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Great success in the XX Escuela Nacional de Materiales Moleculares!

This school took place in Sitges, Spain, from February 22nd to February 26th. It celebrated the 20 years of this School!

The Escuela Nacional de Materiales Moleculares arrived this year at its 20th edition. This school took place this last February 2026 in Sitges, Spain.

Highlights of the school

The School started on Sunday the 22nd of February 2026 with a plenary session delivered by Kasper Moth-Poulsen. This was followed by a roundtable discussion with the founders of the School, as it was its 20th anniversary: Fernando Palacio, Jaume Veciana y Eugenio Coronado. Jaume Veciana has been an important researcher of ICMAB for many years.

Prof. Jaume Veciana is Full Professor at the Institut de Ciencia de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC. He was Group Leader of CIBER-BBN and Scientific Director of the Large Facility ICTS NANBIOSIS. He did a postdoc at The Johns Hopkins University, MD (USA) working on molecular electronics. His research interest focuses on Molecular Functional Materials, Molecular magnetism, Nanoscience and Nanomedicine. He co-authored more than 500 journal articles and book chapters and he is inventor of 16 international patents. It should be highlighted that he received the Solvay Award and the RSEQ Award for his research in chemistry and the DuPont Award for his contributions in Molecular Nanoscience. Jaume Veciana, together with Concepció Rovira, created and led the NANOMOL group. 

The School continued for four days, until Thursday 26th of February,  and featured Invited lectures, oral and flash presentations, poster sessions and discussions. They covered all topics related to molecular materials, including magnetism and quantic applications, molecular electronics and sensors, bioapplications, materials synthesis and advanced characterization techniques. The last session was devoted to technology transfer, where students had the opportunity to see how laboratory results can lead to real-world applications and innovation.

On Wednesday, 25th of February, the gala dinner took place, which turned into a tribute to all the researchers who have been highly involved with the School since its beginning, and many speeches were given.

ICMAB participation

The School was organised by Marta Mas, Imma Ratera (both from ICMAB-CSIC) and Daniel Maspoch and Marta Sanmartí (both from ICN2, in the UAB Campus).

Marta Mas-Torrent is a research professor in the group eMolMat. This group is focused on the design and synthesis/preparation of new functional molecular materials for their application in organic/molecular electronic devices. Its work ranges from fundamental studies in order to better understand materials properties to a more applied perspective aiming at developing proof-of-principle devices.

Imma Ratera is a permanent scientific researcher in the research group Nanomol-BIO. This group is devoted to the synthesis, physico-chemical characterization and development, up to pre-clinical regulatory phases, of molecular and polymeric (nano)materials for biomedical applications:

“The success of the School comes from the combination of excellent science and the friendly and collaborative atmosphere that has developed among all the groups involved. Our main task was organizing the venue; after that, everything flowed naturally”, said the organizers.

A very special drawing

To commemorate the School 20th anniversary, ICMABer Mª Àngels Vilella, artist and illustrator, designed a limited, signed series of digital artworks created to honor the three scientists who founded the school and promoted the early development of research on functional molecular materials in Spain, at a time when this field did not yet exist as such. This, pioneering work laid the foundation for what has become a key areain contemporary materials science. The artworks were presented after the roundtable discussion during the opening of the School.“Scientific illustration holds a central place in my life. I am passionate about it because it combines precision and sensitivity, rigor and creativity. I translate scientific knowledge into clear and beautiful images, and this challenge deeply motivates me,” explained Vilella.

The limited series presented does not consist of three different original works, but rather three copies of the same digital artwork, created specifically for the event and individually signed by the author. Each piece thus becomes a unique object within a controlled edition.

Vilella’s participation in the event helped establish a bridge between science and artistic creation, highlighting the role of scientific illustration as a communication tool and also as an artistic discipline in its own right.

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The drawing by Mª Àngels Vilella | Mª Àngels Vilella

 

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XX Escuela Nacional de Materiales Moleculares

Oriol
Oriol
09 March 2026
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