coin- GO & FLY 11 course, the capacity for hard work. These propensities ciding with the “New Year’s Resolutions” that abound seem to be prerequisites for a career in research. with the start of the new academic year. Following the COMMUNITY PICTURES 11 advice of Bill Phillips, one of my (many) resolutions In this issue of ICFOnians, we look at budding scien- and I hope yours as well, is to stay curious! MYSTERY ICFONIAN 11 tists as they contemplate joining the scientific enter- THE LAST WORD 12 Mystery ICFOnian Noelia Cuesta HIGH PROFILE 12 Science Quiz 1. A 2. D Solution Ed #36 Post-Award Management, Projects Unit Answers from p.12 3. Solar energy SCIENCE QUIZ 12 Coordinating Editor Contributors Pictures By Layout Brook Hardwick Tomás Charles, © ICFO Comuniza Trustees: Corporate Communications Visual Communication Ramon Josa Mineral Gràfics Head Brook Hardwick, Albert Ros Corp. Communications Head Antoine Reserbat-Plantey Editorial Committee Alina Hirschmann, Luc Duempelman Silvia Carrasco Communications Maciej Lewenstein Knowledge & Technology María Martí Maria García-Parajo Transfer Director Project Manager, Knowledge Sabina Semeraro Brook Hardwick and Technology Transfer Olga Lorente Corp. Communications Head Morgan Mitchell Sylvia Gutiérrez Sánchez Alina Hirschmann Supported by: Member of: ICREA Group Leader at ICFO © BIST Communications William D. Phillips © LPR Dolors Mateu Joint Quantum Institute, © Optica ICFO Manager Univ of Maryland and NIST Laia Miralles Alexander Powell HR and Education Head Plasmon Nano-Optics Morgan Mitchell research group D.L.: B-54464-2008 ICREA Group Leader at ICFO Albert Ros Icfonians® is a registered trademark Albert Ros Alumni, Communications Alumni, Communications Rob Sewell Rob Sewell Academic Programs This newsletter is printed on 100% Academic Programs This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Coordinator post-consumer-waste recycled, chlorine-free, Coordinator Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivs 3.0 Unported License. Except pictures that are copyrighted by ICFO. and EU eco-labeled paper. ICFONIANS FALL 18 3 BUSINESS NEWS 3D Printing Advances HAPPENINGS p.6 ICFO NEWCOMERS Welcome to ICFO Many of us joined Gustavo Castro Olvera Iacopo Torre Shaween Tosifian Alba M. Damián Postdoctoral Researcher Postdoctoral Researcher Student Student ICFO or took a new position at the institute between July and September Albert Edo Teo Gil Bernat Molero María Pedrosa Student Student Student Student Renzo Bruera Pablo Oscar Vaccaro Daniel Allepuz Beatriu Domingo Daniel Martínez Robert Moszynski Shengtai Shi Student Nanophotonics Engineer Student Student PhD Student Visiting Scientist Research Engineer Alba Torras Mónica Marro Pau Farrera Yongjie Wang Baldo Luís Najera Jessica Angulo Capel Ipsita Das Student SLN Engineer Postdoctoral Researcher PhD Student Student Student PhD Student Justyna Stefaniak Hamidreza Fayaz M. Loïc Reymond Matz Liebel Chandan Samanta Hung-Wei Sun Natalia Alves Student PhD Student Visiting PhD Student Research Fellow Postdoctoral Researcher PhD Student PhD Student Helena Villuendas Shanti Maria Liga Martina Mocera Javier Argüello Georgios Mouloudakis Sebastian Etcheverry Varun Sharma PhD Student PhD Student PhD Student PhD Student PhD Student Visiting Scientist Visiting PhD Student Eliza Cornell Francisco G. Bernal Rodrigo I. Becerra Joana Fraxanet Lorenzo Orsini Umut Karadeniz Tiago Bezerra Student Student Student Student Student Student Visiting PhD Student Iris Ruider Oumaima Sliti Judith Salvador Sara González Bolivar Petr Stepanov Mariona Moreno Aykut Eken Student Postdoctoral Researcher Projects Unit Student Postdoctoral Researcher Visiting scientist Visiting Scientist Juan Manuel García Guillem Megias Alberto Picinardi Luca Bolzonello Ilaria Mannelli Peter Kilbride David Plankensteiner Visiting PhD Student Student Visiting Scientist Postdoctoral Researcher Research Engineer Visiting scientist Visiting Phd Student 4 ICFONIANS FALL 18 HAPPENINGS ICFO NEWS European Recognition for The Graphene Flagship 5th Edition of Euro-BioImaging Enters New Stage Durán Farell Award 2018 Llum a les Ones Following a two-year evaluation In the five years since the launch UPC Professor at ICFO Jordi On September 28th, European process by a panel of international of the Graphene Flagship, its Martorell, leader of the Organic Researchers’ Night, science, music experts, the European Strategy consortium has successfully Nanostructured Photovoltaics and literature met at the CCCB for Forum on Research Infrastructures completed the Core1 phase and is research group, along with the Grand Finale of the 5th edition of (ESFRI) has granted Euro-BioImaging on its way to achieving its objective members of his group Quan Liu, the unique Llum a les Ones ’18 (Light the Landmark status of “European of developing the high potential of Johann Toudert, Paola Mantilla, Pablo on the Waves) contest. Research Infrastructure for Imaging graphene and related 2D materials to Romero and Silvia Colodrero, were This year’s edition, organized in Technologies in Biological and the point of having a dramatic impact honored with the UPC’s Durán Farell collaboration with CCCB Educación Biomedical Sciences” (EuBI). This on multiple industries. Award for their development of and the Magazine Principia, status is recognized by the European Organic photovoltaic cells based on As the Flagship heads into the Core2 encouraged participants to write Commission as a benchmark for nanophotonics with record efficiency. phase, a number of Spearhead about climate change. A jury including quality, and signals that Euro- Granted bi-annually, the award aims projects- application focused Miquel Barceló, Sonia